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AmericanWinery.com Hits The 1,000 Mark: Over 1,000 Wineries Signed On

Plus, New Site Features Make Shopping For Wine Online Easier

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WALLA WALLA, Wash.—With over 1,000 wineries now registered at the fastest growing web-based wine marketplace, AmericanWinery.com continues to enhance and dramatically improve the process by which consumers can buy wine direct from wine producers in the United States.

Two important new features launched today at AmericanWinery.com promise to take that experience one step further. The site’s much-anticipated live search and browse functions provide the most relevant means for consumers to search for wine to buy. With this, wineries can now take greater control in marketing their wines online by setting their own shipping or case discount structure on demand.

Launched in early 2007, AmericanWinery.com provides a web-based marketplace and drives direct wine sales to U.S. wineries via the Internet, the fastest growing channel for wine sales in the industry. By selling direct to consumers through AmericanWinery.com, wineries have complete control in marketing their wines at no charge, from running a dedicated marketing profile to setting pricing and discounts via the site’s Consumer Direct Marketplace, all the while retaining the maximum profit on their wine sales.

Likewise, online shoppers can access thousands of wine releases, rate and review wines, and place orders from multiple wineries at one time. Wineries ship wines directly to consumers from their location and AmericanWinery.com manages all transactions, order processing and customer service.

Lloyd Benedict, CEO and Founder, says signing on with AmericanWinery.com is a sensible marketing move for any winery today, no matter what size. “We’re bringing dedicated wine consumers directly to the door and helping winemakers retain more cash from the sale of their wines,” says Benedict. AmericanWinery.com puts an emphasis on service and circumvents the traditional three-tier system that utilizes distributors, leaving more profits for wineries, and more control over how their brands are positioned.

Since its inception, AmericanWinery.com has aimed to provide consumers with the easiest way to find and purchase wine on the web. CEO Benedict states, “With the release of these new search filters, we’re giving wine shoppers faster and more accurate results and enabling them to ‘browse’ in real time. We know that people commonly search by varietals then pricing. Now wines can be selected based on special discounts offered as well, like 1¢ shipping or case discounts. It’s giving the winemakers an edge.”

And it’s a formula that’s proving to be wildly successful. To date, over 1,000 participating wineries have posted profiles for 4,000 wines, accessible through AmericanWinery.com’s enhanced browser. 150 wineries are utilizing the site’s Consumer Direct Marketplace to make over 750 wines available for purchase. Benedict projects the Marketplace will host over 2,000 wines for sale by April, signifying a 35% growth in wine offerings for the first quarter of this year.

One winery reaping the benefits of selling direct at AmericanWinery.com is Lancaster Estate Winery in Healdsburg, California. “Lancaster Estate chose AmericanWinery.com to sell our wines because we felt – out of the many online selling opportunities – they provide the demographic, the marketing and selling requirements needed to support our brand positioning,” says Jason Williams, Lancaster Estate Direct Sales and Marketing Director. Lancaster Estate's acclaimed 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was recently awarded 97 points in Wine and Spirits Magazine, along with number two placement on Wine and Spirits Top 100 of 2007, making it highly sought after by collectors and wine consumers. It is available exclusively through AmericanWinery.com’s Consumer Direct Marketplace.

Benedict predicts a banner year for online wine purchases and expects to see AmericanWinery.com grow accordingly. Traffic to the site has grown by 80% in just five months and wine sales are on target to accelerate with expansion. States Benedict, “Our company theme for 2008 is ‘Support Your Local Winemaker’. With so many new features available on the site and more in the works, buying wine online from U.S. winemakers is not only easier, it just makes sense.”

The AmericanWinery.com LLC (Walla Walla, Washington) is a direct marketing company servicing U.S. wineries and wine consumers via their website www.AmericanWinery.com Service includes a hosted marketplace with online storefront, web-based marketing campaigns, order processing, customer service and a secure payment gateway for credit card transactions. The service is free for wineries to use and free for consumers to browse. AmericanWinery.com passes 90% of the sale of wine back to the winery – and is committed to helping wineries build their brands, realize more profit while providing wine consumers with the easiest and most enjoyable experience when purchasing wines direct from American wineries.