Washington Wine Industry Looking To Create Specialty Plate

The Washington apple is not the only commodity trying to get on a license plate.

The Washington Wine Institute, in partnership with the Washington State Wine Commission, is working in Olympia this session to create a specialty license plate.  If approved, revenue from the plate would be donated to the Washington Tourism Alliance to support tourism efforts throughout the state.  The Wine industry is working with Republican Representative Kelly Chambers, from Puyallup.

WTA is a membership-based nonprofit organization that was established after the closure of the Washington State Tourism Office in 2011.  The organization supports broad tourism economy.

“It would be thrilling to see a license plate to celebrate our state’s world-class wine industry,” said Steve Warner, President of the Washington State Wine Commission. “WTA is a perfect benefactor considering our 1,000+ wineries are a major tourism driver in the Northwest.”

“Through supporting the idea that Washington wine is what our residents should choose first when picking wine, to creating new revenue for the WTA to utilize in telling the country and world to visit Washington’s rural wine regions, the Washington wine specialty license plate is a clear win-win for our industry,” said Josh McDonald, Executive Director of the Washington Wine Institute.

The Washington Wine Institute is currently collecting the 3,500 signatures needed for a new specialty plate as part of the approval process.  Click here to add your signature.

The Washington wine industry accounts for $8.4 billion in-state economic impact including 36,500 related jobs and $2.4 billion in wine revenue. In 2018, an estimated 2.6 million people visited wineries across the state.

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