2021 Annual Market Report

Dear Washington State wine industry colleagues and friends,

Fiscal Year 2021 (July 2020-June 2021) was another year of innovation and growth for Washington Wine. We met the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 with creative and effective ways of promoting our industry, while ensuring the health and safety of our constituents and audiences. We continued to lean into digital strategies, hosting successful virtual events for high-level trade and media in our key markets. Our research outreach efforts migrated entirely to virtual platforms and this shift was again met with an incredible increase in attendance, making research results more accessible and equitable for our community. We ran numerous fresh campaigns via social channels, reimagining what can be used as a megaphone and amplifier in the digital space. This year was also an ideal opportunity to reimagine and rebuild the Washington Wine website (www.washingtonwine.org), constructing a robust and comprehensive tool for our industry that now serves as an interactive tourism map, revamped directory of all wineries and vineyards in the state, and rich resource center for our constituents, consumers, trade, and media.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion work was again a top priority in FY21, as the Washington State Wine Commission board and staff continued pushing forward the conversation in our industry, reassessing our core beliefs, and working to address inequity in all forms in every sphere of our work.

I encourage you to read through this report for more details and examples of the Commission’s activities and campaigns in FY21. As we all progress in this new year, our team looks forward to exploring creative and fresh ways to introduce and expand the presence of Washington wine on local, national, and international stages.

We are proud to work for you and with you, our extraordinary wineries and vineyards, each and every day.

Cheers to the future of Washington wine,

Steve Warner
President

Washington State Wine Commission

Our Mission

On behalf of the state of Washington and its wineries and growers, the mission of the Washington state wine commission is to raise awareness and demand for Washington state wine through marketing and education while supporting viticulture and enology research to drive industry growth.