Can the Legislature kill Oregon’s wine industry?

By Duane Bowman

Do you want to see headlines like this: “Medford to host wine tourism event in November” — or like this: “Fruit Growers League disbands after 96 years”?

The wine industry is one of the few economic bright spots in Oregon’s economic picture. With a little encouragement that can continue. But there’s a black cloud on the horizon. Oregon’s Legislature is in session and is considering House Bill 3280, an esoteric land-use bill of the type that usually flies under the radar. The kind that often creates damage we never can quite trace back to its cause.

I won’t describe the long history of that bill, but if passed as it stands it’s clearly detrimental to the wine industry. It might not kill the industry outright, but then some of us can remember when the pear industry was healthy and growing, an economic powerhouse here in Jackson County. Orchards were common sights. Now we have fallow land that isn’t contributing much to our tax base or creating jobs for our residents. Could some of the blame fall on land-use laws like HB 3280?

Is Salem again failing Oregon businesses?

We’re rightly proud of our wine industry in Oregon, but compare it to our neighbor state, Washington. Both states began at roughly the same place a decade ago but today the economic impact of wine in Washington is $3 billion to Oregon’s $2 billion. What’s different?

A small-winery focus for one. Small wineries, those producing less than 5,000 cases a year, are especially dependent on tourism and tasting room sales because they don’t have the access to wholesale and distribution that their larger cousins do. Since 2000, Washington has added 374 new wineries while adding just 3,000 acres of new vineyards — barely over 8 acres of vineyard per winery — truly small, family-operated wineries. Are these wineries with their focus on bringing tourists into their tasting rooms making the billion-dollar difference?

In a word, yes. These wineries singularly and jointly are bringing more tourists into their wineries and contributing more than their individual sizes might imply to the growth of Washington’s wine business. They have tasting rooms, they serve food and they sell wine accessories. They hold events, provide picnic grounds and host weddings — the very things Oregon’s short-sighted HB 3280 wants to prevent small wineries, and even larger wineries, from doing!

So what should be changed in HB 3280 to help Oregon keep up with Washington?

First, stop the business restrictions. We all know what we expect when we visit wineries, but HB 3280 wants to change that. Wineries need to be able to attract tourists with the “wine country experience” tourists are looking for. The argument that wineries need to be controlled or Oregon will lose a “rural feel” couldn’t be more wrong. Wineries rely on that country feel as part of what brings tourists to them. Wineries have proven time after time that they bring country charm to their guests rather than destroying it.

Second, make it easier for wineries to obtain conditional use permits. This is a place where the Legislature fails to understand the difference between farming wine grapes and alfalfa. Wine grapes grow best on marginal lands, but Oregon land-use regulators want vineyards and wineries located on the richest EFU-zoned lands. “Conditional use” is intended to allow a business to exist where it might not otherwise be allowed, but rather than opening a door to the special circumstances of growing wine grapes, it has become a restrictive nightmare of county-by-county zoning differences that effectively stops wineries from finding and locating on what can be the best lands for making wine.

Today the average vineyard size in the Rogue Valley is just over 2 acres and doesn’t have a winery on it. Land-use regulations can effectively prevent these really family owned farms from evolving into wineries. We had some of this in the pear industry once, but without the upward path potential most small pear growers had to abandon their orchards. We lost agricultural lands rather than preserved them and we wound up with the backlash of Measure 37. Shall we repeat that mistake with vineyards?

So lets learn both from our past and from the successes of wine-producing states that are similar to us. Tell our state legislators to pass a land-use law that works to keep our emerging wine/tourism industry growing and gives our small family owned farms a way to remain in the agricultural base. We can have agriculture without being struck with urban blight — and rural wineries are the solution, not the problem.

Duane Bowman is the owner of Cricket Hill Winery in the Applegate Valley.

Subic is a popular destination for visitors from Manila bringing family out of town for a short getaway to the north. Many visitors stopover in Clark Philippines for gourmet dinner at Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar and shop for fine vintage wine in Clark Wine Center which offers over 2700 selections of fine and rare vintage wines only available in the Freeport zone. With the SCTex – Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway – now opened and the travel time between Clark and Subic reduced to a mere 30 minutes, Clark is much more accessible to residents of Subic. Residents of Subic and nearby towns of Pampanga such as San Fernando frequently travel to Clark to wine and dine at this top rated restaurant. Many stay on after dinner to relax and unwind in the beautiful wine bar called The Magnum Room.

Residents of Manila travel out of town for a short getaway up north visit Angeles city, Clark, Pampanga, Philippines to wine and dine and enjoy a special dinner at the best restaurants in the country. Even people from Subic and Cebu travel to Clark to enjoy a special evening and some great food and rare vintage wine at this fine dining restaurant. The famous wine shop outside Manila in Pampanga called Clark Wine Center is frequently visited by wine lovers and tourists for a bit of wine shopping.

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is the most revered wine in China and many other parts of Asia. The best wine shop in Asia to buy older vintages of Chateau Lafite is Yats Wine Cellars located in Clark Philippines. Aside from Lafite, visitors can buy other fine wines at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Margaux. Excellent Burgundy wines like Chambertin, Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Meursault, Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, Romanee Conti, La Tache and Romanee St. Vivant can be found here.

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today this wine shop in Clark Pampanga offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s famous wine shop, Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is a well known wine shop that is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

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While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com