Page 32 - Grapevine May-June 2020
P. 32
In The Winery
comes at a time when many states are working As a result, direct-to-consumer wine shipping has
to ensure that direct-to-consumer shippers are grown from a small, niche market in 2005 into a
complying with local regulations. For example, the hugely important channel worth more than $3.2
Michigan Liquor Control Commission is stepping billion in 2019. According to Sovos ShipCompliant’s
up in response to reports by the Michigan Beer annual Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report,
and Wine Wholesalers Association alleging wide- the channel grew by 7.4% percent in value and
spread violation of its DtC shipping laws, and the 4.7% in volume last year as more wineries invest-
Mississippi Supreme Court recently heard a case ed in e-commerce, the average price-per-bottle
regarding stings conducted by the state Alcohol increased, and Oregon and Washington again
Control Board to catch illegal DtC shippers. outpaced the overall channel in shipment growth,
While Texas is currently the only state to have among other trends.
announced a review of this size, it almost certainly
won’t be the last. In many cases, DtC shipping succeeds because
it allows smaller wineries access to markets they
As the Market Grows, would struggle to enter if they relied solely on the
So Will Regulator Scrutiny traditional three-tier system due to their relative
size. According to the 2020 Direct-to-Consumer
The Supreme Court’s decision 15 years ago in Shipping Report, wineries in the small winery cat-
Granholm v. Heald triggered a wave of wine ship- egory (5,000 to 49,999 annual case production)
ping reforms across the country. Today, 45 states again dominated the winery shipping channel in
plus the District of Columbia permit DtC shipping, 2019, accounting for 42% of the volume of ship-
enabling over 90% of Americans to connect directly ments and 45% of the value of the DtC channel.
with their favorite wineries. DTC shipping has emerged as one of the best ways
Page 30 The Grapevine • May - June 2020 877-892-5332
Grapevine Main Pages GV050620_Layout 1-1 .indd 30 4/28/20 1:21 PM
