OSU Investing in State Wine Industry

Creating Sustainable Economic Growth

Dr. Ulrich Orth and about 50 OSU researchers and staff are building an Oregon Vine and Wine Intelligence Network. The new interdisciplinary program will serve the 250 existing wineries in the state with research, courses, seminars, internships, networking opportunities, and consulting services. Oregon State University (the other OSU) will be providing experts in everything from growing grapes to marketing and consumer research to help Oregon's rapidly growing wine industry.

Although other wine centers exist in California, Texas, France and Italy, they typically focus solely on the grape or the wine. Oregon's program is targeted at creating a sustainable engine of growth for the state economy. To do this they will apply the considerable knowledge resources of their Land Grant college to a diverse spectrum of disciplines from entomology, viticulture, and flavor chemistry to wine making, finance and wine tourism marketing.

OSU Knowledge Resources

Berry & Grape Information Network
Oregon Wine Board
OSU Viticulture Extension

Already contributing $200 million to the Oregon economy, the wine industry stands to benefit even further from the network and become an invaluable resource for Oregon's future. The wine industry has grown more than 30 percent in the past four years and the new network will make the exchange of knowledge between the academic world and industry even better, say those in the wine industry.

FYI - Today, Oregon produces more than 1.2 million cases of wine annually, with wine sales alone producing $200 million in revenue.

OSU will attempt to turn the Vine and Wine Intelligence Network into a professionally-managed Center of Excellence if they can aquire external funding to pay an executive director.