(Forbes) - The wine business market research and consulting firm BW166, LLC  recently reported that in October 2018 U.S. wine sales reached $4.3 billion; domestic table wines were up nearly 6%. BW166 also says that over the twelve month period ending in October 2018, total wine sales in the U.S. rose nearly 5%, at $71 billion, of which almost $48 billion accounted for domestic wine sales, an increase of 4%.

Jobs at wineries increased over the period, too: the finance sector grew by 100% and general administration by 81%. Activity in the Direct to Consumer (DtC) market was also up. DtC staff grew by 56% to accommodate an overall increase in DtC shipments over the same twelve months by 22%.