Oregon Wine: A Road Trip, a Rebrand, and a Love Letter to the Land
One Month. One Shasta Trailer. One Industry on the Edge of Breakthrough.
Before I ever stepped into a tasting room, I rode a BMX bike through the backroads of the mid-Willamette Valley. My friends and I crossed the ferry—no helmets, no plan—and rode to Newberg, hopping fences to steal a few grapes. They weren’t good grapes, certainly not table grapes, but that never mattered. We’d sit in the dirt with juice on our hands, convinced we’d uncovered something meaningful. In a way, we had.
Decades later, in the summer of 2020—mid-pandemic, pre-wildfires—I found myself in those same regions. This time, I was towing a 1961 Shasta with my wife and kids, on a mission to help rebrand Oregon wine. We spent a month on the road: 24 days, 21 wineries, 1,240 miles, and one lonely fish caught somewhere in between.
In a moment of global uncertainty, this project offered clarity. It was a chance to breathe, to listen, and to rediscover the essence of place. This wasn’t just a work trip. It was a rare opportunity to observe what makes Oregon wine unmistakably Oregon—something you cannot understand from behind a desk.
We played, we tasted, we interviewed, we wandered. And those family memories? They became part of the work itself, woven into every creative decision.
Unifying Oregon’s Diverse AVAs Under One Flag
The Oregon Wine Board asked us to solve a familiar yet uniquely complex challenge: How do you build a cohesive brand for an industry shaped by volcanic soils, coastal rains, high plateaus, and desert heat? The Willamette Valley had long been the global focal point. But our client wanted more—a brand capable of holding all of Oregon’s AVAs with integrity.
This meant elevating lesser-known regions while honoring the established ones. It also meant navigating passionate voices from growers and makers whose needs varied widely.
We approached the work with layered research:
- Thirty virtual workshops
- Fifty-six interviews
- Dozens of surveys across nine wine regions
Then we went into the field. From the Gorge to the Rogue, we listened—not just to statements, but to tone, cadence, and conviction. We mapped personality traits, studied visitor behavior, and noted the subtle differences that define each region.
That research didn’t just inform strategy. It earned trust.
Creating “True Character”: A Brand Built to Scale, Not Conform
From that groundwork emerged a simple idea with depth: True Character. More than a tagline, it became a guiding philosophy. Oregon wine is not defined by sameness; it is defined by intention—by doing things the hard way on purpose, and by remaining open to the unexpected.
We built a full-scale brand system rooted in this belief, from logos and typography to regional toolkits and messaging frameworks. The identity reflects Oregon’s rugged grace, merging heritage influences with modern adaptability. It works in tasting rooms, trade shows, social feeds, and shipping boxes—but at its core, it remains human.
At the center of the brand sits a manifesto: a narrative of place, power, and purpose. It speaks to the character of the land and the people shaping it—the honesty, the grit, the patience, the hope.
From Research to Resonance: Deliverables that Worked
Behind the scenes, we created tools to ensure the brand lived well beyond the launch:
- website strategy
- storytelling templates
- ad creative
- stakeholder alignment decks
Most importantly, we helped every region—from Applegate to Walla Walla—see themselves in the story. No one needed to become something they weren’t. The system invited authenticity rather than conformity.
The result: a scalable identity that elevates not only product, but place—offering the global wine community a compelling reason to look north.
What I’ll Never Forget
This case is deeply personal—not just because it succeeded strategically, but because it reminded me what this work is truly about: connection, curiosity, and place.
I remember sitting under the shade of a tasting room in the Gorge, scribbling notes while my kids ran barefoot in the grass. That moment remains more vivid than any creative review.
Oregon doesn’t need to mimic Napa or Bordeaux. It needs only to be itself. That is what “True Character” honors. And that is why I’ll always be proud of the role we played in helping this industry articulate its story.
“After a very competitive RFP process, we chose the team at Watson to help us meet a deeply complex challenge: to create and express an inclusive, authentic identity for Oregon Wine that will cultivate a singular sense of pride, shared purpose, and direction forward for Oregon’s 900 wineries and more than 1,300 wine grape growers—ultimately elevating Oregon wine on the world stage. No small feat for any agency. The research, insights, messaging, and design that Watson delivered have exceeded our expectations. Not only does the work encompass a wide range of personalities, wine styles and geographies, but it does so in a way that will highlight Oregon’s ‘True Character’ well into the future. The impact on the Oregon wine industry as a whole for decades to come.” – Tom Danowski, Executive Director of the Oregon Wine Board
