Rhetoric is heating up about direct sales in the wine and spirits industry. As with many other industries, technology and the Internet are bringing inevitable changes that create friction for the establishment, in this case the Three Tier System that includes wholesalers and retailers, who also stand to benefit from the expansion of the market. Like we saw in the music and publishing industries, consumers, equipped with their smartphones, have more buying power and selection than ever.
While those on various sides of the debate attack each other's credibility and motivations, the data shows us that direct sales using an e-commerce platform, such as Vinoshipper, among others, are safe, reliable, and good for consumer, producers, and states for tax collection. Direct sales grew by almost 14 percent in the U.S. last year, setting a record at $4.2 billion in 2021.
While alcoholic beverages require stricter regulations than other consumer products, technology enhances our ability to enforce age-verification measures.
As mentioned in previous articles, there are four main areas regulators are focused on, including Age-verification, Licensing and Tax Compliance, and Auditability. Think of the four areas as ALTA.
Currently legal in 47 states, more jurisdictions are adopting policies to allow the direct shipping of wine, with many considering expansion to include beer and spirits. In growing numbers, regulators and lawmakers are well versed on the issues and understand the value e-commerce brings, including better compliance, tax revenue, reporting, and accountability.
“We encourage the states to examine the effects of their regulations on small producers and their ability to compete, including their access to distribution,” says a February 2022 report from the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In California, Senators Dodd, McGuire, and Allen have authored bills progressive for the state’s wine industry, particularly those wineries impacted by the pandemic and wildfires.
American consumers are well-accustomed to easy transactions through the convenience of technology. They expect more from their institutions and have less tolerance for rhetoric and politics from prohibition-era institutions who are fighting inevitable change.
"Digital solutions for monitoring every stage of fermentation & ageing in real time on wines, beers and spirits"
Founded in 2018, Onafis designs and markets its products to wineries at end of 2020. More than 3 years of R&D had been necessary to develop the first tools for monitoring and managing the production of wines, beers and spirits.
Onafis has become the essential precision oenology tool for securing and monitoring each stage of production, from alcoholic fermentation to ageing. Thanks to these connected sensors and data intelligence, Onafis offers decision support tools allowing the wineries to adapt their actions and their inputs accordingly with significantly gains in energy consumption and handlings.
This innovative solution adaptable to all working methods, which combines tradition and data intelligence, has already proven its relevance and reliability in many wineries in France : from small family estates to the Premiers Grands Crus Classés in Bordeaux. Onafis is now present in the different territories in France, in Spain and now in the United States, supporting around a hundred of wineries in 2023.Vivelys America is Onafis’ natural partner to support American wineries that wish to be equipped with Onafis sensors.
Title | Name | Phone | Extension | |
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US local referent | Pierre Le Coustumer | pierre@onafis.com | 7079129664 |
Locations | Address | State | Country | Zip Code |
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Onafis | 149 stony circle, Santa Rosa | CA | United States of America | 95401 |