According to Wine Industry Insight, imports are up 11% for the year 2012 and now make up 35% of the total market.
How does this breakdown compare to your sales? [level-members] We expect to see regional variations – more California, Washington, and Oregon sales on the west coast – but as smaller retailers carving out your own niche in your community, do you find that you rely more or less on big-name, broad-distribution wines?
We hope less. It’s not that small producers make better wines, but that solid, interesting wines from small producers provide a real point of differentiation from your big-box and online competition. [/level-members]