Report says online wine orders grew by 27% last year during pandemic

American wineries shipped 27% more wine directly to consumers in 2020 than the previous year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.

U.S. vintners shipped 8.39 million cases of wine as demand grew for digital orders given the closures of tasting rooms and restaurants for large portions of last year, according to Sovos ShipCompliant, a compliance firm that tracks orders for wineries.

That was a large jump. Over the previous nine years, the survey found the industry experienced a 10.5% average annual increase in volume of wine shipments.

The firm found that the value of those shipments increased by almost 15% to $3.7 billion. The report noted that prices did not keep up with the production as wine drinkers, concerned about the overall economy during COVID-19, retreated to less expensive wine.

The average price per bottle of wine shipped last year actually decreased by 9.5% to $36.83 per bottle, according to the report.

Jackson Family Wines shakes up distributor network

Jackson Family Wines has taken up new distributors in three states — Illinois, Minnesota and Pennsylvania — as it shuffles its wholesaling operation to keep up in the increasingly competitive retail sector.

Jackson Family Wines, the largest wine company based in Sonoma County, will be distributed in Illinois by Romano Beverage, a Chicago-based company that is operated by the third generation of the Romano family. In Minnesota, Jackson moved to Johnson Brothers, another family-operated business.

In Pennsylvania, the company has switched to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States. Jackson currently is distributed by Southern in 13 major markets.

The company also has agreements with Republic National Distributing Company in 13 major markets as well as Breakthru Beverage in a half dozen other states. Those two are the other large distributors in the country as that sector is under increasing consolidation.

“We’ve always gone this route in each state separately … and while these moves will shake things up a bit in the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic, it will be healthy overall for our award-winning portfolio,” said Bill O’Connor, executive vice president of sales for Jackson Family Wines.

Wine packaging event to be held later this month

A new virtual conference will be held later this month focused on wine packaging.

The Wine Industry Network will host the event that will include discussions and case studies on the category. Topics will include sustainability in packaging; the future of interactive branding; and how to drive consumer engagement.

The event will be held Aug. 25 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registration is free for wine industry professionals.

Compiled by Bill Swindell. Submit items to bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com.