Wine Industry Shipping Data

The Silicon Valley Bank released its annual State of the US Wine Industry report. Following is some info on shipping from 2023. Other insights from the report are in the previous post, dated Feb 13th.

Overall, shipping wine to consumers is down. Washington State, however, went against the trend and increased their shipping by 5.5% in volume and 11% in dollars. Most of the growth was in Cabernet Sauvignon. Washington's volume is less than 20% of California's.

Napa Valley is still on top, with almost half of the $4 billion US wine shipping market. The average price of a bottle of Napa Cab shipping was $132! It sounds like some Cabernet Sauvignon lovers are buying from Washington state now.

All direct-to-consumer sales are down as tasting room visitation dropped for the second straight year. This is probably due to the cost, as lodging and tasting room fees have increased significantly in the most popular wine country regions.

State of the US Wine Industry

The annual State of the US Wine Industry Report from Silicon Valley Bank is out. Shipping data will be  covered in the next post. Following are highlights on the rest. Their data is based on wineries responding to a survey.

Wine Tasting Funnies

 Time to joke it up

The Rise and Fall of Vintage Wine Estates

Vintage Wine Estates (VWE on Nasdaq) is a company that owns multiple brands. They are small compared to the likes of Constellation Brands or Gallo. The company was born about 20 years ago right here in Santa Rosa, CA, and they are apparently in trouble.

pH in Wine

Wine is chemistry-driven. Wine writer Dan Berger has written many great, no nonsense articles on the subject of wine over many years. This one is about the influence of pH on what makes a good dinner wine or what should age well. An important bit of information for the wine drinker, even if the subject is a little nerdy.   :)

The Unforeseen Influence of pH on Wine Quality 

Low Cost Wine Tastings in Napa

  The last I read, someone had figured out the average cost of a wine tasting in Napa was about $60, the Visit Napa Valley website says $40 is the average for basic tastings, an unscientific check I did of four random tastings rooms scattered throughout the valley shows $50-$75 for their cheapest tasting. The average cost of a bottle in Napa has been over $100 for a while. Before you say, "OMG!" remember these are averages, meaning there are plenty below this. 

  The trick is finding them without cruising through the websites for hundreds of wineries. The last winery I knew of that offered free tastings was Sutter Home, but they are now $10. So they are probably the cheapest.

Visiting Napa, but not for Cabernet or Chardonnay?

You mean there's something in Napa Valley besides Cab and Chard? I know, a wild thought, but there are alternatives!

Yes, this is a Sonoma Wine Blog, but our next door neighbor is Napa. For folks that go to Napa Valley, but maybe tire of Chard and Cab after a while or have someone in their group that's not a big fan of either, there are ways to keep everyone happy.

Has Wine Changed Over the Years? Oh Yeah

The graph below, from the American Association of Wine Economists, has been making the rounds recently. It shows in "graphic" detail the biggest change in wine over that past few decades. That is, the amount of sugar in the harvested grapes, which translates into alcohol in the wine.

Some High-Scoring Wines from Sonoma County

  The Santa Rosa Press Democrat does weekly blind tastings of local wines. I know, work, work, work. They recently published an article of their favorites titled, "18 top-scoring Sonoma County Wines" written by their wine writer, Peg Melnik.

  In case there's a paywall, and you can't get through, I've listed the wines below. All credit goes to the Press Dem.

Americans Could Expand Their Consumption of Sparkling Wine

Our custom is to use Champagne/sparkling wines as a celebratory beverage for a few occasions, like New Year's Eve and weddings. That's not nearly enough!

The Popular Price Point for Premium Wine Buyers

An interesting thing has been happening to wine sales post-Pandemic. I believe it's mostly a good thing. It has to do with what people seem willing to pay for a bottle of wine, as many are trading up even as inflation is raising prices.

Red Wines You Should Try

What are the top-selling red wines? Following are descriptions and a few examples of the most popular reds in America. There are plenty of wines available besides the few I've mentioned below.

This post is about the reds. The previous post dated Jan 9, 2024 was about white wines.