With total direct-to-consumer wine shipments surpassing the $4 billion mark in 2021 for the first time– a result of an unprecedented 11.8% jump in bottle price despite the smallest increase in volume in the history of the Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report — Sovos ShipCompliant and Wines Vines Analytics, which compile the report, said the growth is impressive against the huge gains that happened in 2020.
Plus, a record year-over-year jump in average price per bottle to $41.16 – its highest mark since the report was first published more than a decade ago – ultimately drove a 13.4% increase in DtC wine shipping value.
“In a reversal of trends from 2020, fewer consumers chose to ship less expensive wines to drink at home and instead returned to purchasing those wines while eating and drinking out,” said Larry Cormier, vp/general manager, Sovos ShipCompliant. “And just as those buyers resumed what looked more like their pre-pandemic DtC purchasing patterns, 2020’s first-time buyers that stayed in the channel also adjusted their buying habits upward.”
In terms of value by region, it was stronghold Napa that drove the return to normalcy in DtC shipping trends. Napa shipments accounted for 45% of the value of the overall DtC shipping channel this past year, and the region’s $299 million increase in value of shipments over 2020 accounted for 60.3% of the entire increase in the overall channel’s value in 2021.
“While many regions experienced some level of growth in 2021, none were as impressive as Napa’s almost $300 million increase in value of DtC shipments,” said Andrew Adams, Wine Analytics Report editor at Wines Vines Analytics. “Increases in price per bottle shipped helped balance out the decreases in volume that some regions experienced, creating an overall increase in value for the West Coast.”
Other notable findings and trends described in the 2022 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report include:
- Oregon’s multi-year boom in shipments continued in 2021: Oregon wineries, with their 12.9% year-over-year increase in volume and 18.7% increase in value of shipments, outperformed all other regions tracked in 2021.
- Kentucky broke out in 2021 following a new DtC shipping law: With a new law that went into effect in December 2020, Kentucky residents took advantage of 12 full months of newfound freedom by increasing the volume of shipments to the state by 244.8% over the month of sales in 2020.
- Larger wineries with lower price points saw smaller value gains: After dropping average price per bottle shipped by 17.3% in 2020, large wineries were unable to recover most of that drop, with only a 4.5% increase in price in 2021. However, now at 18.7% of total DtC shipping volume, these largest wineries have increased their volume of DtC shipments by more than 1,000% over the past decade.
- Top varietals remain: In 2021 the same five wines that have been most commonly shipped for the past decade remained in those top slots: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Red Blends and Zinfandel. Together, they accounted for 58.9% of all wines shipped and 71.8% of the value of the 2021 DtC shipping channel.
“As the world began to open back up, American wine drinkers became far more comfortable visiting wineries in person, returning to buying wine in-store, and imbibing at restaurants rather than solely at home,” said beverage alcohol consultant Danny Brager. “Yet, even while that was occurring, DtC Shipments remained exceptionally strong in 2021. Now as COVID-19’s impact on travel and tourism lessens, there is every reason to believe DtC shipments based on winery visitation and new club memberships will be strong in 2022.”
The Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report is an annual collaboration between Sovos ShipCompliant and Wines Vines Analytics, examining 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 anonymous direct shipping transactions filtered through the ShipCompliant system and paired with Wines Vines Analytics’ comprehensive data on U.S. wineries, resulting in the most accurate depiction of the DtC wine shipping market.