“‘A lot of brands are dead but they don’t even know it right now,’ echoed Michael Honig, president of Honig Vineyard & Winery in Napa Valley."
Obviously there have been numerous threads on this topic here, but this latest article goes into detail on the current realities (mass sales decline, lowest total wine sales in 10 years), as well as possible causes.
This ebbing tide apparently beaches all ships:
“‘So far this year we’re down 10% (in sales), which is the first time in 17 years we’ve ever been down,’ said Morgan Twain-Peterson…”
It appears that this sharp downturn basically represents a post-pandemic market correction.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/california-wine-industry-downturn-18711236.php
Friggin paywall, can someone post this?
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It’s sad but some of these grape prices are insane. Something has to give
If Bedrock is down 10%, I can only imagine how everyone else is doing.
I think we’ll see more discounted wine.
I was shocked to see one of my favorites on WTSO. There’s more of that to come.
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Did people really expect year over year growth? People are lamenting the current state of the industry, but this is a natural part of the business cycle. I fully understand and sympathize with folks livelihoods being in jeopardy, but when the herd gets too large to be sustained by the market then it is time to cull it. Covid gave folks a false sense of security and we are simply returning back to pre-2020 consumption habits.
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Year over year same store sales are a major metric for retail sales. Lots of emphasis on annual growth.
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Maybe I should clarified, I supposed I meant traditionally unnatural growth, if 2000-2019 you grew 5% and then 2020-2023 you grew 20% but your business model was static I would assume that’s worth noting and accounting for. Maybe that’s the cynic in me that if it’s too good to be true then it probably is.
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What is it adjusted for inflation?
Those are case sales not dollars
Ah, fair. I guess I would also be curious about per capita consumption rates.
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It’s be inters to see how much of Bedrocks overall sales are DTC vs wholesale and how that’s changed over the last 5 years . . .
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Are you experiencing the same?
My pantry is certainly full. It’s beyond full. It’s piss off the wife beyond full, and I am done. That’s a lot of wine that won’t be sold this year and beyond. I doubt I am the only one. That said, I did push the sales curve up for a very long time.
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And yet Bedrock’s prices appeared way up for the last release, at least that was my impression. If sales are down, I do not think that’s the right approach. I think these wines are fairly priced, but up is up.
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Certain wines have definitely gone up. I can remember when the high end was $40. Now the high end is double or more than that.
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I have often said there will always be another good wine, as an excuse to pass on something. That may become more and more and more true.
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If you were the owner and operator of the winery, and your costs (equipment, goods, shipping…) have all gone up, what would you do?
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