SALEM — After several years of inactivity, the Oregon wine industry is reviving a legislative caucus to support winegrowers at the state capitol.

The Oregon Winegrowers Association and Oregon Wine Council held a gathering for lawmakers Aug. 24 at Sokol Blosser Winery in Dayton to celebrate the relaunch.

Reps. Lucetta Elmer and David Gomberg will serve as House co-chairs of the caucus. Elmer, a Republican, represents portions of Yamhill and Polk counties in the northern Willamette Valley, while Gomberg, a Democrat, represents the central Oregon coast.

Senate co-chairs have yet to be named, though more than two dozen legislators have expressed interest in joining the caucus, said Jana McKamey, executive director of the Oregon Winegrowers Association, or OWA.

“We’re here to be a resource for legislators so they are in a position to understand the impacts of policy issues for our very important, value-added agriculture sector,” McKamey said.

The caucus was originally established in 2011 with former state Rep. Jim Thompson, R-Dallas, and Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, as House co-chairs and former Sens. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, and Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, as Senate co-chairs.

Of the original leadership, only Holvey remains in office. Thompson was defeated in the 2014 Republican primary election, Roblan did not seek reelection after the 2020 legislative session and Winters died of lung cancer in 2019.

McKamey said the combination of departures, Winters’ death and pandemic closures allowed the caucus to become dormant.

“Reinvigorating it has been a goal of ours,” she said.

According to a 2021 industry report, Oregon has 1,058 wineries and 1,411 vineyards statewide. The estimated value of production was $271 million — up 72% over the previous year.

“Oregon’s wine industry has grown so much in a short period of time and has become a critical sector of Oregon’s economy,” said Sam Tannahill, board chairman of the Oregon Wine Council and co-founder of A to Z Wineworks in Newberg. “It’s great to see so many legislators from across the state come together to support our winegrowers and winemakers.”

Alex Sokol Blosser, president of Sokol Blosser Winery and chairman of the OWA’s public policy and political action committees, said the Wine Caucus has played a key role in policy decisions that have allowed the industry to grow at such a prolific rate.

These include securing $500,000 for marketing and research projects at the Oregon Wine Board; changing land use laws to clarify what activities and events are allowed at wineries located on farmland; and helping to pass the “wine growler” bill in 2013 allowing wineries to sell bulk wine to-go.

McKamey said the Legislature has also come through with $2.6 million in 2021 for a lab at Oregon State University to test for smoke taint in winegrapes, and $447,100 approved earlier this year to monitor and suppress vine mealybug in Southern Oregon.

“That’s the kind of initiative the caucus could take leadership on in the future,” she said.

The Oregon Winegrowers Association and Oregon Wine Council held a gathering for lawmakers Aug. 24 at Sokol Blosser Winery in Dayton to celebrate the relaunch of the Wine Caucus. 

Legislators who attended include:

• Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland.

• Sen. Aaron Woods, D-Sherwood.

• Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville.

• Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis.

• Rep. Jules Walters, D-West Linn.

• Rep. Anna Scharf, R-Dallas.

• Rep. Boomer Wright, R-Coos Bay.

• Rep. Tom Andersen, D-Salem.

• Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Keizer.

• Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland.

• Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie.

• Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland.

• Rep. James Hieb, D-Canby.