Oregon Wine Industry

Oregon is the third largest viniferous grape growing region in the U.S., with 463 wineries

OWB’s 2021 PR Outreach Plan

The 2021 PR Outreach Plan will work to keep Oregon wine top of mind  in seeding stories to press.. This plan supports these pillars of our strategy:

  1. Enhancing the Reputation of Oregon Wine: We support this with positive story generation to press, gathering thoughts and ideas from winemakers and pushing out story-starters in our electronic media kit, media tours and positive pitching.
  2. For Market Expansion, we focus on interaction with wine critics, helping to stimulate demand for growth of Oregon wine, as well as PR in and around events in different markers such as Explore Oregon Master Class and the Oregon Media Conference in Eugene summer of 2021
  3. For the pillar of Wine Tourism, we collaborate with our partners at Travel Oregon as well as Washington Wine Commission and WVWA and Rogue Valley Vintners among other partners while creating a sense of transparency in working together. For PR outreach, this means stories placed in travel publications, sharing resources such as talking points industry wine and across state lines, and well-conceived media tours such as the Cross Border AVA Tour we conduct annually with Washington Wine Commission.

With these goals in mind, we will work to place a diversity of positive stories in a variety of consumer, trade, industry, and critical reviews. We want more eyes on Oregon and more quality places for people to find these stories, sprinkled proportionately according to grape tonnage throughout the state.

Every month, OWB will ideate a media visit angle, create topical pitches and disseminate at least one press release. Below is our plan for the year, which is subject to change. If you have any ideas or stories you think we should be telling, please contact Sally Murdoch

January

  • Cellar Season for The Willamette Valley. This story angle is based on the resilience of Oregon tasting rooms and winemakers, namely the new and creative outdoor tasting offerings
  • Bend’s Wine Scene. A growing number of wineries are opening tasting rooms in Bend. Will the famous ale trail become the wine line?
  • National Plan for Vacation Day. Spotlight wine travel destinations for 2021, including Portland, Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon.

February

  • Economic Impact Numbers. Press release will include 2019 updates.
  • Oregon Wine Trail virtual masterclass.
  • Oregon Wine Symposium media initiatives.
  • 24 Hours in Portland. Focus on new tasting rooms in the City of Roses, including Abbey Creek’s Crick, Erath, Battle Creek, Stem Wine Bar, and others.
  • Open That Bottle Night (February 27). Virtual tasting with wine writers who will be shipped an older bottle of Oregon wine (will need to be 2022)
  • Oregon Wine Board Rebrand. Design, branding and advertising media will receive a bottle of Oregon wine with the new branding so they can taste what Oregon is all about. Support this effort with a press release to all media.

March

  • Mulled Wine Day (March 3) sample campaign will include a canned wine from Oregon and a recipe for mulled wine.
  • International Riesling Day (March 13) is a great catalyst to pitch the variety to national media
  • International Agencies in Tokyo and London will be announced via a press release.

April

  • National Malbec Day (April 17th) media outreach will tie in the 60th anniversary of the Hillcrest Vineyard near Roseburg.
  • Oregon Rosé all over the state, pairings in recipes, craft cocktails, making the best Sangria.
  • Oregon Wine Month
  • Nielsen 2020 Trends and Data press release.

May

  • Oregon Wine Month!
  • Sauvignon Blanc Day (May 7th). Work with Wines of New Zealand and Drizly on New York City focused media initiative.
  • Chardonnay Day (May 27th) national pitching initiative will highlight pioneering wineries and up-and-comers across the state.
  • New Touring Guide

June

  • 48 Hours in Eugene. Partnering with Travel Lane County, media will experience the new Gordon Hotel and tour the South Willamette Valley Food Trail.
  • Thematic wine kits sent top media around the country will communicate our larger messages about what’s new and notable in Oregon wine.
  • Rosé Day (June 13th) pitching could include a tie-in to the Rose Festival in Portland.
  • June 12. Celebrate the coming back of this historic event with a pitch to local writers on Portland made Rosé.
  • Chenin Blanc Day (June 20th) will highlight Oregon producers making varietal wines most commonly associated with the Loire Valley and South Africa.
  • June 29: Fathers Day. spotlight on Father’s and daughters and sons making wine together in Oregon

July

  • Media Tour timed with IPNC, in collaboration with Travel Oregon and WVWA.
  • Women Winemakers: Dovetailing with Women in Wine (July 19th), the OWB will support the event with PR, and promote Oregon’s women winemakers to national writers.

August

  • Media Excursions during the Wine Media Conference in Eugene will help familiarize 105 wine bloggers from around the country with the breadth of Oregon’s wine offerings. Will include stops in Southern Oregon and in Walla Walla. OWB will collaborate with Travel Lane County on this initiative.

September

  • Portland Media Tour with OSU Food Innovation Center for BIPOC media tour to showcase how Oregon Food and wine work well together well.
  • Cross Border AVA Tour (virtual or in-person), in partnership with the Washington Wine Commission, will focus on Eastern Oregon.
  • Newest Oregon AVAs media itinerary. We will work in tandem with Visit Washington County and the Sake Brewers Association to inspire two travel writers to explore Oregon’s sake offerings, as well as explore the newest AVAs of Tualatin Valley AVA and Laurelwood District.
  • Cabernet Sauvignon Day (September 2nd) will highlight Oregon Cabs.
  • Oregon Vineyard and Winery Report press release will be sent to national media.

October (Harvest related PR activities; pro-active PR as time allows)

  • House/Hotel Wines success stories pitch with multiple examples from Oregon.

November

  • Taste of Umpqua in Eugene: PR will support the annual event highlighting wines from the Umpqua Valley by recruiting media from Portland and Eugene to attend.
  • Red Hill Douglas County AVA virtual media tasting.
  • Tempranillo Day (November 9th) will shine light on Southern Oregon and Willamette Valley Tempranillo.
  • Giving Season press release will focus on the return of the program and announce funds raised in 2020.

December 2021

  • Thematic wine kits sent top media around the country will communicate our larger messages about what’s new, notable and timely in Oregon wine.
  • Holiday Bubbles outreach will focus on the rise of sparkling wine production in the state.
  • Oregon Wine Symposium press release will announce that registration is open and give a sneak peek at the programming for 2022.