Sovos ShipCompliant’s mid-year DtC wine shipping report shows a channel adapting
to a new normal
(ATLANTA) July 31, 2023 – Today’s release of the mid-year direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine shipping report from Sovos ShipCompliant and WineBusiness Analytics documents a continued return toward pre-pandemic trends for the market. Following the January release of the 2023 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report, the channel has seen dips in overall volume and value, while volume at mid-year is up 11% over 2019 for the same time period.
Overall volume of wine shipped in the first half of 2023 decreased 7% for a total of 3.4 million cases, while overall value of shipments dropped 2% to $1.9 billion. Following the record-breaking growth the DtC wine market experienced during the pandemic, the mid-year report points to an industry that continues to find its way back to relative normalcy.
“At the midway point of 2023, the DtC shipment channel may not be hitting the highs of previous years but it’s far ahead of where it was pre-pandemic and remains a dynamic and vital sector of the overall U.S. wine market,” said Andrew Adams, an editor with WineBusiness Analytics. “And while wineries continue to contend with inflation, the DtC market remains the most effective way to engage with their best customers and create new ones in the intensely competitive total beverage alcohol market.”
Top destination states for DtC wine shipping saw some interesting year-over-year (YoY) changes. While California retained its position as the top destination state for DtC wine shipping, the state saw a 14% drop in volume YoY for the first half of 2023. Oregon experienced the largest dip in DtC deliveries in both volume (-17%) and value (-18%). While growing on a small base, Alabama saw the largest spike of any state – a 25% increase in value. This increase, along with 26% YoY increase in volume, was likely an effect of laws passed in 2021 that allowed for DtC shipments of wine in the state.
“With multiple destination states experiencing flux in both DtC wine volume and value, it’s apparent that both wineries and consumers are still navigating changing demand and preference,” added Larry Cormier, vice president, general manager, Sovos ShipCompliant.
Other notable findings described in the 2023 mid-year direct-to-consumer wine shipping report include:
- Average bottle price increases: Average bottle price rose to $46.12, a 5% YoY increase. By region, Washington had the largest rise in average bottle price (11%), followed by Sonoma (10%) and the Central Coast (9%).
- Mid-size wineries see larger decreases: Wineries producing 1,000 to 4,999 cases per year saw the biggest drop in average bottle price, decreasing 7% to $60.53. These same wineries also saw the largest decline for value shipped at -13% YoY.
- Volumes of all varietals are losing speed: No varietal saw an increase in volume shipped. Merlot and Riesling had the smallest dip in volume, each with a 2% YoY decrease. The Other category saw the largest drop in volume at –21% YoY.
The mid-year direct-to-consumer wine shipping report is a yearly collaboration between Sovos ShipCompliant and WineBusiness Analytics, examining direct shipment trends from wineries to U.S. consumers. The proprietary data included is compiled from an algorithm measuring total DtC shipments based on millions of anonymized direct shipping transactions filtered through the ShipCompliant system and paired with WineBusiness Analytics’ comprehensive data on U.S. wineries, resulting in the most accurate depiction of the DtC wine shipping market.
Read the complete mid-year direct-to-consumer wine shipping report here. To download the full 2023 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report, visit dtcreport.com.
About Sovos ShipCompliant
Sovos ShipCompliant has been the leader in automated alcohol beverage compliance tools for more than 15 years, providing a full suite of cloud-based solutions to wineries, breweries, distilleries, importers, distributors and retailers to ensure they meet all federal and state regulations for direct-to-consumer and three-tier distribution. ShipCompliant’s solutions reduce risk, lessen the burden of compliance, accelerate bringing products to market and enable revenue growth. With 60+ partner integrations, Sovos ShipCompliant leads a robust ecosystem of technology partnerships, enabling powerful complementary solutions. For more information, visit https://www.sovos.com/shipcompliant/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About WineBusiness Analytics
The WineBusiness Analytics team maintains the wine industry’s most accurate databases and provides data-driven analysis, data, insights and reports to help clients grow and manage their businesses. For more information visit www.winebusinesssanalytics.com.
Media Contact:
Kendall Kosek, Alloy on behalf of Sovos ShipCompliant
kendall.kosek@alloycrew.com
855-300-8209
