1.82 billion $ boom in the USA for direct wine sales

1.82 billion $ boom in the USA for direct wine sales

The American colossus shows an increase in +15,5 % in private wine sales just in 2014 and grows 4 times more quickly than the traditional commercial sales channels.

Seen for you by  Donatella Cinelli Colombini

61% of shipments goes  to 5 states where 37% of all Americans live: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. But others also do very well: thanks to the law that has facilitated shipping to private citizen, wine lovers form Montana have increate their wine orders by 245 % in one year. The real novelty is Massachusetts, 7th wine market in the USA, that from this year accept shipping from producing wineries .

The Oregon wineries are those who have done exceptionally well with a + 53% in sales to privates in just one year with  Pinot Noir coming up trumps. Oregon does seem to be the new star of the USA wine panorama, but there are also those who’ve been out there much longer such as Napa Valley, main wine making region of the US, which considers sales to private clients determent , and where it represents 48,5% of the business.

This all seems impossible considering the bad crisis we have in Italy. But the source is more than sure, its Wine Searcher, the largest online marketing platform for wine.

Italian wineries can send wine to 42 US states out of 50. The only large market to remain off limits is Pennsylvania who however seems to be near to liberalizing shipments from the place of origin.  An finally here is where it is illegal to ship wine: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah. To sates such as Arkansas, Delaware, Oklahoma, Rhone Island and South Dakota the shipment can take place only if the order has been placed personally by the client on site while in the winery.

Regarding Massachusetts the liberalizing occurs through the payment of a 300$ tax to be renewed every year with another 150$ to obtain the  Direct wine shipper license which obligates one to present annual report. A rather complex system described in detail by Wine Meridian, picked up from Wine & Vines , which actually seems more apt for the trade rather than for sales to real wine lovers.

While the wineries can send wine home to consumers this is usually not permitted to stores. In the past few days there has actually been a dispute between  NYSLA, authority in  New York for alcohol beverages and the  Empire Wine & Spirit company which has been accused of misconduct for having sent wine to stats where this was not permitted. This litigation might just cause the revocation of the sales license of Empire but most of all would set a really heavy precedent. In fact it would permit one US state to penalize crimes committed in other parts of the Nation. At this time of Ecommerce it would be something gigantic because in the  USA juridical system sentences make case-law so they have the same weight has a law, and o an eventual sentence could bring about a hold on online sales for all stores leaving open this future channel of sales only for wineries.