Dear Friends,
The Oregon Wine Board (OWB) returned to Irving, Texas on Aug. 28 as a Gold Partner in sponsorship of TEXSOM. Founded in 2005, this conference sets out to promote professional wine standards, outline paths for further beverage education and certification, and raise public awareness about professional standards and certifications for sommeliers. The three-day conference gives trade members a front row seat to some of the world’s greatest wines, educators, and industry professionals. This year saw the conference move venues to the spacious Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, which provided ample room to learn, taste, and network.
TEXSOM highlights include:
• Over 600 attendees
• 20+ seminars and 15 sponsored lunches
• 40+ speakers, including 9 MW and 5 MS educators
• 6 EXPO Trade Tastings and Exhibitions that included over 50 trade partners with a mix of international and domestic regional boards, wineries, non-profit organizations working to improve our industry, and importers.
OWB kicked off the conference by hosting the volunteer luncheon, guided by our Director of Education Bree Stock MW. This trade event provides the opportunity to educate and taste an influential group of On- and Off-premise buyers from across the country as well as media, totaling over 100 interested beverage professionals. Nine wines were showcased during the session, showing the range of styles and diversity from across the State, and six of these wines were TEXSOM International Wine Award winners from 2022. The wines were incredibly well received, along with the in-depth presentation provided by Bree. The group was eager to learn, and an extensive Q&A session broke out after the presentation, reinforcing the collective interest in Oregon wine.
OWB provided tasting sheets and information on all wines tasted, circulated maps, and collected contacts to add to our trade list. Additionally, we will be enrolling several TEXSOM volunteer sommeliers into the Napa Valley Wine Academy’s Oregon Wine Expert Course to further education and create Oregon wine ambassadors across the country. “TEXSOM builds community through inclusiveness and camaraderie to affect change and move the beverage industry forward by mentoring and educating beverage professionals, discussing relevant topics, addressing opportunities and challenges, and fostering thought leaders”. OWB applauds their efforts and are happy to support the conference in this manner.
David DeWitt
Manager of Trade Relations
Bree Stock MW
Education Director
Marketing
Reminder: Order Your Complimentary Oregon Wine Touring Guides
As planning continues for the 2023 edition of the Oregon Wine Touring Guide, OWB is down to the last batch of 2020-22 editions and now is the perfect time to order copies. It is available for complimentary order and delivery to tasting rooms and tourism businesses throughout Oregon. This publication not only helps people find their way in Oregon’s diverse wine regions, but it also inspires them to travel throughout Oregon.
Education
Oregon Wine Symposium Announces Dates For 2023
The annual premier education event and trade show for the Northwest wine industry, the Oregon Wine Symposium, will once again return to the Oregon Convention Center on Feb. 14 – 15, 2023. The largest in-person wine industry symposium and tradeshow in the Northwest unites experts from the scientific and wine business communities to share the latest learnings, best practices, and industry expertise. After two years of hybrid events, the 2023 Oregon Wine Symposium will take place all under one roof, reuniting the Northwest wine industry for two days of learning, connecting, and growing together.
Press and Media
Media Opportunities: Calls for Wine
Jancis Robinson
Samantha Cole-Johnson, U.S. Pacific Northwest Specialist for jancisrobinson.com, has requested $15-30 Oregon wines for her first Oregon comprehensive report. Drop-off or deliver by Oct. 7. Learn more
Research
September 2022 Weather and Climate Forecast
Dr. Greg Jones recently published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at August conditions and forecasts conditions for September, October, and November.
Northwest Center for Small Fruit Research’s Annual Conference Taking Place Nov. 14-16
Save the date! The NCSFR’s Annual Conference will be held from Monday, Nov. 14 to Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the Red Lion Columbia Center in Kennewick, WA. A room block is open for hotel reservations now and you can reserve your room here. Attendees can call (509) 783-0611, mention the conference, and get the room block rate.
Opportunities
Make a Nomination for the 2023 Oregon Wine Industry Awards | Deadline: Nov. 11
Nominations for the 2023 Oregon Wine Industry Awards are being accepted until Nov. 11. The awards recognize contributions to the industry in the categories of Lifetime Achievement, Founder, Outstanding Industry Leadership, Vineyard Excellence, and Industry Partner.
Apply to the Oregon Wine Board of Directors | Deadline: Sep. 30
The Executive Appointments staff at the governor’s office are accepting applications from industry members interested in joining the OWB of Directors for a three-year term starting Jan. 1, 2023. The governor’s OWB appointees are not confirmed by the state Senate. While earlier application deadlines apply to Senate-confirmable positions, OWB applicants can still be considered if their materials are received in Salem by Friday, Sept. 30. Learn more about Oregon Wine Board service and submit your application. If you have any questions, please reach out directly to the Executive Appointments Office.
Other News
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month I Sept. 15 – Oct. 15
As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, a small group of Oregon winery owners and winemakers who share a Hispanic background are coming together to celebrate in order to share their stories, display the diversity of the Hispanic cultures spanning most of Latin America and Spain, and as small business owners, give back to the Spanish-speaking community in Oregon. Each of these wineries will be offering special wine selections from Sept. 10 – 30 to commemorate this event and 10% of ticket and bottle sales will be donated to Ahivoy. Learn more
Oregon Winegrowers Association Shares Virtual Candidate Town Hall Recordings
The Oregon Winegrowers Association (OWA) hosted a series of virtual town halls with candidates for Oregon Governor and Congressional Districts 4 and 6. OWA invited the two major party candidates in each race, in addition to the candidate running for governor as non-affiliated. Candidates were given the opportunity to make remarks, followed by responses to a series of questions related to wine industry issues. Note that the Republican candidates for Congressional Districts 4 and 6 have not responded to our request. OWA does not make endorsements, and is making these recordings available as a resource for industry members to learn about candidates in key races.
Andrea Salinas (Congressional District 6- Democrat) view recordingVal Hoyle (Congressional District 4- Democrat) view recordingTina Kotek (Governor- Democrat) view recordingChristine Drazan* (Governor- Republican) access audio recording*Due to technical difficulties for the candidate, this is an edited recording. Click the blue “download” button to access the recording. Betsy Johnson (Governor- Non-affiliated) view recording
