If you missed OWB’s most recent all-industry forum a couple weeks ago, you can hear the latest growing season weather and climate report from Dr. Greg Jones at the 40:45 point in this meeting recording.
And our guests from Travel Oregon, Cecilia Suvagian and Kate Jorgensen, joined us at the 1:12:00 mark of that meeting with an update on Locl, a new listing management tool. The cost of utilizing it will be subsidized through 2022 by Travel Oregon to help elevate search visibility for wine businesses with a Google My Business profile. See Travel Oregon’s Locl toolkit for more information.
You can register here for the next all-industry Zoom meeting, which takes place on Tuesday, June 8 at 11 a.m. Our guests will include Todd Davidson with news from Travel Oregon about how his commission is supporting Oregon’s gradual reopening to tourism this summer.
Yesterday’s OWB educational webinar was the fourth and final one-hour session designed to introduce wine professionals, media and other guests from around the world to Oregon wines while also providing rich details on the distinctive characteristics of our growing regions. Total global attendance for the series was 712 and the positive feedback from participants confirms the value of complementing marketing program elements with educational enrichment to expand the Oregon Wine Month platform. To view any or all of Bree Stock’s presentations go to the Oregon Wine Resource Studio. While we’ve developed and promoted these for Oregon Wine Month, they are not specific to the promotion period and can be shared across your networks anytime.
And as we edge towards the conclusion of Oregon Wine Month 2021, please send me your pics of promotional support from your favorite on- or off-premise accounts, wherever they are. We’re building out our archive of Oregon Wine Month images that show the creative ways in which distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and tasting room managers focused consumer attention on Oregon wines this month. Here’s an example of a multi-brand display built at a Zupan’s Market in Portland.
This account also hosted virtual tastings for consumers with some of Oregon’s industry pioneers sharing comments on their wines, the vineyards and recent vintages.
And we have to correct an earlier oversight by offering a belated, but very well-deserved Congratulations to Sadie Drury, a veteran viticulturist from the Walla Walla Valley. Sadie was honored by the Washington Winegrowers Association with the Erick Hanson Memorial Winegrape Grower of the Year Award for demonstrated viticultural skills that provide impact in the vineyard and in the bottle. Sadie has been Washington’s Technical Chair for LIVE and has also been a leading visionary for Oregon’s expanding vineyard plantings on our side of the greater Walla Walla Valley. She has also made time to contribute her insights to our industry’s Research Committee. Well played, Sadie.
Finally, globally recognized wine critic James Suckling has published Oregon wine reviews for years. For the next report, his team will be tasting Oregon’s wines at their headquarters in Hong Kong and will absorb the shipping cost for wineries interested in providing samples. The OWB is facilitating this tasting. All Oregon wineries are invited to send samples of three wines per the instructions here. Samples must be in Salem by Monday, June 14. Wineries are also asked to submit technical info on their wines here so we can track them. Any further questions on this comprehensive tasting can go to the OWB’s Sally Murdoch.
Tom Danowski
President
MARKETING
Oregon Wine Brand Toolkit: Assets Available
Your new Oregon Wine brand, first unveiled at Symposium, continues to be deployed across OWB and partner channels. Importantly, the brand’s toolkit includes statewide and regional graphics as well as the full Brand Guide. Visit the toolkit anytime to download these assets for use in your digital or print communications.
New Oregon Wine Trade Education Seminar Recordings Available
This year’s Oregon Wine Month programming featured four master class webinars hosted by OWB Education Director Bree Stock MW. Designed for the trade, these sessions focused on Oregon and its major winegrowing regions. All recordings are available on the Oregon Wine Resource Studio and are great to share with your trade contacts at any time of year.
Optimize Google My Business with Free Tools
Travel Oregon has partnered with Portland-based company Locl to provide free access to a suite of Google My Business (GMB) optimization tools to help Oregon travel and tourism businesses optimize their GMB profiles. To learn more, watch this informational webinar or visit Travel Oregon’s toolkit.
Share Your Juneteenth Events (Willamette Valley opportunity)
With the passage of House Bill 2168 in April 2021 to establish Juneteenth as a legal state holiday in Oregon, the first official celebration of Juneteenth can support the local business community. If your business intends to celebrate, the Willamette Valley Visitors Association asks that you share your plans through this online form so they can help amplify your event, exhibit, special menu, etc.
RESEARCH
OWB-Sponsored Research Update: Using MLF to Prevent Brett Spoilage
Dr. James Osborrne, assistant professor and enology extension specialist at OSU, has prepared an update about his research investigating interactions between the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis and the malolactic bacteria Oenococcus oeni in order to reduce the risk of wine spoilage.
May 2021 Weather and Climate Forecast
On May 5, Dr. Greg Jones of Linfield University published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at April conditions and forecasts conditions for May, June and July.
EDUCATION
Webinar: How To Modernize Your Wine Club for Growth and Retention | May 27
While more and more wineries are moving from traditional clubs towards user-choice models to offer customers flexibility, is that enough to keep up with consumers’ rising expectations? Join OWB and Commerce7 on May 27 for a webinar exploring the current landscape of wine clubs and subscriptions, the differences between the models, the impact of consumer preferences, and the actions wineries can take to modernize their wine clubs for growth.
Oregon Wine Research Institute Spring Seminar Series | Through June 8
Join OWRI for a live webinar series Tuesdays through June 8. Topics covered in this series will include research projects on Red Blotch, wine lipids, gene editing, powdery mildew, soil moisture, and managing botrytis and spoilage risks. The virtual webinars are free, but registration is required to attend.
Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism | June 15-16
Travel Oregon will be holding its Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism virtually this year at no charge to attendees. The event brings the travel and tourism industry together to celebrate past work, find new inspiration, dive into educational topics, and look ahead as Oregon rebuilds and recovers the tourism economy after a tumultuous year.
CALLS FOR WINE
The Oregon Wine Competition Now Accepting Entries | Deadline: June 11
The Oregon Wine Competition provides an excellent opportunity for Oregon winemakers to have a panel of internationally renowned experts assess their wine. This year’s competition will take place July 17-18, and award-winning wines will be featured at the 2021 Oregon Wine Experience event in August. Wineries may submit up to five of their wines by June 11. All wines must be produced from 100% Oregon-sourced grapes and must be commercially available.
James Suckling Seeks Wines for 2021 Oregon Report | Deadline: June 14
The JamesSuckling.com team invites all Oregon wineries to submit up to three different wines to be reviewed for its 2021 Oregon Report. The wines may be any new release that has not yet been reviewed by JamesSuckling.com. All varieties are welcome, and the wines should be currently in the market or slated for release soon.
OPPORTUNITIES
OWB is Hiring: Marketing Manager, Trade & Industry Relations
The Oregon Wine Board is recruiting a Marketing Manager to focus on Trade and Industry Relations. This role supports the Market Expansion, Tourism and Brand Equity imperatives embedded within the OWB’s Strategic Marketing and Communications plan. It connects the OWB to wholesale and retail decision makers, intra-industry marketing organizations and external alliance partners to fulfill the Board’s marketing objectives.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The OWB’s industry website hosts a calendar that includes industry-facing events as well as events with significant industry participation. Consult it when scheduling or rescheduling events to avoid conflicts, and don’t forget to post entries as well.
Links to post to both the industry calendar and the OWB’s consumer-facing calendar can be found here.
