Tasting Room Survey Report featured in May WBM

Wine Business Monthly’s sixth annual “Tasting Room Survey Report” by Cyril Penn, to be published in the May issue, looks at trends in direct to consumer sales. This year’s report finds that most winery DTC sales have stabilized and even increased into 2010 and the first quarter of 2011.

The report shows that, overall, most wineries are reporting robust growth in their tasting rooms. However, some tasting room managers said rising gas prices are affecting traffic, particularly for those far from urban centers. Further, wineries said that compliance and regulatory issues still loom large as barriers to growth.

The survey also reports on whether SKUs have increased, decreased or stayed the same; and it covers wine club attrition rates, incentives paid to staff for wine club signups, and more.

In another tasting room article in May, “Take Stock of Your Tasting Room,” writer Michael S. Lasky hunts down the best-selling non-wine merchandise in tasting rooms and talks with tasting room and marketing consultants to find ways wineries can stock and display items that may help increase their profits.

The article includes a list of “sales sizzlers,” products Lasky has chosen for their uniqueness, improved and practical designs and instant visual appeal. In addition, he checked in with wineries across the U.S. to find out what items are flying off the shelves. As Lasky said, “Local items move like express trains.”