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FEBRUARY NEWS Oregon Leader Bullish About 2013 Wine board director claims strong ties with Washington; distribution challenging P ortland, Ore.—A year into his role as executive director of the Oregon Wine Board, Tom Danowski is looking forward to a budding network of relationships to open doors for state wineries. Danowski, who oversaw imported wine for Washington state's Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and took several upscale clothing and lifestyle brands to market success prior to joining the Oregon Wine Board in December 2011, has spent the past year building connections. He's met with wineries and grapegrowers across the state and sought to cultivate ties with the Washington State Wine Commission and Travel Oregon (the state's tourism body), both of which can support the international profile of Oregon's wine industry. The efforts are paying off: Travel Oregon currently has a television spot focusing exclusively on Oregon wine as part of its promotional materials. Work with his counterparts in Washington state also has been important. "We both go to international markets as a joint Northwest force," Danowski said. "People who know Oregon wine...would be just thrilled if it were a little easier to find." —Tom Danowski, Oregon Wine Board The relationships are carrying through on the optimism Danowski expressed during his first week on the job, when he told Wines & Vines that Oregon had a bright future with more to offer the world than Pinot Noir. He said the primary challenge facing the industry would be to get the word out about Oregon wine and expand its distribution. "Oregon's quality is well known among all us insiders," he said. "We want to just go to the next two or three concentric circles out from the industry's real insiders and get even more awareness for Oregon's quality: more distributors, more importers, more restaurateurs." The 2011 Oregon Winery Census Report prepared for the Oregon Wine Board by the Southern Oregon University Research Center recently pegged winesandvines.com annual case sales at Learn more: Search keywords 2 million in 2011. "Oregon bullish." Danowski sees an opportunity to grow that number through greater distribution that serves the growing awareness of Oregon wine among consumers. "Our research tells us that those people who know Oregon wine and think highly of it would be just thrilled if it were a little easier to find sometimes on wine store shelves and restaurant wine lists." —Peter Mitham © 2012 StaVin Inc. Twenty years ago, we opened our doors for business. And while some years have been better than others, we can't complain. Our innovations have far exceeded our original hopes and changed for good the way winemakers approach their craft. But that's not what we're most proud of. It's the people who work with us. They've bought their own homes, sent their kids to college and genuinely love coming to work. Which, in our book is what you'd call a dream come true. ® StaVın Inc, P.O.Box 1693, Sausalito,CA 94966 (415) 331-7849 f (415) 331-0516 stavin.com Win es & Vin es F EB RUA RY 20 13 17