Cheers! Two nights ago, my wife and I raised our glasses of champagne and celebrated receiving our second COVID vaccine shots. The bottle we opened was from Mousse Fils, located in the village of Cuisles, France. Four years ago, we had had the pleasure of touring the vineyard and enjoyed a tasting with the owner, Cedric Mousse. And since then, we have celebrated every New Years’ and special occasion with this champagne. During our travels, (back when we could), we picked up a supply of this champagne at wine stores in New York and San Francisco. Unfortunately, after our recent “COVID” New Years’ eve, we ran out. Days later, searching the internet, I located a source, and six days later we had our champagne! It was not my first online wine purchase, but it made me curious as to whether I was part of a growing trend?
Writing in Wine Business Monthly, Andrew Adams reports that: “Winery direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipments and off-premise sales saw double-digit gains at the start of 2021. DTC shipments grew 21% to nearly $165 million in January, while off-premise sales increased 23%. “All price tiers again north of $11 continued to grow at a rapid pace,” relates Danny Brager in his regular monthly report on the shipping channels, which are tracked through a collaboration of analytics companies.
Brager who is a former Nielsen Vice President and now runs his beverage alcohol consultancy said Napa and Oregon wines were “standout” leaders in growth as well as rosé and sparkling wine followed by Sauvignon Blanc. While sales growth had slowed during November and December it appears at-home celebrations in January helped push growth back to levels previously seen from June through October. Here at Skolnik Industries, you’ll say “cheers” to our stainless steel wine barrels. Note that our stainless steel wine barrels are reusable, easy to clean, and recyclable at the end of their service life. Check out the full line of our Stainless Steel Wine Drums here.