Winery Direct-to-Consumer Shipments Drop 18 Percent in September as Higher Prices Fail to Offset Falling Volume

Winery direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipments continued to decline in September, according to new data from WineBusiness Analytics and Sovos ShipCompliant. The total value of DTC shipments for the month dropped 12% compared to September last year, reaching $296 million. Shipment volume fell even more sharply, down 18% to just over 466,000 cases. While this represents a slight improvement over the steeper declines seen during the summer months, the overall trend remains negative.

Over the 12 months ending in September, total shipment value was 7% lower than the previous year, and shipment volume was down 13%. The average price per bottle shipped in September rose to $52.94, an increase of more than 7% from last year and 38% higher than in September 2020. This rise in average price suggests that while fewer bottles are being shipped, consumers are purchasing more expensive wines.

The October edition of the Wine Analytics Report highlighted performance in California’s “Rest of California” region. This area includes all major wine-producing regions in the state except Napa and Sonoma counties and the Central Coast. Over the past year, wineries from this region shipped 540,000 cases worth $206 million. This accounted for 5% of total DTC shipment value and 9% of volume nationwide.

However, the Rest of California region experienced the steepest declines among all regions tracked. Shipment value fell by 20%, and volume dropped nearly 30% compared to the same period last year. All major varietals from this region saw decreases in shipments. Cabernet Sauvignon shipments declined by 28% in volume to 56,053 cases. Despite this drop, Cabernet’s shipment value remained relatively stable, falling just 1% to $33 million. This stability is attributed to a notable increase in high-end Cabernet shipments: wines priced above $200 per bottle grew by 32% in volume to 2,890 cases worth $10.5 million.

Cabernet Sauvignon now makes up about 10% of total shipment volume from the Rest of California region. Red blends represent a larger share at 12%, but their shipments also fell—down 30% by volume to 67,000 cases and down 19% by value to $27.5 million. Zinfandel shipments declined as well, with total value dropping by 34% to $16 million.

The “other” category—which includes a wide range of less common varietals—accounted for a quarter of total shipment value from the region over the past year. At $49 million, this category’s value was about 30% lower than during the previous year.

The average price for all shipments from the Rest of California region over the past year was $31.76 per bottle—more than $20 less than the national average for all DTC shipments. Wines priced between $20 and $30 per bottle made up about 30% of all shipment volume from this region but saw a decline of 29% in volume to just under 161,000 cases. Wines priced between $30 and $40 per bottle represented the next largest share and declined by 22% in volume to nearly 104,000 cases.

These figures come as wineries approach October and November, which are typically strong months for DTC sales due to holiday demand and seasonal promotions. Industry observers will be watching closely to see if these months can reverse or slow down the ongoing declines seen throughout much of this year.