B5
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020
Oregon wine bucks lackluster sales trend
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
PORTLAND — Oregon is bucking the
global wine industry’s lackluster sales trend
for now but its winemakers are not immune
to the slump, according to an industry expert.
Last year, major wine-producing regions
generally saw their sales decrease by volume
and remain fl at by value, said Rob McMil-
lan, executive vice president of Silicon Valley
Bank’s wine division.
For example, California’s sales through
wine shops and other retailers dropped 2.3%
by volume while rising 0.6% by value.
In comparison, Oregon’s wine sales
through such “off-premise” channels grew by
more than 12% in both volume and value.
“You guys are on an island right this sec-
ond,” McMillan told the crowd Tuesday at the
2020 Oregon Wine Symposium in Portland .
“But Oregon is part of the wine industry and
the industry is hitting a ceiling.”
Wine is less popular among the millennial
generation — people in their 20s and 30s —
compared to the older Generation X, which
in turn isn’t as fond of wine as the retire-
ment-age b oomer generation, he said. “We’re
not attracting millennials and Oregon isn’t
attracting millennials.”
Wine is facing stiff competition from spir-
its and “spiked seltzers,” and the wine industry
can’t just passively count on younger consum-
ers turning to wine as they mature, McMillan
said. “Hope is not a strategy.”
Oregon is probably benefi ting from the
perception that it’s a newer, fresher wine-pro-
ducing area, he said. “They’re not your
father’s wine region. Nobody likes driving
their father’s Cadillac to school.”
He likes to spread germs
Dear Annie: When my brother-in-law is ber of years and then worked for county gov-
sick, he loves to cough: He says he wants to ernment. No one contacted him about this stu-
spread his germs around. Recently, we went dent loan. After so long, my friend is unable to
out to eat with him, and he coughed into his locate any paperwork about the loans to prove
hands and not into his elbow. He kept cough- that they were paid off all those years ago. The
ing throughout the meal. No one
bank that made the loan has changed
DEAR
wants his sickness. I fi nd it diffi cult to
hands several times, and they don’t
ANNIE
be around him.
have records going back that far.
My brother-in-law is also a bully,
My friends are in their retirement
and I believe this is part of his love
years, and they are having to pay back
of bullying — spreading illness to
thousands of dollars because of this.
others.
They are saying that he also owes
Please tell people to stay home
interest. The original loan was only
when they are sick, cough into their
for $3,000. So far, they have paid
elbows and see a pulmonary specialist ANNIE LANE $8,000, with no end in sight. The only
Creators
if their cough lasts more than a month.
reason they started paying it back is
Syndicate Inc.
— Sick of the Chronic Cougher
because they were told they would be
Dear Sick: Your brother-in-law is
sued if they didn’t.
sick in more ways than one. Shame on him.
They have talked to senators and repre-
I should hope this is common sense by now, sentatives and even hired a lawyer, but what
but in case anyone needs to hear it: Cover- it amounts to is they have no proof they paid
ing one’s mouth when coughing or sneez- it. I believe it is some kind of computer glitch,
ing isn’t just polite; it’s a simple and effective but no one is able to defend them against the
way to reduce the spread of germs. It is best to Department of Education.
keep tissues handy so that you can cover your
I just wonder if what happened to them is
mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing happening to other people all across the coun-
and promptly dispose of the used tissue. Then try. Is there anywhere you can refer these peo-
thoroughly wash your hands with soap and ple to go for help? — Sickened by Friend’s
clean running water. If clean running water is Situation
unavailable, the CDC recommends using an
Dear Sickened: I feel extremely frustrated
alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at just reading about your friends’ situation. I
least 60% alcohol.
can’t imagine living it.
Dear Annie: I am writing for a friend
Too many things seem not to add up here:
who is at her wit’s end. More than 40 years For instance, wouldn’t this have been neg-
after completing his education, her husband atively impacting his credit score all these
is being sued for a student loan that he says years? Something is defi nitely awry.
was paid off 30-plus years ago. They have
I wish I could offer actionable advice, but
never had any letters or phone calls saying he I’m afraid that the best I can do is print your
still owed student loans in all these years. He letter and let you know if I hear from anyone
has lived in the same house for over 25 years. who has experienced this fi rsthand and knows
He worked for state government for a num- a course of action.
Even so, it’s likely that Oregon’s wine
industry has gained sales at the expense of
other wine regions, which isn’t a sustainable
strategy, McMillan said.
Ultimately, Oregon’s wine producers are
going after the same consumers and should be
trying to grow demand rather than capturing
market share from other areas, he said.
“That’s not the path we want to take. You
really want to have the rising tide lift all the
boats,” McMillan said.
Aside from competition from other alco-
holic drinks — which are generally less
expensive per serving — wine is also suffer-
ing from the overall perception of alcohol as
unhealthy, he said.
The World Health Organization has been
pushing studies warning that any amount of
alcohol consumption is detrimental to health,
he said.
Consumer opinions have shifted since the
1990s, when the popularity of the Mediterra-
nean diet strengthened the view that red wine
in particular is healthy, McMillan said.
For young consumers, healthfulness is
often seen through the prism of caloric intake,
which hasn’t worked in wine’s favor, he said.
“We’re not as healthy to a young consum-
er’s mind as White Claw alcoholic seltzer,”
McMillan said. “When White Claw is better
for you than wine, we’re making a mistake.”
Whether to include information about calo-
ries on wine labels is a subject of debate in the
wine industry, though it could be a good idea
if that’s what the consumer wants, he said.
Innovating with container sizes may also
be worth exploring, as smaller 375 milliliter
and 500 milliliter containers have seen stron-
ger sales growth than the standard 750 millili-
ter wine bottle, he said.
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