On April 24, Travel Oregon announced that Rogue Valley Vintners, an advocacy organization for the Rogue Valley AVA, was the top recipient of this year’s Oregon Wine Country Plate Matching Grants program. Of the $125,000 in grant funding, $50,000 was awarded to Rogue Valley Vintners, the lion’s share of this year’s funds. Once disbursed, Rogue Valley Vintners plans to use the grant funding to develop a unified brand around the Rogue Valley AVA, and to use that brand to draw new tourism to the Rogue Valley’s growing wine industry.

Rogue Valley Vintners is a relative newcomer to the scene. Compared to other wine industry associations such as the Willamette Valley Wineries Association (founded in 1986) or Napa Valley Vintners (founded in 1944), Rogue Valley Vintners, founded just over a year ago in March of 2018, is still in its infancy. Already, however, the organization consists of many of Southern Oregon’s most influential wineries and industry professionals, such as Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden, 2Hawk Winery, Weisinger Family Winery, Quady North, Schmidt Family Vineyards, RoxyAnn and DANCIN.

“Our goal,” says Ross Allen, co-owner of 2Hawk and President of Rogue Valley Vintners, “is to provide exceptional marketing opportunities to our members while working to showcase the Rogue Valley as a wine, culinary, and tourism destination.” In February of this year, the organization applied for $50,000 in funding through the Wine Country Plate program, with the intent to use any awarded funds to implement a comprehensive branding and marketing strategy. This follows on the heels of developing a strategic plan for the organization this past fall, whose primary pillars included branding, education and training, quality and financial sustainability.

The Oregon Wine Country Matching Plates Program originated in 2011, when the state legislature approved a bill that would allow the DMV to sell license plates featuring a scenic Oregon vineyard. The bill was lobbied for by Travel Salem and allows proceeds from the plate sales to be distributed by Travel Oregon to benefit wine country tourism. Other recipients of the 2019 grant awards are the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, Bounty of Yamhill County, and Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, each of which will receive a portion of the remaining funding.

With the Travel Oregon grant request awarded in full, and financial investments also made by key partners Asante and Travel Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley Vintners is moving full steam ahead. Working in collaboration with Portland-based marketing and branding company Lookout, the organization plans to develop a unified, compelling brand that brings the Rogue Valley wine region together as one story. “RVV was formed at a pivotal time for vintners in Southern Oregon,” says Barbara Steele, an RVV board member and co-owner of Cowhorn Winery in the Applegate Valley. “We have grown from a pioneering wine region to a group that now includes vintners making nationally-acclaimed wines.” The goal is to share that message with the outside world. “RVV formed to allow all these industries to create consistent messaging about our fantastic region,” Steele says.

Once fully developed, Rogue Valley Vintners plans to present the unified Rogue Valley brand to consumers and industry members via a multi-channel communications strategy that will grow the industry’s visibility and drive demand for Rogue Valley wines. “This grant will kick-start our marketing plan this summer,” says Allen.

Southern Oregon wineries aren’t the only businesses that stand to benefit. A key strategy of RVV is to complement and enhance Southern Oregon’s already robust tourism economy. Holly Macfee, principal at Lookout, plans to implement the branding strategy to drive visitors into tasting rooms. “With more than 2 million marketable visitors coming to Southern Oregon each year,” Macfee says, “we have a clear opportunity to include experiencing Rogue Valley wines on a visitor’s ‘must-do’ list.” Bob Hackett, associate director at Travel Southern Oregon, points out that given the large volume of foot traffic, each season is an opportunity to “create brand ambassadors who will take their appreciation for Rogue Valley wine back home and spread the word.”

And while other wine regions such as Napa Valley have opted to present themselves as focused solely on wine, Rogue Valley Vintners hopes to capitalize on the abundance of cultural and outdoor activity already present in the area, and to highlight the benefits of having so much opportunity in one place.

“When you pair the wine experience with all the other things to do—a national park, some of the best theater and music anywhere in the country, wild and scenic rivers, biking, hiking—you realize the Rogue Valley is like few other wine destinations in the world,” Macfee says, giving insight into her branding goals for the region.

Steele echoes Macfee’s thoughts: “As a group, we share a strong love of our region. Our hospitality, arts, outdoor and wine communities make this a stand-out region both for tourism and as a way of life.”

For Rogue Valley Vintners, the next steps are clear. Lookout will present a series of branding options, each of which defines a unique aspect of the Rogue Valley wine community. From there, the board of directors and contributing members will provide feedback and ultimately pick a single direction. The brand will be fleshed out; the communications strategy developed and implemented.

“These are exciting times for our industry,” says Allen. “I am proud to be part of this exceptional group.”

©Southern Oregon Wine Scene – from the Summer 2019 issue