Oregon Wineries Lean into Business Challenges

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Oregon Wineries Lean into Business Challenges

by L.M. Archer

Portland, Ore.  – Oregon’s wineries are facing many of the same challenges that wineries in California and elsewhere are dealing with: inflation, hiring, climate change, and coordinated anti-alcohol attacks.

“In Oregon, and across the country, wineries are struggling with the impacts of a myriad of business and climate-related challenges, from declining consumption and tourism, inflation, supply chain issues, employee shortages, and wildfires,”  Stoller Wine Group VP of Communications Michelle Kaufman said during last week’s Oregon Wine Symposium.

1,200 people attended the symposium on February 13-14 at the Oregon Convention Center.

Gut Check

Danny Brager, managing director of Consumer and Category Insights for Azur Associates, and Lesley Berglund, co-founder and chairman of Napa-based WISE (Wine Industry Sales Academy), highlighted industry headwinds, tailwinds, and takeaways in a keynote session about the state of the industry.

Headwinds include less winery growth, which Brager attributed to a combination of factors.

“When the Oregon business was growing double digits, more and more wineries were opening, so we saw good growth,” Brager told WBM. “But as growth rates have come down considerably, it would make some logical sense that as the total pie has stayed more constant, there’s less (or a stagnant) amount of volume to go around, and some wineries may not be able to sustain themselves.”

Additionally, Brager cited an increase in louder, more coordinated anti-alcohol attacks, coupled with consumer interest in social moderation led by younger, legal-aged drinking adults.

Brager’s biggest takeaway? “Growth rates for Oregon wines were significantly better outside of Oregon than in Oregon,” he said. “Both DtC and wholesale (that’s a notable tailwind), and that goes with ‘we can’t always expect people to come and visit us in Oregon.’ We should do more to introduce Oregon wines to consumers where they are, i.e., ‘Meet consumers where they are, not where you want them to be’ (at least some of the time).” READ MORE HERE.

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