AUGUST 15, 2025

A Note from the OWB Team

Dear Industry Colleagues,

In recent weeks, our industry has been recognized with a glowing profile of the 2023 vintage in Vinous, coverage in Forbes of the sparkling wine community’s celebration at Method Oregon, and national acclaim in USA TODAY’s 2025 10Best Awards.

These stories reflect what makes Oregon wine so special: exceptional wines that uplift our collective wine region and bring people together.

To everyone who makes Oregon wine possible, we wish you a safe and successful harvest.

Sincerely, Your OWB Team

Marketing

Oregon Wine Month 2025 Recap and Mid-Year State of the Industry

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our webinar on August 5th. We reviewed campaign results, shared key insights, and discussed opportunities for the future. Danny Brager gave a mid-year state of the industry update offering key insights on trends and opportunities. If you missed it, or want to revisit the details, you can view the presentation slides and supporting materials here:

OWM 2025 Recap
Mid-Year State of the Industry
Next Steps: We’d love your input to help shape next year’s campaign. Please take a few minutes to complete our OWM Feedback Survey.

Keep the Oregon Wine Adventures Coming

Summer is the perfect time to keep the momentum going. What is your Oregon Wine Adventure? Keep sharing your Oregon wine adventures and be sure to tag us so we can follow along and share the love!

#OregonWine #OregonWineAdventure #DrinkOregon #SummerWithOregonWine

Education

SOREC Grape Field Day | Aug. 19, 7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Registration is open for SOREC’s 2025 Grape Field Day. The program includes a vineyard visit to review mothballing strategies intended to reduce management costs and a demonstration from Vineyard Robotics and Atlas Vineyard Management highlighting their AI-powered decision support system. Faculty, staff, and students will provide research project updates and LIVE will present on sustainable winegrowing. Registration is $30.

Smoke Summit Recording Available

The West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force (WCSETF) hosted its virtual 2025 Smoke Summit in July. At this virtual event, leading researchers, experts, and industry representatives from California, Oregon, and Washington provided insight and updates on research and developments along with practical guidance ahead of this year’s harvest for both growers and wineries in the event of a wildfire. View the recording here.

Travel Portland Partner Summit | Sept. 23, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Visitor-facing businesses across the tourism and hospitality industry are invited to join Travel Portland’s Partner Summit on Sept. 23. The event will feature six engaging and easy-to-digest sessions focused on tourism trends, marketing strategies and actionable insights to help attendees elevate their business and create unforgettable visitor experiences.

Research

August 2025 Weather and Climate Forecast

Dr. Greg Jones recently published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at July conditions and forecasts conditions for August, September, and October.

Smoke Exposure Spotlight: WCSETF Newsletter and Mailing List Signup

The West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force (WCSETF) latest newsletter is available to download here. It includes a summary of takeaways from the ASEV Smoke Taint Symposium held in June, among other information. Sign up here to receive future editions of this newsletter directly.

Press and Media

Media Highlights

Oregon Wine won big in the USA TODAY 10Best Awards, with 13 different placements including two of the top wine regions and four of the top tasting rooms. Check out a roundup of all the Oregon winners.
OWB Executive Director, Gina Bianco, spoke about Oregon Wine’s USA TODAY 10Best Awards wins on KOIN 6 Wine Wednesday. Watch her full interview here.
Bethel Heights Vineyard’s 2023 The High Wire Chardonnay received a score of 100 points from Decanter, which is Oregon’s first perfect score from this publication.

Opportunities

Promote your Brand alongside Oregon Wine in the Wine.com Gift Guide

IMI Agency is creating a 16-page Wine.com Holiday Gifting Guide for 50,000 households. Oregon Wine Board is sponsoring a full-page Oregon Wine for the Holidays ad, positioning Oregon wines as premier holiday gifts. Individual brand space is available to maximize your exposure in this high-impact piece. Please contact Gary with IMI Agency for further information. Deadline: September 1, 2025 Contact: Gary Feldman at [email protected]

Calls for Wine

Oregon Wine Press Cellar Selects, Deadline, August 19
JamesSuckling.com, Deadline, August 21 – Deadline Extended

Other News & Information

Call for Oregon Wine Board Director Nominations

Each fall, the Governor appoints new Oregon Wine Board (OWB) Directors for three-year terms starting January 1. Under ORS 576.856, the Governor considers nominees recommended by industry organizations representing all major wine regions.

To support this process, the Oregon Winegrowers Association (OWA) and Oregon Wine Council (OWC) have formed a Joint OWB Nominating Committee to submit a unified slate of nominees. This Committee operates under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure a fair, collaborative, and transparent selection process.

While there are no statutory quotas for the nine OWB seats, the MoU outlines preferred qualifications and target representation to reflect the diversity of the industry in region, business size, and type. For the 2026–28 term, candidates are being sought in the following categories:

Willamette Valley (minimum 5,000 case winery)
Independent Grower (minimum 15 planted acres)

The Committee will coordinate with OWA and OWC boards, members, and regional associations to identify a strong slate of nominees. If you or a colleague are interested in being considered, please complete this interest form by August 31. You may also apply directly to the Governor’s office without Committee endorsement by October 1.

Click here for information about OWB service.

Updated Budget

The Board of Directors passed an updated budget for FY25-26 at the August 8 Board meeting. Budget updates were developed incorporating strategic plan priorities, input from the Marketing Committee, the Industry Partnership Committee and an open public presentation. The budget will spend down $888K of surplus funds from FY24-25. The updated budget is posted here.

Upcoming Events

Industry event calendar | Consumer event calendar | Post an event

Indie Wine Mixer – Southern Oregon | August 30 | Event details and tickets

OWB Public Board Meetings

December 5 | In-person (Portland – TBD) | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Zoom link

For questions about OWB Board Meetings, contact [email protected]. Reminder: Add your industry and consumer events to the OWB’s events calendars!

Grapevine Newsletter August 15 2025

AUGUST 15, 2025

A Note from the OWB Team

Marketing