North Bay Business Journal

Shipments of wine directly to consumers from wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties, accounting for 69 percent of such shipments from U.S. sources, last year grew at 8.0 percent and 10.1 percent in value, respectively, helping push U.S. winery-to-consumer shipment value past that of wine exports for the first time, according to a new study.

NAPA — Wine direct sales and fulfillment provider WineDirect today said it acquired a Canadian company from which it has been licensing website, e-commerce and social networking technology for the past two years.

SONOMA — Increasing sales of wine plus greater demand for direct shipments has fulfillment services provider Wineshipping packing for a major expansion to Napa Valley.

NAPA — Microworks Technologies, a locally based developer of direct sales management software for the wine industry, is expanding as the needs of wineries for their tasting rooms, wine clubs and other direct-to-consumer channels change.

Three stories provide background for the the Business Journal’s Wine Industry Conference 2011 on April 28: 1. There is a “huge wave” of wine-related mergers and acquisitions coming, according to one lender to the industry. It’s in this environment that the Business Journal asked several significant and diverse players in California wine mergers and acquisitions market about their strategies for building portfolios. They will be part of the Mergers and Acquisitions discussion panel at the conference. 2. The Business Journal also asked the four members of the Direct Sales and Social Media panel for the conference about trends in sales of wine directly to consumers and use of social media in that endeavor. 3. There is much anticipation within both the wine industry and greater financial markets that 2011 will see a noticeable increase in dollars being spent both at the consumer level and in acquisition activity. Wine mergers and acquisitions transaction consultancy Zepponi & Company explores the widely varying motivations, expectations and investment time horizons of the five groups of historically active acquirers in the wine industry.

SANTA ROSA — Provino Premium Wines is expanding to accommodate a sales force to sell wines over the phone for a growing number of client vintners.

NAPA — A new 62,000-square-foot wine storage and fulfillment facility in Napa is part of a trend toward warehouses offering a wider range of logistics services.

WINDSOR – Pack n’ Ship Direct, a wine consumer direct logistics, deep storage and compliance service, announced a new strategic alliance and warehouse/shipping venue with Central Coast Wine Services in Santa Maria.

CARNEROS — The Ceja family of winegrape growers, vintners and restaurateurs is pushing to start construction this fall on the first phase of a multimillion-dollar winery project among its vines on the Napa County side of Los Carneros winegrowing region.

NAPA — VinAccess, eWinery Solutions and VinoVisit Inc. joined forces to provide French and Italian wineries with an integrated direct-to-consumer platform to promote tourism and sales to American consumers.

NAPA — IBG, formerly Inertia Beverage Group, closed a $7 million round of additional funding to support soon-to-be launched enhancements to its wine direct-shipping services to consumers and trade accounts.

WINDSOR – Alexander Valley Cellars is racking up more capacity to store, transport and ship wine as it has picked up a number of customers in the past year and is moving more wine out to the trade and consumers.

NORTH BAY — What’s it worth to you? It’s a vital question vintners need to ask themselves, regardless of whether they are looking to sell a luxury-tier wine to consumers more conscious of spending on such luxuries or to court an investor in all or part of the business, according to experts set to speak at a wine business conference this week in Santa Rosa.

PETALUMA and SANTA ROSA — Two competing wine casegoods warehouses in Sonoma County this spring plan to collaborate on a new direct-to-consumer shipping venture through a recently launched local provider of wine order fulfillment and regulatory compliance services.

SONOMA – The first members-only private sale company focusing exclusively on wine launched last week. Tony and Danielle Westfall formed Winery Insider, www.wineryinsider.com, to offer members access to hundreds of wines from around the world at 40 percent to 80 percent off retail prices.

Also: Auction set for Manchester Ridge vineyards

NOVATO — A federal judge in Wisconsin today tossed out a trademark-infringement case against tiny Novato-based Trek Winery LLC brought by Trek Bicycle Corp., one of the largest bike manufacturers in North America.

NAPA — Wine e-commerce software developer and provider eWinery Solutions is expanding its headquarters to accommodate a 60 percent growth in revenue and 120 more winery clients in the past year.

NAPA — The new owner of New Vine of Napa today said a bankruptcy filing by New Vine Inc. won’t affect operations of the large wine-order fulfillment provider.

NORTH COAST — The Internet retail giant Amazon.com has dropped plans to sell wine.

“I can confirm Amazon will not be getting into the wine business,” said Tracy Ogden, a spokesman for the Seattle-based company. He declined to elaborate.