Consumer spending on domestic wine, including bulk imports, increased more than 16% versus last year to $69.4 billion in the 12 months ending in April, according to preliminary figures from market research firm bw166. On-premise spending increased 29%, while off-premise spending also staged strong growth of nearly 10%. Spending on table wines increased more than 17% to $64 billion while sparkling wine spending fell nearly 7% to $2.2 billion. Spending on bulk imports increased 24% to $2.3 billion.

The total wine market in the U.S. jumped nearly 11% in value during the latest 12 months, totaling $98.1 billion. Domestic wines accounted for the entirety of the gains as spending on packaged imports fell 1% to $28.7 billion. The decline in packaged imports, in turn, was driven entirely by lower spending on other traditional wines, such as vermouth and sherry, which fell 49% to $1.7 billion.

Table and sparkling wine sales both increased, with imported table wines accounting for the largest gain in spending with an additional $800 million in sales for a total of $19.2 billion, while sparkling wines saw the greatest percentage increase at nearly 8% to $7.8 billion. Total U.S. wine market data, winery direct-to-consumer shipments and Winejobs.com Index data are some of the regular Industry Metrics published each month in the Wine Analytics Report.

DTC Shipment Value Falls 2%

DTC shipment value fell 2% versus a year ago to just under $370 million in April, according to Wine Business Analytics/Sovos ShipCompliant. This was the second straight year that shipment value in the month fell from its peak in 2021 but value remains 14% above 2019. While activity has moderated, the channel hasn’t given up its pandemic-era gains. Volume declined 8% to 619,821 cases. Shipments averaged $46.37 a bottle, down nearly 1% from last year but still the second highest on record for the month.

Shipments for the latest 12 months totaled $4.1 billion, down nearly 4% from a year ago, while volume declined more than 9% to 7,454,935 cases. Shipments for Napa, which represents nearly 47% of the channel by value, largely mirrored the channel-wide trend. The latest 12 months saw shipments from Napa wineries fall nearly 4% to $1.9 billion in value. Volume fell 10% to 1,927,197 cases.

Winery Recruiting Continues to Normalize

Winejobs.com’s Winery Job Index declined 32% in April versus a year earlier to 707 as recruiting activity stabilized. Strong demand a year ago has muted as job openings nationally fell to their lowest level in nearly two years even as Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate leisure and hospitality job openings outpace the labor market as a whole.

Within the winery sector, winemaking and production roles represented the largest component of the Winery Job Index in April, indexing 1,107, down 26% from a year ago. This was the smallest decline among the major subindices. Sales and marketing roles took the biggest hit, with the category subindex dropping 47% to 237—on par with pre-pandemic levels. DTC roles, including tasting room and retail staff, saw demand for workers fall on par with last month, dropping 31% to 940. Overall demand remains elevated versus pre-pandemic levels, however. The Winery Job Index is up 30% versus 2019 levels.