If anybody ever had a free hand coming into a job, that person is Robin Pollard, the new executive director of the Washington Wine Commission. With the departure last week of Jamie Peha to form her own public relations company, the entire team that ran the commission during the industry’s years of explosive growth is gone. True, the commission’s overall policy is determined by the 13 commissioners, so the executive director of the WWC will never have everything her own way. And the commission’s annual round of events and promotions—Taste Washington, the Auction of Washington Wines, and Washington Wine Month are only the most visible—have a mighty momentum of their own.
Still, Pollard’s appointment offers a much-needed opportunity to look at how the commission goes about its mandated role of promoting the Washington wine industry. Two examples of things that need evaluation: The commission devotes a great deal of effort to its annual auction and picnic to benefit Children’s Hospital. But worthy as the cause is, does it pay off for the wineries and growers who support it so lavishly? Meanwhile, Taste Washington has grown from a modest, manageable wine and food event into a hectic, crowded, and expensive pig-out. Is this really the best way for restaurants and wineries to showcase their wares?
Pollard has only been on the job since mid-July and can’t be expected to start laying down the law about how the commission will address the issues facing the industry during her tenure. But she is remarkably candid about saying that none of the policies or programs currently espoused by the commission and staff are going to be spared scrutiny. Marketing in the widest sense is what the commission was created for, but there are many approaches to marketing. Pollard has long experience—working for the state’s economic development department promoting small business and agriculture. That should give her a perspective on marketing quite different from that of the kind of gunslinger who’s usually brought in to promote an industry, product, or brand for a fee.
Fortunately, Washington produces far more than its share of great fruit and superior wines, so there’s something more to sell than the kind of kitschy visions of romance and the good life that dominate wine advertising. Unfortunately, the public face of the industry here at home is just as snobby; vanishingly few everyday wine drinkers have the spare $500, $250, or $125 a person for the auction, the picnic, or Taste Washington. Like it or not, two facts define the mission of the commission in the early 21st century: Fewer than five percent of Americans drink wine on a regular basis, while world wine production continues to rise by millions of barrels a year. It’s true that there’s not only more wine every year but more good wine; but who’s going to drink it?
