Oregon's "rocking" wine industry sees growth outstrip all other US states
Oregon’s wine industry is “rocking”, according to one industry expert, with sales growth far oustripping that of other rival states.
Rob McMillan, executive vice president of Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division pointed out that Oregon had seen its sales volumes jump by by 17% in the past year, compared to 2.3% in Washington, 3% in California and 2.8% in the US as a whole.
Speaking at this week’s Oregon Wine Symposium in Portland, he said: “There is no question Oregon is rocking.”
Oregon’s wine exports soared by 53% in value from $127 million to $195 million, between 2013 and 2016, said Danny Brager, senior vice president of the beverage alcohol practice at Nielsen. “Nobody is growing as fast as Oregon,” he confirmed.
Around half of Oregon’s wine is now sold outside its prime west coast sales territory, and the state has also benefited from a hugely positive image on social media, according to Brager, with references to wine from the state being much more positive than references to the wine industry as a whole.
Oregon is also benefiting from the increased consumer trend towards drinking better quality wines, with the state’s Pinot Noir the”sweet spot” to appeal to debt-ridden “millennials” and retirement-age “boomers” who are “frugal hedonists,” said McMillan.
Looking to the future, Oregon wine producers shouldn’t count on tasting rooms to remain as effective in selling their products — particularly if they’re overly reliant on visitors from Portland, he added.
Though the trend has yet to hit Oregon, tasting room footfall is falling in other popular wine country destinations, such as California’s Napa and Sonoma counties, McMillan said.
“Oregon is the outlier, which is good for now.” But he warned that wineries should become more effective at marketing their products nationally and move beyond wine clubs to attract new custom by improving their e-commerce capability and digital marketing. “A national brand needs to have a national presence,’ he pointed out.