Mission & History
Our Mission
Harnessing the power of state-wide consensus, the Oregon Winegrowers Association stands as the vital advocate for the health, growth and economic sustainability of Oregon’s wine industry. We are a member-driven advocacy group advancing the interests of the largest agricultural economic impact sector in the state.
Established 1981
In the 1960s, industry members founded the Oregon Winegrowers Association in Roseburg and the Winegrowers Council of Oregon in the Willamette Valley for technical assistance and information sharing purposes. These two groups began working together at the state level in 1977 when the Oregon Legislature was considering a major increase in the wine tax. The current OWA was established in 1981 after key players in the industry engineered a merger of the OWA and the WCO so it would be clear that the Oregon wine industry spoke with a single voice.
Our vision for the wine industry remains ahead of the curve while being grounded in decades of policymaking experience.
Key initiatives over the last 40+ years:
- Low or no wine excise tax rates/small producer exemptions
- Direct-to-consumer shipping privileges/reciprocal shipment law
- Lack of distributor franchise laws
- Land use laws for winery activities and events
- Oregon wine labeling regulations
- Wine and grape research at Oregon State University including
new smoke analysis lab - Grape Day/Oregon Wine Symposium
- Creation of Oregon Wine Advisory Board/Oregon Wine Board
- Wine Country License Plate
