Willamette Valley Vineyards reports earning $2.4 million, or 20 cents a share, in 2021, a 28% decrease from 2020’s $3.4 million, or 46 cents a share. Sales rose to $31,786,864, a 16% increase from the year-earlier figure. The improved sales were attributed to a 26% increase in direct sales and a 10.3% jump in sales to distributors.
“Our largest volume products are continuing to experience high demand such that we are now very tight on inventories and are allocating some key wines,” Jim Bernau, Founder/CEO, said. “We believe this tight inventory situation will limit our revenue growth until such time as we can rebuild our wine inventories. “We are also expecting to experience some margin reductions in 2022, mostly as a result of certain supply logistical delays and much higher packaging prices. We believe that our higher SG&A costs in 2021 are enabling us to build a stronger sales and administrative foundation to support our growth, which we believe will lead to greater profitability in the long term.”