(PD) - Wine shipments increased 1.3 percent in the United States last year, continuing a more than 20-year expansion for the sector even as it undergoes tremendous changes in the way wine is distributed and sold.

U.S. and foreign wineries sold approximately 403 million cases in the United States last year, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by bw 166, a Santa Rosa consulting firm, at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, the largest wine industry trade show in North America.

Consumers spent $41.4 billion on wine at U.S. retail outlets last year, an increase of almost 3 percent from the previous year, according to Danny Barger, senior vice president of the beverage alcohol practice at Nielsen.