WEEKLY HOT LINKS ROUNDUP - Saturday February 11th, 2023

CREATED BY WINE INDUSTRY INSIGHT

TOP NEWS ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Wine – The Glass is Half Full

"Over the past several weeks, two key industry reports have indicated the glass is half empty. First, from Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the Wine Industry Report 2023, one writer recapped, “Younger consumers are not reaching for wine in anything like the older consumers did.” Many other writers conveyed similar points. Second, the 2023 Direct to Consumer Shipping Report by Sovos/ShipCompliant and WinesVines Analytics, resulted in headlines like “DTC wine volume and values fell in 2022.” While the points are both technically correct, looking deeper into the data provides positive highlights for the wine industry.

Looking at the DTC report, not enough focus was placed on the bubble the industry saw in DTC shipments during the pandemic. The below chart shows a linear trend since 2009. The industry saw abnormally large increases in DTC shipments, well above the trend line, driven by the pandemic. While consumer spending declined in 2022, it merely reverted to the pre-pandemic trend.".......

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Read on for the rest of the top news articles of the week!

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• California Wine Grape Crush Report to be Released February 10th, 2023
• Beer, Spirits, & Wine – Packaged Imports Grow +9% By Value L12M through December 2022, Packaged Exports Grow +19%
• Retailers Cautiously Optimistic On 2023 Outlook [paywall?]
• Retail Players Adapt To Pricing Fluctuations, Fast-Changing Trends [paywall?]

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California fines E. & J. Gallo for wastewater in Merced River [paywall?]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Resistance is Futile – Agriculture is Key to Fixing Lower Colorado River Water Shortages

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• The DTC Alcohol Boom Is Over (podcast)
• The Future of Direct-to-Consumer Wine: How AI and ChatGPT are Transforming the Industry
• Younger people are turning away from wine. It's caused by everyone worrying about younger people turning away from wine.
• Further Exploring Wine’s Challenges With Younger Consumers (podcast)
• Reports Say Young Drinkers Are Over Wine. What Do Winemakers Think? [paywall?]

HEALTH

• The “Low And No” Trend: Momentum Continues For De-Alcoholized Drinks [paywall?]

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Consumers care about sustainability—and back it up with their wallets

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Margins? What Margins? The Big Squeeze in Winegrowing 2023

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Bonhams Owner Taps Bank for $1 Billion Sale of Auction House [paywall?]

DATA & TRENDS

• Consumers Are Shifting Spending Toward Products With ESG-Related Claims
• Can Bar Charts Bias Your Interpretation Of Data? (Yep!)
• Most Popular Super Bowl LVII Advertisers: Beer, Spirits & Snacks (No Vino)
• China Ownership Of US Farmland Is A Flashpoint, But May Be A Non-Starter.

MARKETING & SALES

• Pay to Play in the wine industry — not breaking news!
• Crypto Is Out, Wine Is In For Super Bowl Ads

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Are Labeling Requirements for the Alcohol Industry Misguided?
• Wine Market Council Research Reveals What Consumers Think About Ingredient and Nutrition Labels on Wine

This Special Issue of NewsFetch was hand-crafted for you by Editor Becca Yeamans-Irwin (The Academic Wino) and Executive Editor, Lewis Perdue.