US wineries see big jump in direct sales

US wineries sent 17% more wine direct to drinkers in 2016 versus 2015, topping the five million-case barrier for the first time.

Shipment value rose faster, by 18.5%, to $2.33 billion. It’s the first time direct-to-consumer sales have exceeded $2bn, said the report, compiled by trade publication Wines & Vines together with Sovos ShipCompliant. Most US states now allow some level of direct shipping, allowing wineries and drinkers to cut out the traditional three-tier model of distributors and retailers.

But, direct-to-consumer sales were still only 8.6% of the total US retail market for wine last year – and that doesn’t include restaurant or bar sales.

Small wineries selling wines at $20 and above were instrumental in driving growth in 2016, according to the Wine & Vines report. It drew a link with tourism, suggesting that tasting room visitors were ordering wines to drink at home. It also said that social media and online ordering had helped to make this easier.

Large wineries also enjoyed strong growth, especially in volume, but the report said that this was partly due to some estates being re-categorised from ‘medium’ to ‘large’ after expanding their output. Of the wines ordered, a disproportionate number of wine lovers ordered Pinot Noir direct from the winery. Pinot accounted for nearly a quarter of orders, double its market share in the total US wine retail market, excluding bars and restaurants.

Zinfandel made up 9% of orders, but barely figures in the overall US retail market. Several critics have tipped Zinfandel for a comeback after years in the doldrums. The report also highlighted some issues for wineries to consider in the future.

Millennials are an unknown quantity, it said. ‘Though Millennials are not yet impacting the shipping channel significantly, we expect their impact to grow over the coming years,’ said the authors.

It added wider economic growth has helped wine sales in general and that consolidation in the wholesaler distribution market was making smaller wineries more reliant on direct shipments to build sales.

But, it warned against an assumption that growth is inevitable. ‘How this increasingly important distribution channel reacts to recession is not documented.’

How Mouton Rothschild and David Hockney joined forces

The next-generation family members at the head of Château Mouton Rothschild have held a special event with David Hockney in London to officially reveal the artist's sketches for the Mouton 2014 wine label.

All three children of the late Baroness Philippine de Rothschild joined David Hockney and guests at a ceremony at Spencer House on Friday evening 3 February. They revealed Hockney’s initial artwork that culminated in the label for Mouton Rothschild 2014.

Mouton announced Hockney as its artist for the 2014 label late last year, but that marked the culmination of many months of work.

At the Spencer House event, attendees heard how Hockney initially sat down to discuss the plans with Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, one of three children of the late Baroness Philippine de Rothschild.

De Beaumarchais said that Hockney drank a beer and he ordered a glass of wine.

Hockney, who was in London preparing to open a large retrospective exhibition of his work at Tate Britain, was a friend of the late Baroness Philippine, who died in 2014. He dedicated his label artwork as a tribute to her work at the Bordeaux first growth château over several decades. De Beaumarchais was joined by his siblings, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Camille Sereys de Rothschild, at the Spencer House event.

Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, eldest son of Baroness Philippine, was in 2014 officially named as successor to his mother as chairman of the supervisory board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA. Spencer House mansion is owned by Earl Spencer, brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. But it has been rented and restored by Lord Rothschild since the 1980s.

eBay signs deal to add more than 1,000 wines to sale list

eBay said consumers would gain direct access to WineDirect’s winery partners – the Napa-based company works with some 1,600 small and medium-sized producers – on the eBay Wine marketplace.

The new partnership includes wines not normally available online, and customers will also be able to send wines as gifts for special occasions.

The news comes as a Wines & Vines survey released this week revealed that more premium wine lovers in the US are going straight to the winery to buy than ever before, with US producers sending 17% more wine direct to consumers in 2016 and the value of sales exceeding $2bn for the first time.

Meanwhile, eBay said Champagne and red wine were the two most searched wine-related terms on its site, while a California Pinot Noir is the top-selling wine.

‘We’re excited to empower small and mid-sized wineries by connecting them with eBay’s millions of customers through our innovative partnership,’ said Joe Waechter, president and CEO of WineDirect.

‘This is a fantastic opportunity for wineries to share their passion and their product with new audiences, and for shoppers to gain unparalleled access to wines direct from the source.’

In August last year, eBay stepped up its wine presence in the UK by joining forces with mail order merchant Laithwaite’s.

The online marketplace, which launched its US wine platform across 45 states in less than a year ago, also announced that its wine operations would expand into Germany later this month.