My Latest in Wine Business Monthly:
Oregon Wine Symposium Recap
by L.M. Archer
Portland, Ore.- For two days last week, the Oregon wine industry joined together under sunny, cold Portland skies to enjoy what it does best: celebrate community, collaborate, and learn from one another.
This year’s in-person Oregon Wine Symposium 2023, held February 14 -15 at the Oregon Convention Center, drew approximately 1173 participants, far exceeding expectations.
“The Oregon Wine Symposium is the single largest gathering of Northwest wine producers and professionals,” said Brooke Delmas Robertson, director of winegrowing for Delmas/SJR Vineyard. “It is an epic event for networking, continued education, and trade research for new products and services. I am particularly proud of the OWA (Oregon Winegrowers Association) and OWB (Oregon Wine Board) coming together this year to jointly put on this event. It took a lot of legwork from both organizations to make this happen, and the event is made better by this collaboration.”
Keynotes, Consumer Behaviors
The opening keynote by Dr. Greg Jones of Abacela Vineyards and Winery presented his annual Climatology report. Jones forecasted a somewhat warmer 2023, along with an ease in drought conditions for the Pacific Northwest, but possible frost conditions similar to those of 2022.
Further keynotes by Danny Brager of Brager Beverages Alcohol Consulting, Dale Stratton of the Wine Market Council, and Lesley Berglund of WISE forecast the State of the Industry. Together, the trio touched upon market trends, changing consumer needs, and coping with economic uncertainty.
A key takeaway pivoted around shifting consumer behaviors. “Consumers are becoming more and more demanding over time, more and more complicated,” noted Brager. “They’re usually drinking better, but not necessarily more, and maybe even, in some cases, less.” Stratton also warned about a lag in market share within the multi-cultural consumer segment, often “synonymous with a much younger population group.” READ MORE HERE.