Wines & Vines reports that thanks to a 10% increase in value, and a 7.7% increase in volume, the growth of U.S. wines shipped directly to the consumer has outpaced the overall growth of wine sales last year. That 10% increase in volume equates to $1.46 billion, and as you can see from the chart above, very small, and small wineries account for the lion's share of direct-to-consumer shipments. 

Another interesting bit of information from the article is that wineries from Napa County continued to dominate sales, shipping $713 million worth of wine, although this region's small wineries under-performed in the overall wine-shipping channel, increasing their sales by only 8%. Head on over to Wines & Vines to read the rest of the article. 

In what is undoubtedly a good sign for the wine industry, and the economy in general, Wines & Vines reports that winery hiring activity is surging - to the tune of 31% in March compared to a year ago. According to the article, the strong level of hiring in winery hospitality jobs pushed the overall index of job postings to its highest level since its inception in January 2007. 

The increase in hiring isn't the only good news to come out of the Wine Industry Metrics report for March. Off-premise wine sales also grew by 6% annually with $403M in march. All in all, a lot of great news. To read more, head over to Wines & Vines and check out the full article. 

Los Angeles Magazine has an interesting article busting five of the top "wine myths" in an effort to clear up some common misconceptions about wine. Here's their list:

- Aerators are the best way to decant your wine
- Red wines should not be chilled
- Plastic corks and screw caps signal cheap wine
- The best way to find a great value-priced wine is to comparison shop online
- If you really want a great bottle of wine, you have to pay good money for it

Of course, the original article goes into depth about why each of these are indeed myths, so be sure to head on over to lamag.com to read the rest of the article. What are your thoughts about these? Did they leave some important ones out?

For an additional 10% surcharge, we will sandblast a hole in the bottom of the bottle to prevent future filling.

 

Please note: the sale prices listed above only include the blackening service, and do not include the bottles. However, Etched Images carries a full line of large format bottles, from 1.5 liters to 12 liters, and corks to fulfill your needs! To place an order for blackened bottles, please call Darla at (707) 252-5450, or email her at darla@etchedimages.com. 

NPR has an interesting article on their website stating that both consumption and production of wine in the U.S. is on the rise. In fact, we have now overtaken the French and the Italians as the largest wine market. More importantly, production of wine in the U.S. is at an all time high, with new wineries joining the foray in many regions people wouldn't normally associate with vineyards: Texas, Ohio, Hawaii, and even Alaska(!). What I've found most interesting in the article is the discussion about mid-American climates not being ideally suited to grape growing, but that new varieties like Traminette and Norton have been bred to survive the harsher climates. These new varieties of grapes are producing new wines with their own character with no influence of French or Italian wines in it. It's a pretty interesting read, so head over to NPR's website for the full article. 

We're starting a new segment for this blog where we'll introduce you to key members of the Etched Images team. We'll kick things off with Darla Cook.

According to this article on Oregonlive.com, lawmakers are preparing to vote on whether to allow consumers to purchase wine from restaurants, stores, and wineries using refillable growlers, as is common practice with beer from microbreweries. One of the bill's co-sponsors states that the practice is commonplace in other countries such as Chile and Spain. 

Here's how it would work: wineries would fill a keg with wine and ship it to a store or eatery that is licensed to sell alcohol. Customers could then bring in (or initially purchase) a refillable container of up to 2 gallons in size, have it filled up and then take it home. 

Obviously, this practice will never take off with wines at the higher-end of the quality spectrum due to the degradation that occurs once the wine is exposed to the air, but I could certainly see this becoming a fun way to enjoy more casual wines in a low-key setting. What are your thoughts on the matter? Be sure to head over to Oregonlive.com to read the rest of the article! 

Here's a great infographic I just ran across at a neat site called winefolly.com. It breaks down almost 200 different varietals by their basic tastes to help you find other types of wine that you may like based on your favorites. Are you a fan of a classic cabernet sauvignon? Maybe try Super Tuscan, Priorat, or Tempranillo next time and see what you think! Be sure to check out winefolly.com, and click the image above to take a look at the full size version!