Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance

Programs: Founded in 2001, the walla walla valley wine alliance is one of the most successful and well known winery/grower/partner industry membership organizations in the pacific northwest. The wine alliance has been a key instigator and driver of collaborative local, regional and bi-state efforts to promote wine tourism at all levels of engagement. (continued-schedule o) the wine alliance is regularly recognized for its ongoing marketing efforts to promote the walla walla valley wine region through a leading website and social media plan, sell-out events such as the walla walla valley ava's 30th anniversary celebration, top notch media relations, first class annual winery guide, and other assorted programs. Specific programs taste and tote the walla walla valley wine alliance created the "taste and tote first case flies free" wine program with alaska airlines, the first program of its kind in the pacific northwest. Taste and tote has grown to include the yakima and tri-cities (pasco)airports, and oregon has since established its own "oregon wines fly" program. With the taste and tote program, visitors can check their first case of wine free from the yakima, tri-cities/pasco or walla walla airports on alaska airlines. They also receive waived rental car drop fees from hertz rent-a-car, and waived tasting fees at participating wineries after showing their current alaska airlines boarding pass. Website: www. Tasteandtote. Com. Mobile wine tour the walla walla valley wine alliance created the first mobile wine tour application in the pacific northwest in july, 2011. The walla walla valley mobile wine tour application is free and accessible using any smart phone at wallawalla. Mobilewinetour. Com. It is a gps-based application and allows users to identify winery tasting rooms nearby their current location. The app also enables users to identify wineries that produce certain varieties of wine and sort wineries by tasting room hours so that they can identify wineries that are currently open. In addition, visitors can identify restaurants, lodging options, and other attractions through the app. More than 1,000 people access the mobile wine tour each month. Celebrate walla walla valley wine the walla walla valley wine alliance created a signature wine event to be hosted annually in walla walla during the third weekend of june. Celebrate walla walla valley wine launched in 2013. Each year, the event focuses on one of three varietals widely produced in the walla walla valley (cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot). We bring in guest winemakers from all over the world to compare and celebrate the differences between our regions. We work with local, regional and national sponsors to secure funding for the event. Walla walla wine @ tastings in seattle & portland the walla walla valley wine alliance hosts two large tasting events each winter, in portland and seattle. More than 50 of our member wineries travel to each city to pour their current releases. The walla walla wine events draw near sell-out crowds, with more than 800 trade and consumer attendees in each city. The trade attendees and general admission attendees are split between two sessions. Walla walla valley ava 30th anniversary the walla walla valley american viticultural area (ava) turned 30 years old in 2014, and the walla walla valley wine alliance executed a number of initiatives to commemorate the anniversary. U. S. Senators maria cantwell and patty murray introduced a resolution honoring the 30th anniversary of the walla walla valley ava, and rep. Cathy mcmorris rogers spoke on the house floor in honor of the anniversary. The wine alliance printed a 30th anniversary edition of the wineries of the walla walla valley winery guide, along with special 30th anniversary brochures to hand out at events held throughout the year and in the member winery tasting rooms. The wine alliance hosted a 30th anniversary celebration on march 20, 2014, highlighted with a lively roundtable discussion featuring the valley's wine industry founders. We also created a video, shown at the 30th anniversary event. It can be seen on our website: www. Wallawallawine. Com/30years. Wineries of the walla walla valley, winery guide created solely by the walla walla valley wine alliance with a contracted designer, the wineries of the walla walla valley winery guide is the premier winery guidebook resource for tourists visiting the walla walla valley. A new edition comes out each january. 40,000 copies are printed and distributed locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Winery guide can be downloaded from the walla walla valley wine alliance website: www. Wallawallawine. Com/guide. Barrel full of money (started 2011) the walla walla valley wine alliance spearheads a major fundraiser to benefit our local food bank every holiday season. Barrel full of money is a joint effort by alaska airlines, baker boyer bank, columbia rea, the downtown walla walla foundation and its members, the marcus whitman hotel & conference center, olive marketplace & caf, capps broadcast group, and the walla walla valley wine alliance and its members to raise money for the blue mountain action council's walla walla food bank. The barrel full of money campaign has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 2011, raising 2,000 the first year, 13,500 the following year and 15,000 last year. Wine alliance member wineries participate by setting out donation canisters in their tasting rooms, donating tasting fees during event weekends, and donating wine to the silent auction. Local and regional partnerships the wine alliance consistently works with local and regional organizations on partnership opportunities to co-promote the walla walla valley. We work closely with tourism walla walla, the chamber of commerce and the downtown foundation to execute local and regional events and marketing initiatives. The wine alliance helped to spearhead a recent partnership with tourism walla walla, the oregon wine board, travel oregon, willamette valley wineries, columbia gorge winegrowers and alaska airlines for a "willamette to walla walla" media tour. We jointly hosted five national writers on a week long journey in october 2014 through our respective wine regions. We hope to expand this partnership into larger tourism initiatives centered around the willamette valley to walla walla valley wine trail.