In Napa, In Walla Walla, and in other regions, emerging wine industries have helped reinvigorate the economies of surrounding communities.

Wineries bring millions of tourists into U.S. communities each year, providing a tremendous boost to local hotels, restaurants, shops, travel organizations, recreation and other businesses.  Their operations also add jobs and boost economies through their impact on local suppliers, such as transportation companies, contractors and financial institutions.

Regions that have developed their wine industries also have experienced cultural transformation, with local arts and

entertainment organizations enhanced by the influx of new visitors or full-time residents.

Southern Oregon is on the verge of similar transformation.  In the past seven years, the number of vineyards in the seven-county region has grown 50 percent and the number of wineries has more than doubled.  Major wineries from northern California and the Willamette Valley have made recent purchases of large plots of the area’s affordable land for future grape-growing operations.  One of the industry’s most respected testing facilities already has committed to opening a satellite site in the new Southern Oregon Wine Institute.

The economic potential for the region is significant, and the Southern Oregon Wine Institute at Umpqua Community College will be the catalyst that helps ensure it is fully realized.  Already, the viticulture and enology programs offered by SOWI are benefiting the regions growers and winemakers, providing a critical source of trained and skilled employees to serve their growing operations.  The next step is to build a state-of-the-art facility to house UCC’s current teaching and learning programs and to facilitate their growth to accommodate the significant future needs of the region’s wine industry.

To fund this $7 million project, the UCC Foundation, assisted by its volunteer board and campaign

committee, will be seeking to raise $3 million from foundations, corporations, and individuals.

The balance of the project will be funded through federal Recovery Zone Bonds (long-term mortgage with 45% of the interest reimbursed by the federal government) acquired by UCC with the assistance of the County Commissioners.

In a region struck particularly hard by the most difficult economic conditions in decades, southern Oregon’s wine industry holds the promise of significant and sustainable growth.  The Southern Oregon Wine Institute will help ensure that promise is fulfilled.