San Rafael, Calif.—A 10% increase in value and 7.7% increase in volume kept the growth of U.S. wines shipped directly to consumers higher than the overall growth of wine sales last year, according to the Direct to Consumer Wine Shipping Report released today. The value of DtC shipments grew to $1.46 billion, while volume reached 3.18 million cases, according to the report by ShipCompliant and Wines & Vines.

The complete report, available in PDF format from Wines & Vines, looks specifically at wines shipped from wineries to consumers, details the shape and contours of direct shipping in the United States during 2012, including shipping by region, the price of wines shipped, which types of wine are being shipped across the country, where they are being shipped and how wineries of different sizes performed.

The 12-page report illustrates with dozens of graphs and tables the dramatic growth and reach of a sales channel that was larger than U.S. exports of wines in 2012. One highlight was that wineries of all sizes continued to increase the volume and value of shipments, though larger wineries increased their shipments at a greater rate than small wineries. Still, small wineries with annual production of 5,000–49,999 cases accounted for 51% of the DtC shipment value, while the 49 largest wineries contributed only 3% of the value.

Napa dominates sales
Wineries in Napa County, Calif., continued to dominate sales, shipping $713 million worth of wine, though the small region’s wineries under-performed in the overall wine-shipping channel, increasing their sales by only 8%. The average bottle price for Napa wines shipped was $56.87.

Three wine types—Cabernet Sauvignon, red blends and Pinot Noir—dominate winery-to-consumer shipments and represent 52% of the volume of wines shipped. Among all wine varieties shipped, rosé, sparkling wine and Pinot Noir saw the greatest increases in volume and value of shipments over 2011.

Washington state saw a robust increase in cases shipped and a 40% increase in value of Washington wines with a 19% increase in average bottle price. The report contains many more such details.

The ShipCompliant/Wines & Vines Direct to Consumer Wine Shipping Report utilizes millions of anonymized transactions processed through the ShipCompliant Direct compliance platform. A model utilizing Wines & Vines’ comprehensive database of wineries combined with the transactions allows a highly accurate report about the size and dimension of the winery-to-consumer shipping channel.

Higher margins for wineries
“The direct-shipping channel continues to grow at a faster rate than the overall wine market and has become vital to the small- and medium-sized wineries,” noted Chet Klingensmith, publisher of Wines & Vines. “The higher margins realized by wineries using this channel, and the access it gives consumers to the increasingly diversified wine market, provides a win-win situation for all parties.”

Wines & Vines offers a comprehensive collection of products providing news, information and marketing and research capabilities. Its monthly magazine, Wines & Vines, Directory/Buyer’s Guide and Online Marketing System provide a wide range of information and solutions to the wine and grape industry. For more information, see winesandvines.com.

ShipCompliant is the leader in automated alcoholic beverage compliance tools. With more than 10 years experience, ShipCompliant provides wine and spirits suppliers and importers with a full suite of web-based software tools to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations for direct and wholesale distribution. ShipCompliant works with the industry’s leading software providers and fulfillment companies to provide fully integrated solutions for direct and three-tier distribution. For more information, see shipcompliant.com.