Washington Wine Institute

10/27/2026

As the 2026 grape harvest season comes to a close in Washington State, we hope it was a successful one for your w**ery. Cheers to another harvest in the books! 🥂

Photos taken 10/21/26 in the Red Mountain AVA.

10/19/2026

WA W**eries, you're invited!

Join AI consultant and w**e enthusiast Jeff Utecht for a four-part learning cohort designed to give w**eries a space to navigate AI questions and identify where AI fits within their w**ery operations. Participants will learn to create custom AI assistants for employees and customers, improve marketing and w**e club communications, and explore the emerging world of AI agents and workflow automation.

The goal isn’t to automate the personality out of your w**ery. It’s to explore whether AI can take a few tasks off your plate so you have more time for the work—and the people—that need you.

Sign up here: www.wwi.w**e/event/4-part-series-ai-in-the-w**ery/

10/09/2026

Thank you, The Inbound Co. We are very grateful for your support and excited to have you on board!

We're so excited to be a Supplier Member for Washington W**e Institute, helping small-to-midsized w**eries in the Pacific Northwest (and beyond) with all their digital marketing needs. We offer help with DTC sales, email marketing, website creation and updates, SEO, social media & so much more.

Ready to up your digital marketing game? Reach out for a free consultation and to discuss how we can partner to help you grow!

10/02/2026

"It’s Crush, and your w**e club members are eager to help with harvest. Your neighbor offers to lend a hand with bottling your 2021s. A friend knows that you’re short-handed in the w**ery and offers to organize your case good storage. All of these folks are volunteers, hoping to support the w**ery as your friends, neighbors and colleagues. The question is – can for-profit w**eries in Washington legally use these unpaid volunteers?"

The short answer is no.

You may be wondering why w**eries cannot legally use volunteers and whether or not any exceptions for volunteer work are allowed.

This article, authored by Foster Garvey's team of alcohol law attorneys, provides Washington w**eries with everything they need to know about volunteer work, the use of interns and why unpaid labor for a for-profit business in Washington is illegal: www.wwi.w**e/use-of-volunteers-and-interns-what-washington-w**eries-need-to-know-2/

09/30/2026

𝐖𝐖𝐈 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! 🍷🚐

Become a Good Sam Overnight Stays host by 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭⁣ and you'll automatically be entered for a chance to win a 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬𝐚𝐦⁣, valued at $𝟑,𝟓𝟎𝟎+⁣!

Wildsam reaches hundreds of thousands of travelers, giving your w**ery the opportunity to get in front of new customers and RV travelers looking for unique places to visit.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭⁣, and you keep every dollar your guests spend at your business.

👉 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭: ⁣
https://hostovernightstays.goodsam.com/en-us/wildsam-giveaway

Don't miss your chance to turn RV travelers into your next customers—and potentially get your business featured by Wildsam!

Discover Good Sam’s exclusive offer: new hosts get entered to win a features in Wildsam’s 2027 digital issue. Sign up by 10/31/27 to join.

09/25/2026

A huge thanks to W**ery Compliance Services (WCS) for supporting the Washington W**e Institute as a supplier member! WCS, located in Walla Walla, can assist w**eries with their compliance needs, including

▪ New W**ery Federal Licensing
▪ Change in Locations
▪ State and Federal Audits
▪ State and Federal Reporting
▪ Out-of-State Direct Shipper and Wholesale Reporting
▪ Federal Label (COLA) Submissions
▪ Compliance Consulting
▪ And more

For more information, email [email protected]

You may also get in touch with WCS here: www.wcsofww.com/copy-of-home

09/24/2026

Is your w**ery or vineyard preparing to transport some grapes during the harvest season? The Washington W**e Institute has compiled a checklist of need-to-knows for hauling tons of vinifera grapes. Find out if your commercial vehicle needs a DOT number, how to apply for one, how to register your vehicle, and more at WWI's grape hauling resource page, exclusive to WWI members.

To view these resources, and other w**e-related resources, log in to your WWI member account at this link: www.wwi.w**e/wp-login.php Can't remember your login? Email [email protected]**e for your member login information.

09/02/2026

🎉 𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞!

We're excited to announce through Washington W**e Institute's partnership with Good Sam, they're giving our members an opportunity to gain national exposure through Wildsam, a trusted travel publication that highlights unique places, people, and businesses across the country.
From now through October 31st, any business that becomes a host on Good Sam Overnight Stays will automatically be entered for a chance to win one of 3 Wildsam magazine features in 2027 — with winners selected at random!

🌟 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭?
By joining Overnight Stays, you can:
• Get your business in front of 600k+ RV travelers
• Attract new visitors and potential customers
• Share your business and story with travelers looking for unique experiences
• Receive a free Good Sam Elite Membership when you become a host
• And have the chance to receive valuable national exposure through Wildsam Magazine

Best of all, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭.

👉 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭!⁣
https://hostovernightstays.goodsam.com/en-us/wildsam-giveaway
Good luck! 🍀

08/31/2026

DUIs were recorded across the state on all six Seattle-hosted match days. The average BAC among completed breath tests was .14, well above the legal driving limit of .08. Most breath tests were recorded between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. About 21% of people who took a breath test were also involved in a collision.

By LCB Research Program

08/24/2026

ATTN: Washington W**e Institute members

Innovative Sourcing, a family-owned packaging distributor headquartered in Yakima, WA, has recently partnered with WWI on a new donation program.

For WWI members who purchase w**e packaging through Innovative Sourcing, 1% of your sales will be donated to WWI.

We are grateful to Innovative Sourcing for initiating this partnership and for their investment in w**e associations that work to sustain the WA w**e industry. To participate in this donation program, please contact Innovative Sourcing and let them know you are a member so your w**ery receives credit: innovativesourcing.com/contact/