Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/573907
shows that growth rates for the most popular red wine varietal in the United States have varied slightly during the past three years, but price segments at $8 and higher have consistently seen improved sales. The new leading price segment for Cabernet Sauvignon is $11- $14.99, which surpassed the next lower segment in sales during the most recent 52 weeks, according to IRI data covering both domestic and imported varietals. Two years ago this segment was in third place, and wines priced at $5- $7.99 were in the lead. Domestic table wine in total con- tinued to outpace imports, which grew by only 4% in value and 1% in volume during the most recent 52 weeks. Domestic table wines had 81% market share by value in the stores measured by IRI. It was a different story for spar- kling wine, however. Domestic sparkling sales increased by a very healthy 9% and held 54% market share, while imported sparkling wine grew by 17% to comprise 46% market share, led by Italian products, specifically Prosecco. Washington and Oregon table wines grew faster than the na- tional average, as Washington saw an 11% increase and Oregon saw a 14% increase in off-premise sales tracked by IRI. New Zealand led growth rates for imported table wines with 26%, and France followed with 10%. Italy is the leader in imported table wines, with U.S. market share of 6% by value and sales growth also at 6% during the past 52 weeks, accord- ing to IRI data. —Jim Gordon METRICS October 2015 WINES&VINES 13 D irect-to-consumer ship- ments from U.S. wineries in August increased 2% in value from August 2014, but the slow growth during one of the DtC channel's smallest sales months did little to affect the 12-month growth rate of 13%. The value of August shipments reached $80.2 million, according to the Wines Vines Analytics/Ship- Compliant model. Shipment vol- ume rose at a much faster rate than value, as DtC shipments grew 15% to 226,313 cases. T h e a v e r a g e b o t t l e p r i c e dropped to $29.51 from $33.04, an 11% change compared to Au- gust 2014. That was the lowest average bottle price for August since at least 2010. For the 2014 calendar year, the average bottle price was $38.40. A longer view of the channel's performance gives a much better picture of the health of DtC ship- ping, which will total more than $2 billion by the end of 2015, if the current 12-month growth rate continues. It totaled less than $1.2 billion in 2010. A close look at Cabernet Sau- vignon—the most popular varietal or wine type in DtC shipments (see chart)—revealed a robust sales increase in the past 12 months. The tall bars for $100- plus Cabernet Sauvignon show how heavily the high end of the price spectrum influences overall DtC shipments. Winery shipments of Cabernet at this level grew 43% in value since August 2014. This increase meant that 48% of the value of Cabernet Sauvi- gnon shipments came from the $100-plus category, and all the other price segments combined accounted for the other 52%. The three lowest priced seg- ments dropped slightly in 12- month sales through August, while the two middle tiers from $60 to $79 and $80 to $99 grew slightly. Total Cabernet Sauvignon shipments at all price levels rose 19% and accounted for 33% mar- ket share by value, among all va- rietals and types. Not shown in the chart, ship- ments of Cabernet priced at $150- $199 totaled more than $87 million, with an average price of $169, and those priced $200 and up totaled nearly $93 million dur- ing a 12-month period at an aver- age price of $284. —Jim Gordon Direct to Consumer DtC Shipments Up, as $100 Cabernet Spikes OFF-PREMISE CABERNET SAUVIGNON SALES BY PRICE Source: . Wines Vines Analytics. All table wine in multiple outlet and convenience stores, 52 weeks through Aug. 11, 2013, Aug. 10, 2014, and Aug. 9, 2015. $ Millions $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 0 <$5 $5-$7.99 $8-$10.99 $11-$14.99 $15-$19.99 $20-plus n 12 months ending August 2013 n 12 months ending August 2014 n 12 months ending August 2015 DTC CABERNET SAUVIGNON SALES BY PRICE $ Millions $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 0 <$20 $20-$39.99 $40-$59.99 $60-$79.99 $80-$99.99 $100-plus n 12 months ending August 2014 n 12 months ending August 2015 Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant model. 12 months through August 2015.