Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/1044116
METRICS November 2018 WINES&VINES 13 O ff-premise sales through multi- ple-outlet and convenience stores in the four weeks ended Sept. 9 totaled $659 million, market research firm IRI reported. This was down 1% from a year ago, and case vol- umes declined 3% to 8.3 million. Con- sumers may have been buying less, but they were choosing pricier wines than last year. Sales in the latest 52 weeks increased 2% to nearly $9 billion. Domestic sparkling wine sales were flat in the latest four weeks at $33 million but up 2% in the latest 52 weeks to $530 million. Sparkling growth outpaced table wines in both periods but remained just 5% of off-premise sales in the month. The shift of consumers to more ex- pensive purchases at off-premise outlets favored domestic wines. Sales at $25 and up increased 11%, and those at $20-$24.99 gained 10%. Close behind were sales at $15-$19.99 a bottle, which rose 9%. By contrast, growth among imports was led by a 17% in- crease in sales at $15-$19.99, followed by 11% growth in the $11-$14.99 and $20-$24.99 price segments. The most significant drop among both domestic and imported wines was for bottles priced less than $4, with the fall led by domestic wines. Notwithstanding the gains in the top price bands and losses at the bottom, wines priced between $4 and $10.99 represent the largest portion of off- premise sales. —Peter Mitham Off Premise Off-Premise Sales Flat but Consumers Trade Up Direct to Consumer S eptember direct-to-con- sumer (DtC) shipments rose 14% from a year earlier to $252 million, Wines Vines Analyt- ics/ShipCompliant by Sovos re- ported. Volumes gained just 9% in the period to 537,446, pointing to shipments of more expensive wines as cooler autumn weather set in. Average bottle price increased 5% from a year ago to $39.12. When it comes to expensive wines, Napa County wineries lead with an average bottle price of $65. This helped Napa claim the top spot in DtC shipments by value, with $1.3 billion shipped in the 12 months ended September 2018. Sonoma County ranks second with $622 million worth of shipments, less than half the value of Napa but up 24% from last year. Volume in- creased even faster, rising 27% to 1,776,913 cases to edge out Napa's volume of 1,726,309 cases. Sonoma's rise began at the begin- ning of the year and intensified over the summer into a solid month-by- month lead over Napa. Data for the latest 12 months bears out the in- crease, which gives Sonoma a 21% share of the channel by value versus Napa's 46% share. With more wines from the county flowing DtC, aver- age bottle price fell 3% in the latest 12 months from $30 to $29. Oregon posted the other nota- ble gain in market share, claiming 6% of the channel with shipments rising 28% to nearly $178 million. The average bottle price was sec- ond-highest in the country at $39, on par with the national average. —Peter Mitham Cooler Weather Lifts DtC Shipments 14% in September Other CA Washington Other U.S. Sonoma Napa DTC SHIPMENTS BY WINERY REGION, SHARE BY VALUE Source: Wines Vines Analytics/Ship Compliant by Sovos; 12 months ended September 2018. Oregon Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant by Sovos; 12 months ended September 2017 and September 2018. DTC SHIPMENT VOLUME BY WINERY REGION Cases 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 n 12 months ending September 2017 n 12 months ending September 2018 Napa Sonoma Other CA Oregon Washington Other U.S. Source: , Wines Vines Analytics. Table wines sold in glass packaging through multiple-outlet and convenience stores; 52 weeks ended Sept. 9, 2018. OFF-PREMISE TABLE WINES BY ORIGIN $ Millions 0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $25+ $20-$24.99 $15-$19.99 $11-$14.99 $8-$10.99 $4-$7.99 <$4 n Domestic n Imported OFF-PREMISE TABLE WINES BY ORIGIN 52-Week Sales Sales Change Market Share Price per 750ml Domestic $8,260,927,441 3% 81% $6.41 Imported $1,891,420,828 3% 19% $8.11 Source: , Wines Vines Analytics. Table wines sold in glass packaging through multiple-outlet and convenience stores; 52 weeks ended Sept. 9, 2018.