Kennewick — Washington State Wine Commission officials hope to increase a taste for Washington wine in the state’s top international market – Canada.
Washington wine is being promoted in Quebec’s government-controlled retail stores now, and a recently announced $97,000 U.S. federal grant will support two more years of promotion.
Exports make up only about 5 percent of Washington’s relatively young wine industry, said Rob Andersen, who does international marketing for the wine commission. Some Columbia Basin winemakers and vineyard owners say exports will become increasingly vital as the industry continues to grow.
Other top countries that import Washington wine include Japan, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. China and South Korea also are emerging markets for Washington wine.
The industry still has a chance to grow sales in the local and national markets, Andersen said. Washington wines represent only about 4 percent of domestic wine sales in the U.S.
But for Washington wine to truly be considered world class, it has to be in the world marketplace, he said.
Canada, with its strong history of premium wine consumption, is a market into which Washington barely has tapped, Andersen said.
British Columbia has its own wine industry and trade barriers that make it more difficult for Washington wineries to compete in the province, he said. So the commission has focused its efforts on Quebec in recent years.
The federal grant will help the commission promote Washington wine within the government-controlled stores in Quebec, Andersen said.
The quality of Washington wine and its news coverage and accolades create interest from the buyers who make the decisions on what to offer, Andersen said.
It’s helped Washington and the Northwest compete to get wines into the government-controlled outlets, he said.
Washington and the Northwest also have promotional opportunities within the stores, Andersen said. That means tremendous exposure to province residents, which can help wineries move a lot of cases quickly.
The commission also wants to promote Washington wine in Ontario.
The commission is focused on telling the story of Washington wine as a whole, rather than specific growing areas, Andersen said. The regional stories come out through the winemakers and winery owners who participate in the promotion.
Their participation is critical because trade and media want to interact with the winery representatives, not just the commission, he said.
During the recession, Andersen said the number of wineries participating in international programs dipped as they focused on local and national markets where it is less costly to sell.
“Now we are starting to see more interest in the national and international programs,” he said.
Exporting is more work, requiring more time and expense, including travel, than selling locally, Andersen said.
Most of the state’s wineries are small- to mid-size, and the owners have some apprehension about the cost of breaking into the export market, Andersen said.
But there are programs like the commission’s that can help Washington wineries get their vintages into a foreign country at a lower cost than what the wineries could do on their own, he said.
