A global opportunity at hand for PacWest wineries

By College Relations | May 24, 2018
           

Okanagan College Media Release

At a time when trade agreements and threats dominate headlines, the President of the Washington State Wine Commission has a simple message for the B.C., Oregon and Washington wine industries.

Co-operate.

Steve Warner, who has led the Washington State Wine Commission since 2012, will be bringing his perspective on the opportunities and challenges for the wine industries of Washington, Oregon and B.C. to Penticton on June 18, as part of the Wine Talks series presented by Liquidity Winery and Okanagan College.

There are challenges enough for each of the individual region’s industries – interprovincial trade barriers for B.C. wineries are just one example – but there are opportunities abroad to establish the reputation for the entire Pacific Northwest wine region that should be seized upon, says Warner. “We live the quality of our wines every day,” says Warner, “but we need to demonstrate that in the global market. The Pacific Northwest has a growing reputation that we need to work together to build.”

That will help reinforce the message of quality that drives domestic consumption but will also open doors for a growing export industry.”

He and 14 wineries from Washington are on their way to Hong Kong for VinExpo 2018.

“Washington’s first AVA was established in 1983. That’s like being weeks old in an industry where there are wineries that date back thousands of years.”

“We (Washington, B.C. and Oregon) are more alike than we are different. We’re complementary.”

“Washington State produces less than one per cent of the world’s wine. We don’t need to compete with each other – we need to co-operate.”

Warner’s tenure at the Washington State Wine Commission came after a career in the international pharmaceutical industry. Working for Merck & Co., Inc. he served as Managing Director, General Manager and held marketing positions in Bucharest, Seoul, Bangkok and in the U.S. He has a master’s of business administration in international business and finance from Rutgers University. Before his private sector career he served in the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command, completing his career as a Lieutenant Command in U.S. Navy Special Operations.

“I guess you could say I’ve gone from guns to drugs to alcohol.”

The most recent economic analysis of Washington State’s wine industry points to an annual impact nearing $5 billion.

“Under Steve’s leadership, Washington State wines have seen tremendous sales growth particularly in the premium category,” says Ian MacDonald, owner of Liquidity Wines. “This is a unique opportunity for us to learn what they have done to position their wine region for local, national and international success.”

Tickets for the fourth instalment in the Wine Talks series, June 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Penticton Campus of Okanagan College, are $20. You can register online by visiting https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wine-talks-4-tickets-44191445804

 





TOP STORIES

RELATED STORIES

Sign up for weekly stories




Trending

Communications student standing outside the Centre for Learning building at the Kelowna campus
Meet Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores

April 4, 2023

Q: What's your name? A: Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores Q: What's your hometown? A: Quito – Ecuador – South America Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: Well, I studied for a bachelor's degree in Law in Ecuador. Then, I worked for a while and got my Master's degree in Government and Culture of Organizations at the University of Pamplona.  When I returned to my country, professional opportunities arose for me. I mean, a Master's degree improved my career. Spain helped ...

Read more...
Animation student
Artistic students design future careers in animation

June 7, 2022

Grads of Okanagan College’s Animation Diploma program are finding their skills have never been in higher demand. First- and second-year students showed samples of their artwork and demo reels to industry partners at OC’s annual Animation Industry Night on May 17. “Lots of the work was very professional,” says James Wood, Chair of Okanagan College’s Animation Department. “Our program is short, but intense. The instructors make sure the students have a realistic understanding of what they need do to succeed in a competitive and demanding...

Read more...
JAMK campus
OC Business students embrace international study again

May 30, 2022

Business students from Okanagan College are once again able to travel to Jyväskylä, Finland to experience an international summer school at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences.  Finland’s education system is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.  OC Business Professor Blair Baldwin, who has taught Services Design at JAMK for several summers, says working in Finland has helped him innovate and create new teaching methodologies. “JAMK employs experiential learning across its curriculum,” he says. “They stress cri...

Read more...
Enactus 2022
Enactus Okanagan College tops the field, sets sights on national championships

May 27, 2022

Okanagan College students will once again be competing for the Canadian title after qualifying for the Enactus National Exposition with a first-place finish in their league during the semi-final round. Enactus teams at post-secondary institutions across Canada competed virtually earlier this month, and Okanagan College scooped up top position in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, and runner-up in the Scotiabank Climate Action Challenge for the Unusually Good Food Co. project. It also included national runner-up in Shaw and RBC accelerator...

Read more...