Willamette Valley Vineyards Q3 Revenue Rises 6.6% as Loss Narrows

Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI ) reported on November 12, 2026 that third-quarter net sales rose 6.6% to US$8.90 million, while its net loss narrowed 3.8% to $1.05 million. Distributor sales generated nearly all of the revenue growth, but higher accrued preferred dividends kept the result unchanged at a $0.33 loss per common share after preferred dividends, according to the company’s quarterly filing.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2026, distributor sales increased by $491,859, compared with a $56,402 rise in direct sales. Management attributed the direct-sales gain primarily to higher tasting-room sales. Distributors accounted for 47.3% of total sales, up from 44.5% a year earlier.

The channel economics were mixed. Distributor contribution margin, defined as gross profit less directly attributable selling expenses, was $1.07 million, while direct-sales contribution margin was negative $140,836. Nine-month gross margin fell to 59.3% from 61.2%, primarily because distributors represented a higher share of sales, according to the filing.

Gross profit rose to $5.32 million in the quarter, but $6.43 million of selling, general and administrative expenses kept the company in an operating loss. Management attributed the expense increase primarily to higher labor and benefits costs. Accrued preferred dividends rose to $606,071 from $563,177, offsetting the modest net-loss improvement and leaving the loss applicable to common shareholders little changed.

RNDC Allowance Widens the Nine-Month Loss

The quarter’s modest improvement contrasts with the year-to-date result. Net loss for the first nine months widened 73.9% to $3.01 million. The filing attributed the deterioration primarily to an increase of approximately $1.1 million in the credit-loss allowance, which more than offset higher distributor-driven gross profit. The allowance followed the July 26, 2026 Chapter 11 filing by Republic National Distributing Company, a Willamette distributor.

Willamette filed formal proofs of claim during the third quarter. Management does not anticipate a material recovery or settlement based on the current liquidation plans and priority of competing claims, and expects the underlying receivables to be written off against the allowance after the bankruptcy process concludes or a final distribution determination is issued.

Finished-Wine Inventory Rises as Cash Flow Improves

Founder and President Jim Bernau said Willamette was moving to stronger distributors, returning to internal go-to-market storytellers and pursuing significant cost reductions intended to restore past profitability. “I believe that the Company’s remaining challenge is to bring our finished wine inventories back into balance with market demand.”, he said.

Total inventories declined, but finished goods, comprising bottled wine and related products, increased to $17.28 million at quarter-end from $15.87 million at December 31, 2025, as work-in-process inventory fell. The company expected case wine to be sold over the following 12 to 24 months.

Cash generation offered a counterpoint to the accounting losses. Operating activities supplied $2.11 million in the first nine months after using $1.45 million in the comparable 2025 period. The Columbia Bank credit-line balance fell to $636,350 from $3.14 million at December 31, 2025. The bank’s waiver of that year-end covenant violation runs until the next measurement date of December 31, 2026.

Willamette’s quarter therefore combines modest sales-led improvement with a larger nine-month setback from RNDC. Stronger operating cash generation and reduced credit-line borrowing support liquidity, but the central question is whether cost reductions and a better balance between finished-wine inventory and demand can convert distributor-led growth into a smaller per-share loss.