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42 W i n e s & V i n e s D e C e M b e r 2 0 1 4 best-selling varietal Chardonnay It's not a hot topic anymore, but Chardonnay—whether oaked, uno- aked, bone dry or semi-sweet—is still the queen of retail wines. Chardonnay had the highest off- premise sales total of any varietal or type measured by Chicago, Ill.-based market research firm IRI during the 52 weeks end- ing Oct. 15. With $1.83 bil- lion in sales, Chardonnay from all countries captured a 20% share of the market by value and volume. Sales grew 3% from a huge base during 2014 (compared to 6% for all domestic wines and 5% for all wines including im- ports) and averaged $6.32 per 750ml, an increase of 10 cents per bottle com- pared to the previous year. IRI gathers sales data from food and drug, multi-outlet and convenience stores across the country. Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon was the king of direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipments in 2014. Its sales totaled $495 million for 636,638 cases, which represented 14% growth in value, according to analysis from Wines & Vines and ShipCompli- ant, which partner to track monthly shipments from U.S. wineries. (We report on these data in the print magazine and the Wine Industry Metrics section of our website.) At an average of $64.77 per bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon also had the best average bottle price and beat the next-best wine type, red blends, by $22. best growth by varietal Red Blends Sparked by brands like Ménage à Trois, the category that IRI calls red blends/Meritage grew faster than all other wine types or varietals in off-premise sales. Red blends also maintained a higher aver- age price per bottle than the two most popular va- rietals, Cabernet Sauvi- gnon and Chardonnay. The category grew 15% in sales during 2014 to reach nearly one-third the sales of Chardonnay. Not only did red blends have the fastest growth rate, they also accounted for more dollars in 2014 than Chardonnay. Red blends are not technically vari- etals, since they don't list the grape varieties on the front label; many red blend winemakers take advantage of the excess Syrah and Merlot grapes and bulk wines selling at relatively low prices to create smooth and sometimes slightly sweet wines that consumers like. Syrah/Shiraz wines experienced the most negative change in off-premise sales of any major varietal in 2014, ac- cording to IRI. Sales of this varietal have been dipping in recent years, so the loss of 13% in value came from a smaller base than before. This category includes both domestic and imported wines, and it reflects decreases in Aus- tralian Shiraz as well as U.S. Syrah and Shiraz. Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon may have won the competition for most direct-to-con- sumer sales in 2014, but one of its par- ent grape varieties, Cabernet Franc, had the fastest sales growth rate (40%) of any major wine type. This was from a relatively small 2013 base of $17 mil- lion, which rose to $24 million this year. Cabernet Franc reached an average bottle price of $35.88. (By the way, Sau- vignon Blanc is the other parent variety of Cabernet Sauvignon.) best winery region for sales Napa Napa was the best wine origin for di- rect-to-consumer sales in 2014, when wines from this region fetched $820 million. This figure accounted for nearly half of total U.S. DtC shipments by win- eries, which reached $1.7 million in the 12 months through September. While Napa Valley wineries only account for 4% of California wine production in terms of volume, Napa grapes and wine command the highest average prices, and many wineries rely heavily on DtC shipments. Sonoma's DtC sales were second highest with $345 million, fol- SALES Cabernet Sauvignon Pinot Noir Red Blends Chardonnay Zinfandel $494,847,041 $284,744,809 $249,517,268 $139,762,035 $72,392,079 DTC shipmenTs—BesT selling VarieTal/Type OFF-premise sales grOwTh red Blends + 15% sYrah/shiraz - 13% $0 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $ Millions b e s t o f 2 0 1 4 Cabernet Franc