Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/299589
ton. Let's look at some of the data and what it reveals about important trends affecting wineries and growers. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL STRATEGIES Given the ongoing changes in con- sumer buying behavior, it's important to understand the channels wineries are selling through and whether certain chan- nel strategies are gaining better traction than others. This is particularly true of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, which is receiving increasing attention redible financial data about the wine industry isn't easy to find, which makes it difficult for own- ers and managers to compare their business performance against the competition. That's why Moss Adams LLP and its sponsors, the Farm Credit Alliance and Turrentine Brokerage, con- ducted the 2013 Wine Industry Financial Benchmarking Report. It was designed to offer wineries, grapegrowers and negociants key insights, with data col- lected from 166 wine-related businesses across California, Oregon and Washing- BY JEFF GUTSCH, STEVE FREDRICKS AND BILL RODDA Increases in direct-to-consumer sales, social media usage reported FINANCIAL SURVEY TRENDS WINE INDUSTRY BENCHMARKING HIGHLIGHTS 9 6 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m