Happy New Year and Welcome Back Friends,
Since your inboxes are probably jammed, this will be a quick and easy read…
We’re just six weeks away from the beginning of this year’s virtual Oregon Wine Symposium (OWS). The online educational program starts on Tuesday, Feb. 15, but the 20% advance purchase ticket discount expires in just ten days on Jan. 14. Learn about additional discounts and get details on the Spanish-language sessions right here.
As a reminder, the second installment of the 2022 OWS gets underway in Portland on March 8. It’s a two-day live and in-person trade show event with seminars at the Oregon Convention Center. Details can be found here.
Thank you to the industry members who have already jumped in with their commitments to the Community Benchmark/WISE Academy program. This grant-funded, statewide initiative is designed to help winery managers enhance the productivity and efficiency of their direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts. We already have 161 wineries from across the state that have taken the first step by claiming their accounts. If your business is not yet among them, you’re NOT too late. See the Oregon Wine Board’s (OWB) toolkit and learn about setting up a free demo of the comparative dashboard features.
As the calendar flips to 2022, many of our most enthusiastic retailers, restaurateurs, and wholesaler partners are looking ahead to this year’s edition of Oregon Wine Month (OWM). Our Wine Month toolkit contains the latest version of the 22-slide program deck, which will be updated as we add new materials. Don’t forget to share the trade partner participation form now with key accounts so that those who are willing to help us make OWM bigger and better this year are all in with us from the start.
OWB’s regular all-industry Zoom forums continue this year with the next one coming up next Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 11 a.m. Register here.
Finally, one of our industry’s most esteemed and well-informed personalities, Dr. Greg Jones, gave a terrific and informative interview to CBS’s Lesley Stahl last month for a “Weather and Wine” segment on 60 Minutes. The appearance is a first for an Oregon winery CEO as far as we know. The comments about climatic effects on winegrowing from Dr. Jones, who is also now an Oregon Wine Board Director, begin at the 7:40 mark.
Tom Danowski
President
Marketing
Oregon Wine Month Trade Form
Please invite your trade contacts to complete the OWM 2022 Trade Partner Participation form. This will allow us to contact them directly about Oregon Wine Month resources and planning. Your support in widening our outreach funnel is critical.
Wine Advocate Puts High Accolades on Oregon Wines
You may remember Wine Advocate’s Oregon reviewer Erin Brooks returning to our region this past fall to sample Oregon’s 2019 vintage. While she works on publishing her full reviews on almost 1,000 wines, she has published her thoughts on the first 100 as well as her favorite wines from all regions this year, and two Oregon standouts made it on her favorite five list. That’s 40% Oregon! As Erin writes, “Read on to discover some wines to light up the end of a dreary year…”
2019 Audeant Pinot Noir Luminous Hills Vineyard (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)
and
2019 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge)
Oregon Winery Receives High-profile Coverage in Travel + Leisure
Congratulations to King Estate, whose Pinot noir was mentioned in Travel + Leisurethis past month as a direct result of writer Celine Bossart tasting with the Wine Media Conference Group at King Estate last summer. The story was picked up by nearly one-hundred news outlets located in nine countries and had over 5,000 associated social media interactions in the first five days after the original article was published, reaching 434 million people. This top billing for King Estate as one of only three U.S. wines mentioned shows Oregon wine gaining media attention beyond traditional wine review publications and nurturing relationships with writers from a broader range of publications. Bravo!
Education
Register for the 2022 Oregon Wine Symposium: Coming to You Virtually in February, Then In-person in March
The annual premier education event and trade show for the Northwest wine industry, the Oregon Wine Symposium, will once again unite experts from the scientific and wine business communities to share the latest research, best practices, and industry expertise in a virtual format Feb. 15-17, 2022. The Early Bird price of $79 per person is available through Jan. 14. Groups of four or more receive an additional 20% off Full Access tickets per registrant, and there are other discount opportunities for educators, students, and Spanish language speakers. Learn more about the educational program details and register.
In addition to the virtual event, Oregon Wine Symposium LIVE will take place in-person March 8-9, 2022 at the Oregon Convention Center. The event will explore the theme of climate, business and workforce resiliency, and provide practical, actionable takeaways to help manage your business in these uncertain times. The in-person Symposium will include six main sessions and mini seminars, a trade show featuring valued industry partners, technical tastings, continuing education and certification opportunities, networking, and socializing. This will include a reimagined Soiree featuring Oregon’s diverse winegrowing regions and more. Early bird pricing ends on Jan. 31, 2022. Register to attend.
Research
December 2021 Weather and Climate Forecast
Dr. Greg Jones recently published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at November conditions and forecasts conditions for December, and January and February 2022.
Join the OWB Vit & Eno Research Committee
With the request for applications for 2022-23 research projects now open, OWB is still looking for reviewers and members to join the Research Committee. Learn more about the criteria to join here.
Opportunities
Oregon Wine Industry Forum | Next meeting: Jan. 11
The monthly Oregon Wine Industry Forum continues Jan. 11, 2022 at 11 a.m. Register for the meeting to stay current on industry trends, connect with industry members across the state, and keep informed on OWB programming and opportunities. Register here for the series of meetings.
Other News
Governor’s Conference on Tourism Takes Place in 2022
Travel Oregon’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism returns in 2022 on March 14-16, in Sunriver, Oregon. Registration and room block information will open in Jan. 2022. Save the conference dates on your calendar and look for more information to come. Please direct all questions to [email protected].
OLCC Requests Data for Oregon Privilege Tax Online (OPTO)
OLCC is requesting our industry’s help with the following survey, which should take less than 5 minutes.
As OLCC Executive Director Steve Marks mentioned in his remarks to the OWB’s all-industry forum last month, OLCC will soon begin their 2022 conversion to an online tax reporting and payment system for wineries and grape growers. This includes both the privilege tax and the grape tonnage tax. In an effort to help make the process as smooth as possible for wineries, OLCC is looking to gather additional information through the survey. The survey results will assist the Commission in segmenting winery licensees into the correct training groups. Please complete the survey by Jan. 14, 2022.
Since your inboxes are probably jammed, this will be a quick and easy read…
Tom Danowski
President
