Supply Chain Delays Could Soon Leave Wine Glasses Empty
RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) — Supply chain delays could soon leave your wine glasses empty, but the problem isn't the grapes, it's the packaging.
You may see labels for a local craft beer rolling through the printer, but the owner of Capitol Label in Rancho Cordova sees paper he'll need to reorder—and fast.
"We don't want to over order and have it sit here too long, but we don't want to run short," owner Michael Mellon said.
Transporation, logistics and weather—the same supply chain issues we've heard before hit this label business at every step.
"Adhesives which have been affected by the Texas freeze and you've got paper stuck at the ports," Mellon said.
The two key components of a label are now harder to come by.
When it comes to alcohol, it's bigger than the design because "you can't be compliant with state laws without a label," Mellon said.
It's not just the stuff on the outside of the bottle—shortages impact every part of production.
"He said, we are out of all wine bottles," one winemaker said of a recent conversation with his bottle vendor. "I ordered a container from China of the bottles we need. The first container took a month or two longer to arrive in port and cost me 50% more than I was initially quoted because of price increases."
Both companies rely on goods shipped to the Port of Oakland
No surprise, more than 99% of containerized goods in Northern California move through it, either in or out. But right now, a lot of those goods are stuck at the port—and just not making it there.
That forces wineries to get creative.
Voluptuary and Lucid Wines is about to pivot to a new supply chain for bottles that look different but are available.
All eyes are on California ports right now as a solution to the backups. About 40% of all container cargo in the U.S. arrives through western ports, and 30% of the country's exports go out this way.