WINE DIRECT PROMPTS WINERIES TO GET INTO ACTION

How much are direct wine shipments actually helping wineries? The numbers are still hard to determine especially since not all wineries are taking full advantage of the direct sales channel, but experts at Wine Direct 2006 insist the potential is huge. According to winesandvines.com, most wineries are “blowing opportunities ever day” to build that part of their business.

Such wineries as St. Supéry and Joseph Phelps Vineyards are reporting an average increase of up to 35% in profits thanks to direct shipments. Bonnie Insel, managing director of MKF Research, told an audience of industry leaders in Sonoma that micro-wineries making 5,000 cases or less sell about 39.5% of their wine direct, while the largest wineries account for only 1.7% of all direct channel sales.

Experts insist that by closely following the law, providing great service to customers and actively promoting direct sales, wineries can do wonders for their business. The question is whether or not all wineries – particularly small, family owned operations – will be willing to put in that extra time and effort, not to mention organization that comes with following all the various state laws that come with shipping wine direct.