Believe it when you see it.

(From Off Licence News)

There really is a groundswell," says Neville Harris, commercial manager for Stratford's Wine Agencies. "Everyone involved acknowledges the Pacific Northwest is something different, and that we can do something with it. We're certainly excited because chances to bring new winegrowing regions to our market don' come around very often." Harris is talking about wines from the American states of Washington and Oregon. After years of very minor and intermittent placements in Britain, a growing mass of regional brands are suddenly winning significant representation. Stratford's, for example, is launching several wines this spring from Ste Michelle Wine Estates, the largest producer in the Pacific Northwest. Other prominent UK merchants such as Bibendum are securing handfuls of listings, too. Even supermarkets such as Marks & Spencer are taking serious notice.

But why now? Oregon has been known domestically for its expressions of Pinot Noir across many years; and Washington has long captured America's attention for Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. But both industries are dominated by small wineries that enjoy high local demand - with prices to match. And that combination has closed the door to UK exports. So what's driving this new interest ? Favourable conditions One factor is currency exchange rates: the recent weakness of the dollar relative to the pound has made these wines less expensive abroad. A second factor is generic trade promotion: between 18 months and two years ago, the Oregon and Washington wine industry authorities hired Surrey-based marketing agency Hilltop Wines to facilitate relationships between regional producers and UK importers. Visible examples of that work have been an impressive (80sq m) stand at last year's London Wine Trade Fair as well as two large January trade and press tastings. (The most recent of those winter events showed nearly 200 wines from more than 40 brands.) However, the apparent deal-maker for the hundreds of cases that have arrived here since December is direct exposure to the region for British wine business owners and buyers. Attendance at popular, week-long regional trade events such as Oregon Pinot Camp and the Washington Wine Experience seems to make all the difference to winning listings. Al Portney, vice president for international sales at Ste Michelle Wine Estates, says: "We've had a lot of participation by the trade from countries like Denmark and Germany, and now those markets are doing really well for us. So it's a function of awareness. People just need to see the region for themselves. When they understand what we can offer, sales always follow." He adds: "In the past, we had no one from Britain. Then last year we finally had a few. So watch this space." Neville from Stratford's was one of those people at the 2007 Washington Wine Experience. "There are various seminars and estate visits over five days. They cover the major growers and some ...