Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/670981
METRICS May 2016 WINES&VINES 11 S pring wine club shipments—and above- freezing temperatures across most of the United States—helped boost direct- to-consumer shipments to a typical seasonal high point in March. Shipments by U.S. wineries for clubs, phone and Internet sales—and for orders placed in person at wineries but shipped home later—were up by 12% from March 2015 to $283.3 million. This performance kept the 12-month sales total above $2 billion for the second time ever. The sales growth rate during that period was 10%. The volume of DtC shipments was 509,622 cases in March, more than twice as much as the January volume, and about a third more than February shipments. For this issue we took a closer look at the Northwest states' DtC shipments for March. Oregon wineries stayed ahead of Washington state wineries in shipment value, selling more than $102 million worth of Oregon wine during the 12 months through March. The top-selling varietals and prices people will pay for them reinforce the value of match- ing grape varieties to climates. The top-selling varietals or wine types in Or- egon were Pinot Noir with $70 million in sales, Chardonnay with $6.5 million, red blends with $3.4 million and Pinot Gris, with $3.1 million. For Washington, the top sellers were (with one exception) quite different: red blends with $21 million, Cabernet Sauvignon with $14 million, Syrah with $8.9 million and Merlot with $3.6 million. Oregon's overall average bottle price of $39.33 was higher than Washington's $33.65. Oregon Pinot Noir led in overall average bottle price for the Northwest at $48.20, but Wash- ington Cabernet Sauvignon was close behind at $45.50. Direct to Consumer Off Premise California Sales Up 6%, Washington Up 10%, Oregon 9% Wine Clubs Spur DtC Shipments; Oregon Keeps Growing DTC SHIPMENT AVERAGE BOTTLE PRICE Oregon Washington Pinot Noir $48.20 Cabernet Sauvignon $45.50 Chardonnay $34.27 Syrah $40.17 Red Blends $25.52 Red Blends $37.30 Pinot Gris/ Grigio $20.27 Merlot $31.90 Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant. Top-selling varietals, 12 months through March 2016. DTC SHIPMENT VALUE 2013 2014 2015 2016 $120 $100 $80 $60 $40 $20 0 $ Millions n = Oregon n = Washington Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant. 12 months through March 2016. O ff-premise domestic wine sales in the IRI channels grew 4% in March and 6% during the previous 52 weeks com- pared to a year earlier. Sparkling wine sales growth of 8% for the month and 9% for 52 weeks tugged those rates up by about two- tenths of a point each. Another strong growth sector was wine from the Pacific Northwest. Wines from Wash- ington and Oregon outperformed the domestic category in off-premise accounts. Added to- gether they beat No. 1 import country Italy in terms of sales and volume growth as well as average bottle price, according to IRI, the Chi- cago, Ill.-based market-research firm. Washington table wine sales were five times as high as Oregon's and grew by 10% in value, while Oregon's table wine sales increased by 9%. In terms of volume, Washington sold eight times more cases than Oregon, and Washington saw an 8% increase in volume compared to 5% for Oregon. Oregon was the clear winner in terms of average bottle price, however. Consumers paid an average of $14.78 for a bottle of Oregon wine vs. $9.62 for Washington wine at the multiple-outlet and convenience stores moni- tored by IRI. Oregon's average bottle price grew 41 cents during 52 weeks, while an aver- age bottle of Washington wine rose just 15 cents. By comparison, California's average bottle price was $6.06, and its growth rate per bottle (20 cents) was better than Washington's but not as high as Oregon's. According to IRI data, Washington, Italy and Australia are roughly comparable in terms of sales and volume. Italy was the larg- est source, with more than $571 million in sales of table wine during 52 weeks and 5.6 million cases. Comparatively, Washington table wine brought $495 million and moved 4.3 million cases. —Jim Gordon TOP THREE WINE-PRODUCING STATES Sales Change vs. a Year Ago Volume (9-liter cases) Change vs. a Year Ago Average Bottle Price Change vs. a Year Ago California $7,255,406,596 6% 99,852,342 2% $6.06 $0.20 Washington $494,693,247 10% 4,284,240 8% $9.62 $0.15 Oregon $99,580,160 9% 561,644 6% $14.78 $0.41 Source: , Wines & Vines. Table wine in IRI multiple outlet and convenience store channel, 52 weeks through March 20, 2016. TOP THREE IMPORT SOURCE COUNTRIES Sales Change vs. a Year Ago Volume (9-liter cases) Change vs. a Year Ago Average Bottle Price Change vs. a Year Ago Italy $571,542,642 8% 5,608,768 5% $8.49 $0.19 Australia $467,178,434 -2% 6,540,718 -3% $5.95 $0.03 New Zealand $194,231,142 24% 1,400,493 24% $11.56 $0.06