How The State of Oregon Plans to Kill Off Its Wine Industry

Oregon wine just got a wake up call...the rest of the U.S Wine Industry will too

It might be the worst wine review I’ve ever seen:

“Oregon’s premium wines are, in fact, toxic, addictive, and carcinogenic.”

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this seems particularly harsh. I know what you are thinking: This is just some Burgundy-phile dumping on a competitor. But you would be wrong. It’s an Oregonian who can’t seem to find any redeeming value in the Pinot Noirs from my adopted home state.

MIke Marshall is the founder and director of Oregon Recovers, an anti-alcohol group that proposed a 1,200% increase in the taxes on beer and a 500% increase in the tax on wine. (Both failed to go anywhere because, despite this being Oregon, we aren’t completely insane up here). Mike has a storied history as an advocate for a number of causes and organizations and has worked in politics for quite some time. Mike, like 90% of the Board of Directors of Oregon Recovers, is in long-term substance abuse recovery. This either makes him and his board particularly well-suited to address alcohol consumption and alcohol regulatory policy in the state or particularly biased. Who am I to say?

But of course, the point is not who is and who is not qualified to issue reviews of Oregon Pinot Noir or to suggest tax rates for alcohol. In this case, the point is that Mike Marshall and his organization Oregon Recovers represent the final narrative that we are barreling toward in the United States, and, in this case, the state of Oregon is getting in on the action too.

Before I go on, watch this commercial, created by “Rethink the Drink”, a project of the Oregon Health Authority:

If you are a responsible, moderate drinker, a member of the Oregon wine community, or just someone who thinks that governments have a responsibility to act fairly, then you recognize the message and narrative in this government-sponsored commercial as an abomination.