News

Windsor, CA, January 18, 2023 — Vinoshipper, a leader in direct sales and compliance in the wine industry, has released its first annual report providing a unique and comprehensive perspective based on e-commerce transaction data from greater than 2,000 craft alcohol producers across more than 40 states.  

“We are pleased to release this important report that shows strength in direct sales across our industry,” said Vinoshipper CEO Steven Harrison. “The data shows us, that overall sales are trending upwards with a total revenue increase of 5.9%. Given the huge increase in sales seen by craft producers in 2020, this is excellent to see DTC sales continuing to build.” 

The report analyzes wine sales data across U.S. regions, demographics, varietals (including mead and cider) and unit price and quantity. For example, largely due to price increases, gross sales totals rose in California, Oregon, Virginia and Arizona. In California, a price per liter increase of 26.2 percent was large enough to outweigh a 16 percent decline in total liters sold. 

More details include:  

• 2022 reset the bar for price per liter across all products, with all three alcohol types (wine, cider and mead) extending to a three year high.  

• The largest rise in gross cart value per sale was in wine and sparkling, which increased 11.8% to $125.18, driven mainly by an increase in the price per liter. 

• Across the wine and sparkling alcohol type, the $20 - $30 category was the most popular product price category, at 33% of all liters sold, up from 31% in 2021. 

• Baby Boomers and GenXers increased their share of gross sales overall. 

The range of data includes micro to small wine, cider, and mead producers and represents nationwide craft alcohol direct to consumer sales. These are based on actual sales and are not projections or data modeling. 

About the Company
Vinoshipper is an end-to-end compliance, tax, and e-commerce platform that gives wineries, distilleries, and other alcohol producers the ability to sell directly to consumers while navigating the complexities of regulatory compliance and tax collection in real time.  

Read the entire report here.

For more information, please contact pr@vinoshipper.com, or visit www.vinoshipper.com.

Woodinville Wine Country adds Laura Hackenbracht to the team as 2023 gets off to a busy start. Stepping into a newly created role of Administrative Coordinator, Hackenbracht will oversee the management of the organizations scheduling, procedures, and the Woodinville Visitor Center. Along with aiding in the development of new member benefits, providing businesses that are part of the association with additional value.

Laura Hackenbracht grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from Western Washington University. Laura has over ten years of experience working in education organizations in various human resources and operational roles. She prides herself on her accomplishments helping organizations create processes and procedures that are effective, efficient, and customer service focused to better support employees and the community. When not at work, Laura enjoys hiking with her dog, rock climbing with her husband, dance parties with her toddler, and relaxing with a glass of wine or a cocktail. Laura is excited to bring her skills and enthusiasm to the administrative coordinator position with Woodinville Wine Country and contribute to making a positive impact on the region.

"We look forward to brining Laura onboard as her skills are a much needed element to the success of our organization," said executive director, Adam Acampora.

Hackenbracht starts her new role January 9th and can be contacted at Laura@woodinvillewinecountry.com

Woodinville, WA (November 7, 2022) - Woodinville Wine Country (WWC), a destination marketing and trade organization for the wine tourism industry in the greater Woodinville area, has secured a $10,000 Technical Assistance Grant from the State of Washington Tourism. With those funds, WWC will partner with Community Benchmark to launch a new initiative aimed at increasing business growth through coordinated comparison with their peers. Using Community Benchmark's proprietary algorithms, wineries in the WWC will be able to measure the relative success of their tasting rooms and discover new growth opportunities. This initiative is seen as an important step in developing Woodinville Wine Country into a premier wine tourism destination.

“We've been wanting to work with Woodinville wineries for some time. We are incredibly excited to be working with the Woodinville Wine Country to help each member winery and other wine tourism stakeholders be even more responsive to the regional trends.” says Founder, John Keleher. “I personally am excited to be a part of a new era in Woodinville Wine with their new leadership. Combining Woodinville information with what we're already doing in Walla Walla will create a much more complete picture of Washington Wine."

“Deploying Community Benchmark across our region is vital to us understanding the true impact the wine tourism industry has on our state and community.” said Adam Acampora, Executive Director of Woodinville Wine Country. “Having hard data readily available for our wineries and our partners will allow them to make smart decisions in how they grow their operations. While giving WWC the ability to better deploy our marketing resources in attracting new tourists to the region.”

