Read Previous Grapevines >>

JANUARY 23, 2026

A Note from the OWB

Dear Industry Colleagues:

Happy New Year!

As we embark on 2026, we would like to reflect and share with you some of our achievements from 2025.

2025-2030 Strategic Plan

In September, the OWB Board of Directors approved our new strategic plan. The 2025-2030 Strategic Plan defines the OWB’s shared vision, mission, values, and equity framework. These elements provide strategic clarity for the Oregon Wine Board and the Oregon wine community overall.

Our focus for the next 5 years will be on four strategic pillars that align with our imperatives of supporting the Oregon wine industry through marketing, research and education. These include:

Marketing That Breaks Through: Elevate Oregon wine globally through a strong brand, high-impact campaigns, and engagement across trade and consumer audiences.
Research and Education that Empowers: Equipping Oregon’s wine industry with insights, data, and knowledge to navigate market trends and implement forward-thinking business strategies.
Communication that Connects: Deliver clear, credible messaging that informs, engages, and influences across audiences and channels.
Operational Excellence that Delivers: Continuously improve our service to the industry, focusing on flexibility, transparency and operational efficiency.

Access the plan and learn more here.

Tourism Strategic Plan

With support from a Travel Oregon Wine Country License Plate Matching Grant, OWB convened wine and tourism marketers from across the state for a planning session to define how wine and tourism organizations can work more collaboratively and leverage each other’s strengths and opportunities to promote and enhance Oregon wine tourism. The strategy session resulted in two primary priorities that OWB will be developing in support of these wine tourism goals:

GOAL 1: Create meaningful opportunities for Oregon’s wine and tourism sectors to collaborate, share insights, and align data-driven strategies that strengthen the visitor experience.
GOAL 2: Develop a cohesive, research-driven narrative framework that positions Oregon wine as a cornerstone of Oregon tourism and equips partners with consistent messaging and visual tools.

Learn more about the tourism strategic plan here to stay informed.

Other 2025 Successes

Oregon Wine Month reached 16.5M impressions, a 1,700% increase year over year
The holiday campaign activated across key channels generated 5M impressions, including billboards, Wine.com insert, Wine Spectator, and tourism partner e-blasts
Launched the 2026–2027 Oregon Wine Touring Guide in October 2025
Oregon wine was mentioned in editorial coverage 15,700 times in 2025, collecting a reach of over 61 billion.
Extensive media inclusions throughout the holiday season in Sommsation, The New York Times, Forbes, Food & Wine Magazine, and The Washington Post.
Awarded grant funding to support 6 scientific research projects studying a variety of areas from disease control to wine quality
Provided grant funding to support 8 projects and supported 15 Oregon wine events through sponsorships
Delivered the Vineyard & Winery Census 3 months earlier than in previous years to provide greater timeliness and relevance for making business decisions
Hosted 1,200 industry professionals at the Oregon Wine Symposium last February

Oregon Wine Symposium 2026

Looking ahead, this year’s Symposium is less than two weeks away on February 3 & 4. At times of uncertainty, it’s critical to step away from the day-to-day to think about the big picture, consider ways to innovate, and draw on the strength of our incredible wine community. Take a minute to check out the program and register your team today.

Come say hello to us throughout the event at trade show booth #118. We look forward to seeing you there!

—Your Oregon Wine Board Team

Marketing

Oregon Wine Month Planning Kicks-Off

OWB has begun planning for Oregon Wine Month 2026 and is offering complimentary printed point-of-sale materials for use in tasting rooms and wholesale accounts. Please use this form to place your orders. To ensure delivery by early March, all orders must be submitted by February 1. The 2026 OWM Sell Sheet is also available for digital download and use.

Updated Oregon Wine At-A-Glance Map Now Available

The 2026 updated map is now available for digital download and use.

Oregon Wine Touring Guide 2026-2027 Now Available

Oregon Wine Board is proud to unveil the 2026-27 edition of the Oregon Wine Touring Guide, now available for industry members. This publication helps people explore Oregon’s diverse wine regions and inspires them to travel throughout the state. The Oregon Wine Touring Guide makes a wonderful addition to any tasting room. Order a complimentary 40-count case for your tasting room and view the digital version online.

