Southern Oregon Wine Institute - A Catalyst for Economic Development

Click here to go to the website

Volume 4

In Napa, in Walla Walla, and in countless other regions, emerging wine industries have helped reinvigorate the economies of the surrounding communities.

Wineries bring millions of tourists into U.S. communities each year, providing a tremendous boost to local hotels, restaurants, shops, travel organizations, recreation and other businesses.  Their operations also add jobs and boost economies through their impact on local suppliers, such as transportation companies, contractors and financial institutions.

Regions that have developed their wine industries also have experienced cultural transformation, with local arts and entertainment organizations enhanced by the influx of new visitors or full time residents.

Southern Oregon is on the verge of similar transformation.  In the last seven years, the number of vineyards in the seven-county region has grown by 50 percent and the number of wineries has more than doubled.  Major wineries from Northern California and the Willamette Valley have made recent purchases of large plots of the areas affordable land for future grape-growing operations.  One of the industry’s most respected testing facilities already is planning to open a satellite site in the new Southern Oregon Wine Institute.

The economic potential for the region is significant, and the Southern Oregon Institute at Umpqua Community College will be the catalyst that helps ensure it is fully realized.  Already, the viticulture and enology programs offered by SOWI are benefiting the regions growers and winemakers, providing a critical source of trained and skilled employees to serve their growing operations.  The next step is to build the state-of-art facility to house UCC’s current teaching and learning programs and to facilitate their growth to accommodate the significant future needs of the region’s wine industry.

In a region struck particularly hard by the most difficult economic conditions in decades, Southern Oregon’s wine industry holds the promise of significant and sustainable growth.  The Southern Oregon Wine Institute will help ensure that promise is fulfilled