It’s of utmost importance to the Rogue Valley Vintners (RVV) to keep the region informed on what’s been accomplished and what’s planned this year! Not only does this area provide the soils and microclimates from which we are able to grow and produce consistently award-winning wines, it’s also our home. We all love the Rogue Valley for the incredible beauty and bounty it provides us and invite you to join us in our mission of promoting the Rogue Valley and wine tourism!

A few 2018 accomplishments include forming our organization as well as establishing funding sources and long-term partners such as Asante, Travel Southern Oregon, Travel Medford, Travel Ashland and Travel Grants Pass.

In July, we announced and presented our partnership with marketing/branding expert Holly Macfee and hired a business strategist, Deborah Steinthal, from Scion Advisors, to complete our strategic planning process. Both Deborah and Holly have excellent track records: Holly works closely with many of our state tourism-related organization such as Travel Oregon, the Oregon Wine Board, Feast Portland, Travel Salem, Seaside Oregon, Meet Me in Klamath and more. Deborah has an equally-impressive resume with clients in the wine business including, Cristom Vineyards, Cakebread Cellars, Benzinger Family Vineyards, Woodward Canyon, Clos Du Val, Adelsheim, Willakenzie and Wine By Joe. We could not be more excited to have these two industry-leading women on our team.

In September, we launched a state-wide survey in partnership with the University of Oregon to measure characteristics and behavior of Rogue Valley wine tourists. The project was supported by the Oregon Wine Board and Travel Oregon, with results to be shared this spring and then integrated into our marketing strategies. In November, our board completed extensive strategic planning sessions with Full Glass Research, Scion Advisors and Lookout Marketing, as well as with many wineries and industry partners.

In 2019, RVV plans to gain regional and national exposure through a coordinated brand identity and marketing plan drafted by Macfee’s marketing company, Lookout Marketing, one of Oregon’s top tourism marketing agencies. Our goal is to have a voice that dictates the direction of the local wine industry comprised of 100% of our Rogue Valley industry partners. We plan to recruit talent to support our initiatives and programs, including the hiring of a world-class, Executive Director.

To learn more, please contact Rogue Valley Vintners Vice President, Ashley Cates at rvv@rvv.wine!