Social Media

Reports that Meta (Facebook in particular) has restricted views of posts by wineries throughout the NW might be related to necessary age restrictions accounts must have in place when displaying imagery of alcohol. Take the following steps to ensure your accounts are restricted to audiences that are 21+.

Go to Your Page: Navigate to your Facebook Page profile.
Access Settings: Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
Find Age Restrictions: In the left menu, click Followers and Public Content, then find Age Restrictions.
Set Restriction: Edit the setting to show your Page only to people 21 or older.

2026 Oregon Wine Board International Events Registration

Registration is still open for OWB hosted events in 2026. Space is available for events in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Busan, Seoul and Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong. There are no fees to participate which make these events good opportunities to grow your brand presence globally. Visit our international page for more information and to register. Please reach out to Margaret with any questions.

Education

OSU Vineyard Design & Production Course | February 17 – March 19

Oregon State University is offering an online Vineyard Design & Production course led by Dr. Patty Skinkis, Professor and Viticulture Extension Specialist. This course will cover the components of vineyard design and management, emphasizing informed decision-making through understanding grapevine growth, physiology, and resource allocation. The course fee is $500 through the early bird deadline of Jan. 26, and $600 after.

Research

January 2026 Weather and Climate Forecast

Dr. Greg Jones recently published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at January and forecasts conditions for February, March and April.

SVB State of the Industry Report

In conjunction with last week’s webinar, Silicon Valley Bank published its annual State of the US Wine Industry report. It provides data-driven perspective on the health of the industry and offers analysis of why some wineries are outperforming in the current market conditions.

NielsenIQ 2025 Year In Review

Last week, NIQ published its 2025 Year In Review report, recapping off-premise beverage alcohol trends in the U.S. during the past year. View trends within categories, price tiers, styles, and more, along with predictions for the year ahead. Email Kaleigh Theriault at NielsenIQ to receive these reports directly.

NCSFR Newsletter

Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research (NSCFR) has published the latest edition of its quarterly newsletter, with updates on Pacific Northwest research, news, USDA funding, and awardees. Get future editions sent directly to your inbox by signing up here.

WCSETF Newsletter

The January 2026 newsletter from the West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force (WCSETF) is available to download here. To receive future editions of this newsletter directly, sign up here.

Press

Media Highlights

Congratulations to Andrew Davis, founder of The Radiant Sparkling Wine Company and Director of Winemaking at Lytle-Barnett, for being named the 2025 Oregon Wine Press Person of the Year.
Oregon was highlighted as a leader in sustainable wine production in The Drinks Business.
According to Wine-Searcher, “Oregon Chardonnay has captivated the hearts and cellars of collectors, industry professionals, and consumers alike.”

Opportunities

Nominations Open for the Cellar Star Awards

This is the second annual celebration of “the people behind hospitality” in the Willamette Valley. The nominations are designed to call out the direct-to-consumer sales personalities who enhance and elevate the experience of tasting and buying wine in the Willamette Valley. Voting closes at the end of January. Nominate here.

Calls for Wine

Sommeliers Choice Awards — January 31, 2026 (Early Bird)
Paul Gregutt’s Northwest Wine Guide — Open year-round
2026 TEXSOM—March 11, 2026

Other News & Information

Fiscal 2026-27 Budget Season

OWB’s budget development for FY26-27 is getting started. A draft budget will be posted on February 5 followed by a public presentation on February 19. Register for the Public Budget Forum.

All details including timelines, dates, budgets, industry input form, meeting registration links, and recordings of public presentations are available on the Budget & Financials page of the industry website.

You can also share your ideas at any time via Budget Planning Ideas. If you would like to have a more in-depth discussion, please reach out to OWB’s Chief Financial Officer, Sally Crawford.

Events

Board Meetings

March 5 | In-person (Kraemer Farm — 13318 Dominic Rd., NE Mount Angel, OR 97362) | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. RSVP Industry event calendar | Consumer event calendar | Post an event

Reminder: Add your industry and consumer events to the OWB’s events calendars!

Grapevine Newsletter: January 22, 2026

JANUARY 23, 2026

A Note from the OWB