Wine Industry License Plates Pt 1
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We've got license plates in Washington that pay tribute to your favorite school, favorite team or organization, for the military and national parks ... and soon maybe our wine industry.House Bill 2050 passed last week and Representative Kelly Chambers is one of the sponsors ...
CHAMBERS ... "Viticulture enthusiasts like to share their love of the wine industry and are enthusiastic about sharing their love for wine. So, this bill creates a special Washington Wine license plate that will tastefully depict a lush wine landscape."
Chambers says we make a lot of wine ...
CHAMBERS ... "Washington is uniquely situated to grow a number of varietals both here on the west side and on the east side of the mountains. Washington is home to over 350 grape growers and 900 wineries. We have 14 AVA designation here in Washington and produce over 17-million cases of wine each year which contributes $4.8-billion dollars to Washington's economy."
And, she says wine lovers come from near and far ...
CHAMBERS ... "People like our wine. They seek it out and as a result the wine industry is a significant driver of tourism here in our state, particularly in rural Washington. People like to visit our wineries responsibly and visit the towns in which those wineries and tasting rooms reside. And, when they're doing that along the way, they visit the shops on the same street as those tasting rooms."
The specialty plates depicting Washington's wine industry passed overwhelmingly in an 86 to 9 vote, but not everyone was on board.
Listen tomorrow for more.