Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/528936
Key Indicators D omestic wine sales in the off-premise channel grew 5% in value during the 52 weeks ending May 17, ac- cording to Wines & Vines' analysis of data from IRI, the Chicago, Ill.-based market- research firm. That measure of U.S. table wine and sparkling wine growth has been steady in the 5% range since De- cember 2014. Sparkling wine alone increased by 8% in value, but since it accounts for only 5% of domestic wine sales, the growth in sparkling barely moved the needle for domestic wines over- all. The most recent four-week pe- riod saw slightly better results, as sales of domestic table and sparkling wines together increased 7% from May 2014. California table wine sales rose by 5%, while Washington state table wines increased by 10% and Oregon table wines by 14%, based on value. Imports grew in value by just 3%, and accounted for 19% of the market share. The rise of Pinot Gris A trend that is lifting off-premise wine sales in general is the ongoing rise of Pinot Gris/ Grigio. These varietal wines are made from the same grape variety but identi- fied by the French name Gris and the Italian name Grigio, according to the style of winemaking and the perceived market preference. Pinot Gris tends to be richer in flavor, smoother in texture and may even have a hint of rosé color, while Pinot Grigio tends to be more neutral in flavor and color, and crisper in texture. IRI com- bines the two into one category, and we will refer to the category as Pinot Gris for simplicity. Pinot Gris from all sources passed T he Winery Job Index cooled a bit in May from the hot rate of growth it experi- enced from December 2014 through April. While this indicator of winery hiring activity created by Winejobs.com still increased 16% from May 2014, it was about 10 points below the average growth rate of the previous five months. After lagging behind other job types for most of the past year, sales and marketing job listings saw the most rapid growth of 43% compared to May 2014. A month earlier those had dropped 20%. Winery hospitality hiring headed the op- posite direction of sales jobs, dropping 3% from the previous May, after being up 56% in April. Hospitality jobs include direct-to-consumer, tasting room and retail positions. Most winer- ies work hard to hire staff in advance of the May-October visitor season. Winemaking job activity rose by 12% in May compared to the same month in 2014. Off-Premise Sales Winery Job Index Complete data is available at winesandvines.com/metrics METRICS 10 WINES&VINES July 2015 Winery Job Index MONTH May 2015 355 May 2014 308 12 MONTHS May 2015 256 May 2014 213 MONTHLY INDEX 15% 20% Off-Premise Sales MONTH May 2015 $607M May 2014 $569M 12 MONTHS May 2015 $8,068M May 2014 $7,651M MONTHLY SALES 7% 5% Direct-to-Consumer Shipments MONTH May 2015 $141M May 2014 $135M 12 MONTHS May 2015 $1,896M May 2014 $1,657M MONTHLY SHIPMENTS 14% 4% Source: winejobs.com $ Millions $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant 2015 2014 2013 2014 Source: , Wines Vines Analytics. Domestic table and sparkling wine sales in multiple-outlet and convenience stores, four weeks ending May 17, 2015. $ Millions $800 $700 $600 $500 Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May 2014 2013 2015 2014 winejobs.com Index 500 400 300 200 100 2015 2014 2014 2013 Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Winery Jobs, Off-Premise Sales Lead Growth U.S. Table Wine Sales Rise 5%; Pinot Gris Continues Rapid Growth Hiring Up in May, But Pace Cools Off