For the last 15 years, the compound annual growth rate of total wine sales in the U.S. has been roughly 3.7 percent, according to BW166. The pace of growth slowed in 2017, however, and the apparent deceleration of growth left winery executives scratching their heads. As 2017 drew to a close, BW166 was forecasting U.S. wine sales would end up growing by about 2.5 percent for the year, the slowest rate in more than a decade—but a healthy overall rate of growth, nonetheless. Nielsen data reports much the same. “Our numbers certainly show that wine sales have slowed down versus where they were,” Nielsen senior vice president, beverage alcohol practice, Danny Brager observed. “They’re still growing but not to the ...