A Wine Country is Good for Business and Consumers

Two Canadian winery associations changed their branding this year, and both are much improved as a result. 

British Columbia’s South Okanagan Winery Association (also known as SOWA), tossed out its staid “association” moniker in favour of “Oliver-Osoyoos Wine Country” and a tag line of “uncork the sun.”

The reference is to the main southern Okanagan towns, which are situated next to the American border, and which define a sizeable, and, as yet, undesignated sub-region or appellation. The Oliver-Osoyoos title is a historical reference to a name used in the 1950s and 1960s, when orchard fruits ruled the day. The tag line is a nod to the warm desert sun that defines its climate.

Any way you look at it, the new name and graphics are a far more compelling and useful description of what and where the south Okanagan is than the SOWA moniker.

Wine Country Ontario

Similarly, a couple months before the SOWA name change, The Wine Council of Ontario gave up its tired logo and Wines of Ontario brand for something much more transparent and inviting: Wine Country Ontario.

At first glance, the change in words is subtle, but it’s a giant leap forward in story telling, something that focuses on the impact wine has on the Ontario marketplace. Southern Ontario’s wine regions are expanding every year, and are making a much wider impact on local economies — hence the importance of “wine country” branding to give consumers an immediate sense that a bottle of Ontario wine is more than, well, just a bottle of wine.

Ed Madronich, chair of the Wine Council and owner of Flat Rock Cellars, says the new brand is “an expression of the entirety of the Ontario wine country experience: how the wine tastes, where it’s made, how it marries with local food, and how it reflects the overall lifestyle of each region.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Making Wine More Accessible for Consumers

We talk a lot about appellations in this magazine and we can’t emphasize their use more than we do as a means to ascertain the origin of every wine made in the country.

But many consumers require a less-formal entry into wine. Terms like “wine country” and “Oliver-Osoyoos” ease the average wine drinker into the notion that all wine comes from somewhere.

We are big proponents of wine country makeovers at Wine Access because we have lived through so many successful transformations in California, Oregon, Washington, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Chile, Argentina and, believe it or not, even in parts of Old World Europe. 

Wine Countries are Good for Business

We also know that, typically, almost 20 percent of leisure travellers engage in wine and culinary travel, and they typically stay longer than average and spend more money than any other tourists. Even better, close to 40 percent of those visitors plan to make repeat visits. That’s the beauty of new vintages and new wineries.

I remember the surprise of Washington state politicians and Washington winegrowers, when a 2003 study revealed the wine business contributed nearly $1 billion to the local economy. Only eight years later, that number is closer to $3 billion.

The newly minted Oliver-Osoyoos Wine Country and Wine Country Ontario brands are only doing what really makes sense: connecting the dots for consumers. Better hotels with much better amenities, better restaurants, far more compelling side adventures and an emphasis on history and culture all point to a broader, more-enriching wine country experience. That’s something we can all enjoy.