🍸Cheers and Happy Holidays!

As we are off to a long weekend for the holidays, what better time to look at the wine delivery services industry. Online alcohol sales have already thrived as a result of COVID-19 according to studies by Nielsen, by a whopping 477% and we wouldn’t expect less during this Christmas holiday. 

• Drizly is an online marketplace for alcohol and has grown tremendously as a result of the pandemic, helping customers buy from independent alcohol retailers nearby. They reported 350% growth from last year and doubled the number of retailers since January. It also received equity funding in August led by Avenir. The company was established in 2012 in Sherborn, Massachusetts. 
• Minibar was founded in 2013 in New York and offers alcohol delivery through its platform. It is available in a number of large cities and recently expanded into Georgia, Atlanta. The platform even offers weekly or monthly subscription services partnering with local retailers. 
• Ironstone Vineyards from Murphys, California sells its wines produced from its winery online. Like many wineries that also relies on actual foot traffic, the pandemic has done a hard toll. Most have survived with online tasting experiences, sales promotions, and curbside picking. Ironstone Vineyards remains optimistic and has not cut back on its wine production this year. 
• Abita Brewing was founded in 1986 in Covington, Louisiana, and is one of the biggest local breweries there. Craft beer became a growing trend in the 1990s, especially among millennials, although modern craft beer dates back to the 1960s. The company offers many signature and seasonal beers and is even sold in one of the Disney World locations in Florida. 
• Yankee Spirits is located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and operates four alcohol superstores selling wine, beer, and spirits, and they proclaim to be the largest in New England by volume by utilizing warehouse space to purchase in volume, while also leveraging their online portal to continue to sell to customers during the pandemic.