Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/918844
O ff-premise sales through multiple-outlet and con- venience stores in the four weeks ended Dec. 3, 2017, increased 1% to $777 million ver- sus a year ago, market-research firm IRI reported. Domestic spar- kling wine sales increased at twice the rate of domestic table wines, rising 2% to $47 million. The pre- vious 52 weeks saw off-premise sales rise 3% to $8.8 billion, with sparkling wines again leading growth at 4% to $520 million. Table wines increased 3% over the period, for sales of $8.3 billion. While imported table wines priced $15-$19.99 per bottle saw the strongest growth at 20% dur- ing the latest 52 weeks at mul- tiple-outlet and convenience stores tracked by IRI, domestic table wines ranked second with sales growing 17%. This was the strong- est growth among domestic wines, with growth rivaling imports at the same price. Domestic wines cap- tured more than 10 times as many dollars as imports, however, with sales totaling more than $205 mil- lion in the same period. Pricing in the $25-plus segment outpaced growth in domestic table wines overall, with a 2% increase to $35.13 per bottle. The gain re- flected the ongoing willingness of consumers to spend more in a strong economy and, to a lesser de- gree, the popularity of red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys a 40% share of sales for wines priced above $25 per bottle, and the var- ietal saw average per-bottle prices increase 2% this year to $45.22. Chardonnay ranks second with a 30% share of the $25-plus seg- ment and also saw per-bottle pricing increase. Red blends picked up the pace from last year, too, and now claim 12% of the segment alongside Pinot Noir. The popularity of Pinot Noir—and the emergence of more popular brands—helped push per-bottle pricing down 2% to $35.32 per bottle. The strongest price growth among the leading varietals in the most expensive off-premise price bracket fell to Sauvignon Blanc, which saw just $12 million worth of sales in the latest 12 months. Nevertheless, pricing increased 4% to $22.14 per bottle, under- scoring the willingness of consum- ers to trade up and explore. —Peter Mitham Off Premise Top-tier U.S. Wines Shine in Off-Premise Channels METRICS January 2018 WINES&VINES 13 Direct to Consumer D irect-to-consumer (DtC) shipments totaled more than $417 million in No- v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 , a c c o r d i n g t o Wines Vines Analytics/Ship- Compliant data, rising 26% above November 2016 figures to achieve a fresh benchmark for t h e c h a n n e l f o r t h e s e c o n d straight month. Case volumes followed suit, rising 20% to 803,063. November logged the second-largest gain of the year after February 2017 and pushed the channel to 15% growth in the latest 12 months versus a year earlier. Several factors contributed to the increase. October is typically a significant month for club ship- ments as cooler weather arrives, but the wildfires that ravaged California's North Coast the sec- ond week of the month required some wineries to defer ship- ments to members. Many con- sumers subsequently ordered wines following the wildfires as a show of support. Perkins Harter, a small winery in Healdsburg, Calif., is emblem- atic. Wildfire came within 3 miles of its warehouse in Windsor, and it halted all shipments for the duration of the disaster. Power outages and spotty cell service disrupted communications and distribution. The orders came anyway. "I think people wanted to find a way to contribute any way they could," winemaker Shelby Per- kins said. "They knew that buying wine would be a way to support the industry." And when wines were or- dered, they tended to be more e x p e n s i v e , i n k e e p i n g w i t h t r e n d s i n t h e b r o a d e r w i n e market. Indeed, even as the DtC chan- nel has broadened to include lower priced bottles, the surge in cases shipped in November didn't hurt per-bottle pricing. The overall average bottle price for the month rose 5% to $43.27, well above the 12-month aver- age of $37.16. A glance at the top end of the market indicates that the priciest bottles are almost exclusively red wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, red blends and Pinot Noir, in that o r d e r, r e p r e s e n t e d a p p r o x i - mately 88% of $60-plus bottles shipped. Chardonnay, the sole white varietal among the top five in the priciest price segment, ranked fourth with $56 million in sales in the latest 12 months. Cabernet Sauvignon shipped $616 million, followed by red blends at $211 million and Pinot Noir at $190 million. —Peter Mitham November Shipments Surge 26% as Wineries Rebound OFF-PREMISE $25-PLUS RELATIVE SHARE Source: , Wines & Vines Analytics. Table wine sales in multiple-outlet and convenience stores; 52 weeks ending Dec. 3, 2017. Chardonnay Pinot Noir Sauvignon Blanc Cabernet Sauvignon 40% 30% 6% 12% 12% Red Blends Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant; 12 months through November 2017. DTC SHIPMENTS FOR $60-PLUS $ Millions 0 $200 $400 $600 $800 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Blends Pinot Noir Chardonnay Merlot Cabernet Franc Syrah Sparkling