Afternoon Brief: California Grapegrowers Race to Beat the Heat

Trucks full of wine grapes clogged roads all over northern California wine country this week as wineries raced to get their precious cargo into tanks before a brutal heatwave shriveled them to raisins...

Face to Face: In-Market Events Are Now Essential for DTC Sales

In-market DTC sales can help kick off a domino effect of sales, loyalty and engagement. By Kathleen Willcox Selling wine through a third party

The answer to the title question is yes, DTC is holding up, but as most in the industry will attest, it's a nuanced response that requires a discussion.  Sign up for the 2024 annual SVB Direct-to-Consumer Videocast presented next Tuesday, June 25th, to hear an expert panel discuss the findings from the 2024 Direct-Direct-to-Consumer Survey. What can you expect? After researching the wine industry for more than 20 years and producing this report for well over a decade, you can expect the same thing you always get: an honest and balanced view of the current direct-to-consumer market.  Would you like a teaser? Take a look at the chart below. There continues to be concern about visitation in wine country. 2021 was the best year in a decade post-COVID. It was a bounce-back year from 2020. We were never going to reach those heights anytime soon. But the chart above shows a nuanced change in the visitation pattern with a bottom in May of 2022. Since May 2022, while visitat

You're Invited!  2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey: Report, Results and Benchmarks Virtual Event Tuesday, June 25, 2024 9:00AM - 10:30AM PDT  Please join us for our 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey: Report, Results and Benchmarks virtual event, where our panel of wine industry leaders will review the findings from our most recent DTC wine survey and share their thoughts on the evolution of the business as we head into the second half of the year.   During this live event, you will hear the latest DTC wine sales and marketing trends, examine industry growth strategies and participate in our panel’s Q&A session. A few of the topics we will address include: The impact of changes in consumer demographics and reduction of volume sales   The hidden benefits of the current overproduction throughout the US alcohol beverage industry The innovations that continue to propel direct sales beyond the tasting room Our panel of industry innovators hosting this

The wine marketplace continues its post-pandemic shifts.  By Laurie Wachter The August 24 Wine Industry Sales Symposium consisted of four sessions covering the value of DTC and sales data in boosting sales, planning for the holidays, corporate gifting and luxury marketing strategy. Here’s a quick look back. Using Data Analytics to Optimize DTC Pricing and Inventory Depletion Costs have risen exponentially since the onset of the pandemic, making it even more critical to use data analytics to guide wine pricing to maximize profits.  “Wineries have an amazing amount of data from their POS systems and wine clubs that can be used to build a depletion curve, price elasticity estimates and predictive models,” says Bob Terzotis of Mather Economics.  Jim Moroney reached out to Mather after opening Sixmilebridge Vineyards (Paso Robles, Calif.) during the pandemic. “We were running out of Cabernet Sauvignon partway into our first vintage. I needed to raise t

You have mere seconds to capture a consumer’s attention to get them to notice your bottle, pick it up, and ultimately purchase. In a sea of wine options—at retailers and online—how do you make your label stand out? There are steps every buyer takes in selecting a new wine off the shelf: Step 1: Something on the label catches their eye Step 2: They walk closer Step 3: They pick up the bottle Step 4: If the label has texture, they feel it Step 5: They turn the bottle around to read the romance copy When someone goes through all those steps, a majority of the time they put it in their basket. The process is adapted for online purchase, with obvious differences. They can’t pick up and feel the bottle or label, but they can see it, read it, and then explore the tactile factors after purchase. The label can have a significant impact on purchases. A consumer has to like your label before they’ll be able to try your delicious wine. Here are our tips for creating a