International Trade Summer Tour and OPC Nominations
Every year, OWB hosts 18-20 international trade on a visit to Oregon and attendance at Oregon Pinot Camp, a program produced by the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. The Summer Tour provides in-depth education and exposure to Oregon’s major winegrowing regions, and fosters buyer relationship building for those Oregon producers interested in export sales channels.
Hosted campers are chosen each year from among nominations made by industry members.
Candidate nomination and selection process
Our goal is to create lifelong ambassadors for Oregon wine. We are looking for key decision makers across all channels of the trade—on-premise, off-premise and importers—who are interested in deepening their knowledge of Oregon wine and increasing their existing winery partnerships or creating new ones.
Priority is given to candidates in key decision-making roles working in key markets such as Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Japan.
Nominations are accepted from all Oregon wineries and wineries can submit as many nominations as desired.
What is covered:
OWB covers the cost of airfare to Oregon from the candidate’s home country, hotel, meals, transportation and incidentals duing the Summer Tour itinerary and during their attendance at OPC, and the cost of their OPC event ticket. Funding for this program is available through USDA’s Market Access Program.
Summer Tour itinerary:
Selected candidates are required to participate in the Summer Tour Itinerary, as well as all Oregon Pinot Camp events, totaling 7-8 days of programming in Oregon. The focus of the Summer Tour is to provide statewide education through master classes, vineyard tours and winery visits. Priority is given to wineries currently exporting or that have expressed a strong interest in building an export sales channel.
Important nomination process milestones:
- December 1 – Deadline for nominations for upcoming summer
- Any submissions received after December 1 will be considered for the next available Summer Tour
- The submission process is communicated through the Grapevine Newsletter and other direct emails from the Oregon Wine Board
- January-February – First and second round invitations will be sent to selected candidates. Responses must be received by the end of the month
- March – Nominating wineries will be notified of their candidate’s status no later than the end of the month
- Candidates not selected by OWB will be forwarded to the OPC board of directors for further consideration no later than the end of March
- June – Summer Tour and Oregon Pinot Camp
