When I read the lengthy list of recommendations coming out of the provincial governments review of liquor regulations I started to picture wine shops populating urban centres. Imagine wandering around Gastown or the New Westminister market area, popping into sample and buy wine while also enjoying visits to galleries and specialty retail shops. What was once only a dream now seems within the realm of possibility.
We have made a number of visits to Walla Walla, Washington and witnessed firsthand the impact that wineries and wine tasting rooms can have on the economy of urban areas. The effect was all the more dramatic when on one trip we stopped first in Lewiston, Idaho. Once a booming city with a vibrant downtown core, Lewiston has suffered from suburbanization fueled by construction of malls and big box stores in outlying areas where land is cheaper and free parking by the acre lures customers. Tree-lined streets and lovely heritage buildings haven’t been enough to keep area residents making the effort to visit downtown Lewiston.
By contrast, Walla Walla’s downtown sidewalks are alive with pedestrians in the day and evening, with many attracted by the opportunity to visit some terrific wine tasting rooms operated by wineries that are now producing some of the world’s finest wines. The state of Washington has long been a leader in community economic development, bringing together public, private and academic sectors in a constant search for innovative ideas that will enhance the economy.
In addition to the physical revitalization of a downtown core that was once much like Lewiston, according to people we talked to, wine shops draw tourists and locals alike, inspiring countless events to take advantage of the pedestrian traffic.
Another innovation in the area has been revitalizing the Walla Walla airport area. Once a centre for airplane service, there are dozens of hangars and buildings, many of which sat empty as businesses migrated to larger cities. But a concerted effort was made to encourage wineries to set up shop. The streets close to the airport are now dotted with wineries and tasting rooms. In the same area were particularly drawn to yet another innovation—incubator wineries. A cluster of five buildings has been constructed to provide startup wineries with a basic facility. Beautifully designed small buildings, each with tasting rooms at the front and outdoor crush pads at the rear, enable new wineries to get established without the usual the outlay of capital investment in land and buildings. Reasonable rents increase modestly each year and the tenants have a fixed period in which they can operate in the incubators after which they have to move out to free up the space for other newcomers. The owners that we talked to in these incubators seemed very pleased with the concept. Some have been successful enough to move on before the time limit.
In BC, urban cores haven’t had a lot to work with in their efforts to revitalize and create an atmosphere that has enough appeal to encourage suburbanites to make the trip downtown. With the retail economy moving quickly away from bricks and mortar to on-line virtual stores, it isn’t hard to envision wine shops, craft breweries and small distilleries becoming magnets that can attract more business activity to urban centres.
Personally, I hope that regulations will allow for groups of wineries to get together to share costs of operating tasting rooms. In Spokane, one shop is sponsored by five wineries from different areas of Washington and it offers a terrific experience. Another dozen or more wineries and shops are now spread throughout the urban core. We will have made a great leap forward on the day when we see shops in Vancouver or Victoria or Kelowna that feature wines of the Naramata Bench or Kelowna’s west side, for instance.
I am a big fan of purchasing wine directly from the producer. The chance for BC’s more than 200 wineries to take their products closer to the consumer is an exciting leap forward for community economic development.
Feature pic courtesy of Salt Tasting Room
