Southwest Washington Winery Association

The Southwest Washington Winery Association[1] is a 501(c)6 non-profit corporation organized under the laws of Washington State to promote the grape wine and grape viticulture industry in several counties of SW Washington State. The area around historic Fort Vancouver[2] is known to be the first place in the Pacific Northwest where grapes were cultivated. [3] The Association was formed in 2016[4] with ten[5] original members [6][7] and has since grown (as of 2023) to over 30 members. A foundational goal has been to establish a new American Viticultural Area for the SW Washington region.

Wine grapes[8][9][10] and wine-making are a large and growing[11] part of Washington State's agricultural output. Various organizations exist to improve this economic sector.[12] SW Washington has been publicly recognized as a wine-touring region[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] despite not yet having a recognized appellation.[23]

The Association serves as a collaboration forum[24] for grape and wine based business and related businesses in various fields such as hospitality and restaurants. 4 Tiers of membership include Wineries, Tasting Rooms,[25] Vineyards, and Affiliated Businesses and Individuals.

SWWA also performs marketing research and advertising activities on behalf of the industry[26] and members, encourages educational and other outreach activies[27] among the members and to the general public, serves as a point of contact for interacting with local government and tourism boards,[28] and monitors legislative and regulatory issues for information dissemination among the membership.

The Association raises funds for these activities via nominal membership dues (pro-rated by membership tier[29]), via donations, via an annual awareness event called Savor Southwest Washington Wine[30] since 2019[31] where the majority of members provide wine tastings under one roof for the day, and as of 2023; by applying for grants on behalf of the membership and industry as a whole. Due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the Savor event was not held in 2020 and 2021.

Other regular events[32] organized by the Association include quarterly "Passport" events common among winery associations and within regions. Wine tour routes continue to be developed in the region, and wine-related tourism is a huge part of both the region and the state's economic strategy.[33] [34][35]

Since 2019, the association has been actively working on a draft petition[36][37] to have a new American Viticultural Area[38] recognized as the Mt. St. Helens AVA covering parts of Clark County, Cowlitz County, Skamania County and Lewis County in Washington.