The use of this economic analytic system would not have been possible without funding made available through a new Grant Program created by the State of Washington Tourism. The Technical Assistance grant was designed to subsidize the cost of industry specific expertise for tourism related projects.

“A review committee of industry experts believed research and data from this project would support Woodinville Wine Country in several ways.” said Matt Ozuna, Destination Development Manager with SWT. “It will help assess economic impact, marketing strategy, and competitiveness with wine destinations across the U.S. The Technical Assistance Grant from the SWT will allow Woodinville Wine Country to track and analyze metrics associated with those key objectives.”

In the coming months, WWC will work with its winery members to ensure a critical mass of wineries participate with Community Benchmark to ensure sample success. The initial sign up period kicks off November 10th, 2022.

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About Woodinville Wine Country

Woodinville Wine Country is a 501(c)(6) destination marketing and trade association who represents the growing presence of the Washington state wine industry in the Greater Woodinville area. The association’s mission is to serve our members, by supporting the development and promotion of a world-class wine tourism destination.

About State of Washington Tourism

SWT is a 501(c)(6) organization and serves as the official destination marketing organization for the State of Washington. It has and will continue to work closely with destination organizations, rural communities, tribes, and tourism/hospitality-related small businesses in Washington State. Its mission centers on destination promotion and destination development across the state. SWT procures and administers funds for statewide destination promotion activities, including strategic marketing plans and community-based destination development projects.

About Community Benchmark

Community Benchmark is a privately held company based in Santa Rosa, California. Founded by John Keleher, Community Benchmark uses proprietary algorithms to measure the relative success of tasting rooms and helps wineries discover new growth opportunities. Industry experts, including Wine Business Monthly serve as advisors to Community Benchmark. For more information visit communitybenchmark.com. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

SEATTLE (September 29, 2022) –Taste Washington, the nation’s largest single-region wine & food festival, will return March 9-12, 2023. This year’s festival will feature the iconic two-day Grand Tasting on March 11 & 12, featuring over 250 wineries alongside dozens of the state’s best restaurants. Other favorite events will also return, including The New Vintage, Sunday Brunch, and the celebrated Seminar Series calling together some of the nation’s leading wine experts. New this year, the festival welcomes Pacific Standard, a nautically inclined evening on the Piers, and a highly anticipated Dinner Series, bringing wine lovers and winemakers together to enjoy a meal prepared by premier chefs. The Washington State Wine Commission has teamed up with Seattle-based production company SE Productions to bring Taste Washington back for its 24th year after a three-year hiatus. “We’re excited to be working with SE Productions to relaunch our beloved Taste Washington,” said Chris Stone, VP of Marketing and Communications for the Washington State Wine Commission. “Taste Washington is a pinnacle festival for our state, and we can’t wait to see the Washington wine family gathering together in Seattle this March for the best one yet!” Long-time production partner, Visit Seattle, will act as a consultant this first year back to maintain the spirit of the festival. “We are honored to have played a role in the evolution of Taste Washington and are thrilled to pass the baton to the incredible SE Productions team and will be cheering them on as they take the event into its next chapter. Between the passion and vision from the SE team and the unparalleled wine and food offerings of this region – it is sure to be a can’t-miss festival,” says Ali Daniels, Senior Vice President / Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Seattle. SE Productions is rooted in the culinary industry with established chef relationships through their many food & beverage experiences including their most recent event Field To Table, the first ever dining series on a professional sports field. In addition to the incredible lineup of Washington wines, guests can anticipate an impressive culinary integration for the 2023 festival. “Our team is thrilled to produce this festival alongside the Washington State Wine Commission. Many of our chef partners have shared their enthusiastic support for our new venture with Taste Washington and look forward to creating innovative dishes to showcase alongside the incredible variety of wines that Washington has to offer,” says Sam Minkoff, co-founder of SE Productions. “As a past participant in Taste events, I am incredibly excited to see what this powerful team will do with the organization,” says Chef Kristi Brown of Communion. “I feel that SE Productions’ vision, coupled with the legacy of the Washington State Wine Commission, is a partnership that will know no limits to great success.” Tickets for Taste Washington are expected to launch in early December on the Taste Washington website. Sign up for the Taste Washington newsletter to stay up to date on announcements.