The Vintners Voice

   I want to congratulate the team over at Willamette Valley Vineyards.  The Feb. 28th issue of Wine Business Monthly ( WBM ) listed them as the No. 1 " Hottest Small Brand of 2007".  To fully disclose, I will say that I have personal relationships with many members of the WVV team.  Again congratulations on a job well done.

   It got me to thinking about what "small brand" means.  In the article it states that Willamette Valley Vineyards produces " ...more than 100 ,000 cases per year-huge by Oregon standards...".   Willamette Valley is one of the largest producers in the state yet qualifies as a " Small Brand " by WBM.  I am constantly trying to put the size of Oregon's wine industry into perspective for those that live and work outside of it.  I did some digging around to try to use this honor bestowed upon Willamette Valley Vineyard as a point of reference.

     According to The Oregon Wine Board; in 2006 Oregon's wine industry sold 1,628,608 cases of wine.  That means at 100,000 cases Willamette Valley Vineyards produced 6% of the wines sold in 2006.  This might seem large but consider Montana Wines in New Zealand, where last I heard ( around 2005 ) ,  produced 50% of the wines produced in New Zealand. 

     WBM lists the " 2007 Top 30 U.S. Wine Companies " and not one Oregon winery is listed.  In fact if we were to insert the 1,628,608 cases produced by the entire state of Oregon in to the list we would be #14, just below Don Sebastiani & Sons ( #13 ) and above C. Mondavi & Sons.  Towering high at the top of the list was of course E&J Gallo at 66 million cases sold world wide.

      Last year I had the opportunity to visit Gallo's Sonoma Winery.  The winery was equipped to handle 50,000 tons, a scant 5 or 10% of Gallo's total production ( I can't remember exactly ).  In 2006 Oregon, again as a state, harvested 34,400 tons.  I find it mind boggling that just one of Gallo's wineries could hold ALL of Oregons production and still have plenty of room for more.

      To take this a step further the winery I work for, Patton Valley Vineyard ( http://www.pattonvalley.com ), crushed about 50 tons, or a mere .1%  of Oregon's production in 2006.  We are not by any means the smallest winery in Oregon.  We would represent about .0038% of Gallo's production alone.

     Why do I bother to bring this up?  Hopefully I can illustrate how hard it is for Oregon to compete on the world stage of wine.  It is hard for Willamette Valley to wade in the same water as; the Gallo's, Constellation Brands, Bronco Wine Company ( creators of two-buck-chuck ) and the like.  It is even harder for the literally hundreds of smaller producers like Patton Valley Vineyard. 

    Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining.  I think the industry being small here is what makes it special.  We have to be driven by things other than the bottom dollar.  Nearly 36% of our vineyards are certified sustainable, organic or biodynamic ( Oregon Wine Board ).  Our industries commitment to things in addition to profit reflects the larger attitude of Oregonians in general.  We love what we do and where we do it so much that we find some things more important than the almighty dollar.  This more than anything makes me proud to say I make wine in Oregon.