(Wines&Vines) - U.S. wineries appear to be actively hiring for the upcoming summer tourism season and harvest.  The Winery Job Index rose by 34% in April compared to April 2014, and this was the largest monthly gain in 2015.

The index, based on postings to winejobs.com, also grew 19% compared to the past 12-month period. Each of the subcategory indexes—winemaking, sales and marketing, and hospitality—also rose in April. Winemaking grew 34%, and the hospitality index rose by a whopping 54% compared to April 2014.

Increased winery hiring activity also came with strong direct-to-consumer shipments, steady growth in off-premise sales and a surge in wine offers by flash websites, according to the latest wine industry metrics report by Wines Vines Analytics.

Off-premise sales of domestic table wine and sparkling wine combined grew by 5% in April compared to April 2014, according to IRI, maintaining a 12-month growth rate of 5% for the fifth consecutive month.

Focus on white varietals

Since white wine season is approaching, Wines & Vines looked at white wine varietals for this month’s off-premise report, and especially the white wine that is the top-selling varietal overall: Chardonnay. Sales of Chardonnay from all countries totaled $1.9 billion and 24 million cases during the past 12 months in the U.S. stores analyzed by IRI, the market-research firm based in Chicago, Ill.

Chardonnay’s growth rate was 3% in value but just 1% in volume, reflecting the same disparity between dollars and volume that the entire market has been experiencing. While those are not big growth percentages, Chardonnay dominates the market so much that it’s instructive to look at which price segments within the varietal account for the most sales and which are contributing most to its expansion.

Overall sales are highest for Chardonnay priced at $5-$7.99 per bottle; the next two higher priced segments are in second and third place. But the huge $5-$7.99 category shrank by 3% during the past 12 months, while every higher priced segment grew.

The change in sales data for Chardonnay captures the dynamic of the market as a whole: very slow volume growth but a definite move up the price ladder by the average consumer. Chardonnay priced $8-$10.99 rose 3%; $11-$14.99 rose 9%; $15-$19.99 rose 8%, and bottles priced $20 and more rose 15%.

Wines & Vines reports on off-premise wine sales using IRI’s broadest measure, the multi-outlet and C-store category collected from checkout scan data. Stores whose sales are tallied in this category include supermarkets, drugstores, mass-market retailers, gas and convenience stores, military commissaries and selected club and dollar retail chains.