2021 OR & WA Canada Wine Mission

The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA®) and the OR/WA State Departments of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Northwest Wine Coalition, announce participation and registration in the following activity, brought to you by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service:

2021 OR & WA Canada Wine Mission - October 18-22, 2021*

Western Canada Wine Tasting & Importer's Mission

(In-person in Oregon & Washington)

*Schedule is subject to change, but will be within 2021

Meet in-person with potential clients from Western Canada!

Canada is still our top market for U.S. products, including specialty beverages, value-added, retail products, process, and preparation foods. Retail and food-service buyers, brokers, and importers are still very interested in learning about quality wine from the Western U.S.  We chose British Columbia and Alberta of Canada as these are areas with the largest rebound economies and imported food consumption in Western Canada.

In the year 2020, COVID-19 caused market disruption. Still, wine remains a strong portion of the overall Agriculture retail marketplace; the growth in this segment has been significant in recent months. WUSATA aims to take advantage of the global pandemic recovery to promote wineries from OR, WA, and other regional states. We expect to gather 20 wineries and 8-12 professional buyers for the upcoming event.

This mission will feature wineries from Oregon and Washington. The in-person event will take place in Washington and Oregon and will include one-on-one meetings, sampling and tasting opportunities, bringing 8-12 importers to each state. 

Both Oregon and Washington will identify 10 wineries each to participate in the WUSATA inbound tour in October. The group will consist of 8-12 trade buyers from Western Canada representing various sectors of the trade. All will be key decision makers. The winery selection process will be first-come, first-served but in order to qualify, the following requirements must be met:

• Winery must already have representation in Calgary or British Columbia (Western Canada region) OR must be dedicated to finding a partner/representation in these markets
• Have the ability to host a group of 12-15 at their winery for a tour and tasting (not required if this is virtual mission; we will choose 3-4 wineries out of 10 to fit the schedule for buyers in each state)
• Be willing to work with WUSATA to host a lunch or dinner for a group of 12-15 or a portion thereof or be willing to host at a location if you do not have the facilities
• Must be enrolled in the WUSATA program (If you are not enrolled upon registration, we will help you to sign up WUSATA program in advance)
• Have a winery principal and or winemaker available to lead the group
• Be flexible in attendance and location

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to meet with prospective Wine importers from Western Canada In-Person!

Benefits of Participation:

• Meet one-on-one with Western Canadian wine importers, distributors, brokers, and agents
• Promote the OR and WA wine industry to Western Canada wine import industry
• Get reimbursed for up to $500 in sample shipments before the meetings

Participation Fee: $50.00

Registration Deadline: October 6, 2021