Every year the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel and the amount of wine funneled through it continues to grow. In August, DTC shipments of wine were up 23% to $55 million, according to the Wines & Vines/ShipCompliant Model. But are wineries heavily involved in the DTC channel more profitable, Silicon Valley Bank and the Sonoma State University School of Business wanted to know. For the Wine Financial Symposium the two parties put their resources together and tested the idea.