In this week's roundup: Why Oregon wineries need to beware of complacency, US online alcohol sales hits $1.7B, celebrating women-owned wineries, and TTB releases revised 702 report.

Oregon’s ‘rocking’ wine industry advised to avoid complacency

Last year, the Nielsen consumer research company found that Oregon’s annual sales volume had increased 17 percent, compared to 2.3 percent for Washington, 3 percent for California and 2.8 percent for the U.S. However, Oregon’s wine producers should beware of becoming complacent now that their growth is outperforming regional and national competitors, experts say.

US online alcohol sales hits $1.7 billion

Analysts at Rabobank state that growth in online channels is “dwarfing that in brick-and-mortar retail”. Over the course of five years, off-premise alcohol sales had a CAGR of +1.44%, while sales from winery websites quadrupled, and on-demand delivery apps processed more than US$100m in annual sales in 2017 – up from zero in 2013.

Shining a light on Sonoma’s women-owned wineries

Amy Bess Cook has created a new website that aims to make it easier for wine consumers to find wines from woman-owned establishments. Woman-Owned Wineries of Sonoma County (wowsonoma.com) lists more than 40 producers who meet the criteria of being located in (or sourcing their fruit from) Sonoma County and having a female-identifying owner who plays an active role in the business.

TTB releases revised Report of Wine Premises Operations

Just in time for the February 15th due date, TTB posted a new version of the Report of Wine Premises Operations on their website. The new 5120.17 form, which is often referred to as a “702 report”, is listed on the website as a temporary version of the Report of Wine Premises Operations because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will end on December 31st, 2019 if Congress does not extend it. However, it’s very important to note that, even though the old 5120.17 form is still listed on TTB’s website, the temporary form must be used now through the end of next year.