The total value of direct shipment of wines from wineries to consumer has been measured as over $1.4bn annually, according to the data collected by ShipCompliant and Wines & Vines.

Winery-to-consumer shipments grew by 11.5% to 2.98 million cases during the year ended April 2012 and for the same period sales for the nine liter case were up by 8.2%.

In terms of volume, the consumer direct shipments saw growth during the period from May 2011 to April 2012, however, wineries with production capacities of 1,000-5,000 cases saw 3.8% decrease in shipped cases.

Whereas, the average bottling price increased by 15% over the 12-month period ending April 2012.

According to the study, California wineries topped the list again with 84% of direct-to-consumer shipped wines during the 12-months period, where Napa Valley wineries were the main source of wines shipped accounting 34% of the total wines shipped.

While the overall average price per bottle was $37.69, the average price per bottle of Napa Valley wines was $55.31.

Among the wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay topped the list with 58% of wines being shipped directly from winery-to-consumer during the 12-month period ending April 2012.

The wines were shipped to only three states of California, Texas and New York and accounted for nearly 50% of all wines shipped to consumers from wineries.