WWI News

The recently announced US government tariffs targeting a variety of products imported from Canada and Mexico swiftly created a threatening response from both countries detailing their retaliatory measures including significant harm to Washington wine’s marketplace and access to many of Canada’s provinces. We are glad to see, even if just temporary for now, these tariffs were put on a 30-day hold so Canada and Mexico can negotiate with the US on ways to work together to appease the US’s border security and other concerns.

The Washington Wine Institute went to work immediately contacting our industry partners and creating a plan for how we can be of most help to our members. Our place in this effort is to protect Washington wine by rallying our entire Washington Congressional delegation and asking them to help by pushing back against the implementation of these tariffs whenever possible. We hold relationships with our US Senate and House offices to reach in to each one and educate them on the immense harm these tariffs may have on their wine industry if fully implemented. We will keep at it while hoping leaders of all three countries can find agreements that will put to an end any talks of tariffs against Canada or Mexico.

Reminder! If you are a beverage manufacturer and/or distributor that ships wine into California, your 2024 Annual Report is due by February 1 (If the due date falls on a holiday or weekend, it will be moved to the next business day). Beverage Manufacturer sales from December 2024 are also due February 10, according to the Beverage Manufacturer and Distributor 2024 Reporting & Payment Calendar.

Background: In 2023, California added wine and spirits bottles to California’s beverage container recycling program. Starting January 1, 2024, every Washington winery that ships wine to California needs to register with California’s CalRecycle, file monthly reports, and pay processing fees on wine sold to their state. Also, starting July 1, 2025, wine bottle labels for wine sold in California will be required to include CRV, or California Redemption Value.

For more information on reporting and payments under California’s beverage container recycling program, visit

• WWI’s CA Bottle Bill resource page
• CalRecycle’s Reporting and Payment page
• or email marie@wwi.wine to have your question directed to CalRecycle.

Julia Gorton, Washington Hospitality Association

Josh McDonald, Washington Wine Institute

Daniel Olson, Washington Brewers Guild

The Senate wasted no time in setting a hearing on Tuesday, the second day of the 105-day legislative session, for SB 5067 the legislative proposal to reduce our state’s allowed BAC from .08 to .05. We testified in opposition to the bill alongside our colleagues in the hospitality and craft beer industries and will continue to oppose this draft of the bill that fails to address what data tells us is factual in this debate; high BAC drivers and repeat offenders are the vast majority of DUI-related fatalities and tackling this problem has a much higher chance of making a meaningful impact on the safety of Washington roads. The proponents continue to ignore the data from Utah sadly showing their .05 law is not working; since 2020 Utah has seen a dramatic increase in DUI-related traffic fatalities. Regardless, we will continue to push for fact-based, data-driven discussions with our legislative leaders asking for a better outcome than what the bill will ultimately fail to provide. Thank you to all WWI members who signed in con on the bill for this week’s hearing; we will continue to ask for your help and support as this policy discussion continues along in the legislative process.

The 2025 Legislative Session begins next Monday, January 13^th, and is already off to an incredibly intense speed. Democrats continue to hold the majority in both the House and Senate as well as the Governor’s office. The 2025 Session will be a long, 105 days of the Governor, Senate, and House debating and passing all three of Washington State’s budgets (operating, capital, transportation) as well as many policy bills as both legislative bodies can find a majority of votes to pass. Washington Wine Institute’s priorities for this session include:

Opposing efforts to change our state’s BAC threshold from .08 to .05 Opposing any attempts to raise state wine excise taxes as a mechanism to fix our state’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit Supporting a deposit return system for wine glass bottles if state leaders decide to adopt some version of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) overhauling Washington State’s solid waste and recycling system and infrastructure by putting the cost and responsibility of product packaging on “producers” vs. our existing solid waste and recycling system Supporting any opportunities to modernize our alcohol laws through legislation that provides wineries with more opportunities to market and sell their wine in our state

OLYMPIA – The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) today announces that Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Jim Vollendroff, MPA, as chair of the LCB board.

Chair Vollendroff will fulfill former Chair David Postman’s term which concludes in Jan. 2027. Postman vacated the board chair position recently to serve as chief of staff for incoming Attorney General Nick Brown. Prior to his appointment, Chair Vollendroff has served as a board member since 2022.

“I am grateful for the opportunity. Together with Board Member Ollie Garrett, I look forward to continuing the board’s work in my new role as chair, said Vollendroff. “I want to thank former Chair David Postman for his years of leadership. I am eager to work with my fellow board members and LCB staff addressing emerging trends within the dynamic industries we license and regulate.”

Vollendroff has 35 years of experience in the behavioral health field. He most recently served as the behavioral health senior advisor for policy and advocacy for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW). In Jan. 2019 he was recruited to be the founding director of the Harborview/UW Medicine Behavioral Health Institute, a position he held until early 2021.

In addition, for 16 years he served in top leadership roles at the King County Department of Community and Human Services including 11 years as deputy director and five years as director of the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division.

“Jim has an extensive record of leadership in the public health field,” said LCB agency director William Lukela. “His public health experience and insights were critical to the development of the agency’s research program as well as the agency’s efforts toward furthering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).”

The board is composed of three members appointed by the governor to six-year terms. The board holds regular public meetings and work sessions with stakeholders, makes policy and budget decisions, and adjudicates contested license applications and enforcement actions on licensees. Board members also hired the agency’s director, Lukela, who manages day-to-day operations.

The agency has licensing, enforcement, tax collection and regulatory roles concerning alcohol, cannabis, vape and tobacco. It has a staff of approximately 350. In addition to Chair Vollendroff and Member Garrett, a third board seat will be available for a full-term appointment in Jan. 2025.

Small businesses in 22 of Washington’s 39 counties may apply for disaster loans to help compensate for lost revenues attributable to excessive summer heat’s effects on farming and ranching. The Secretary of Agriculture this summer declared an agricultural disaster, and now small businesses that support farm and ranch businesses may apply for low-interest loans to help compensate for lost business during the disaster period of March 15 through July 21, 2023. The deadline to apply is Nov. 14, 2024.

The 2024 Grape Report will launch on Monday, November 4th. 
 
This year’s report captures the same basic information as in the past: grapes harvested, sold, and purchased in WA, but has an added field to collect acreage by AVA. In order to participate in Washington Wine Commission events, such as Taste Washington, wine reviewer tastings, and Road Trip, your business must be up-to-date on all assessments. 

To File  – Login to the Industry Portal at www.washingtonwine.org, select ‘Login’ from the top right-hand corner.

 
Please complete your 2024 Grape Report by December 31, 2024.

The Washington Winegrowers Association, Washington State Wine Commission and Washington Wine Institute are working together on an industry-wide winegrape acreage report. This is a crucial step for our industry, and we are asking for your participation.

If you did not receive the email with full details, you can find it HERE.

The acreage report will be similar to the Commission’s production report, which highlights important stats for the entire industry – see 2023 production report here. Though the acreage fields are optional, we highly encourage all Washington growers to fill them out. Data will be aggregated to preserve confidentiality.