Economic Impact

Wine is more than just an agricultural commodity. Wine is a consumer product,

produced in a capital-intensive manner, and requires a wide variety of labor and
services to reach the consumer. This impact is reflected in wages, revenues,
taxes and spending on agricultural and production technology and supplies.
Associated industries such as distribution, tourism, and retailing greatly benefit
from the Oregon wine business. There is also the multiplier effect created by
purchases by the industry from suppliers and service firms as well as the
spending of wages paid by the industry within the Oregon economy. As a finished
consumer product, wine typically adds more value and keeps more of its profit
margin inside the state economy than many other agricultural products. Most
agricultural products are exported from their production region or sold to
processors in their raw form. Many of the processors in turn sell their products on
international bulk markets, which tend to be highly competitive with low margins.
The final products may pass through numerous out-of-state entities and markups
before reaching the consumer. As a result, a relatively small amount of the
profits are retained in the local economy.
Environmental Impact
Environmental impacts associated with the packaging and global distribution of
the finished product. The container chosen for packaging of the final product is
an especially problematic area for sustainable wine production. This is due to the
fact that container selection has a significant impact on energy use and
environmental burden as well as on perceived product quality.
---Furthermore, there are some conflicts concerning the issue of land-use for wine
tourism attractions at the expense of vine land
---Viticulture, or the cultivation of grapes,
The main environmental concerns in this stage are: soil erosion, toxic levels of
inorganic compounds (as a result of pesticide and fertilizer use), excessive water
use, and biodiversity loss
---Fermentation is an exothermic process, Inefficient energy use leads to
excessive carbon dioxide emissions and other air.
---Also, upstream production of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers has
detrimental effects on ecosystems and human health.
Ethic Impact
On the other hand wine tourism is not always beneficial for wineries and wine
producers are even hesitant or skeptical towards wine tourists. Wine producers
are sometimes cautious towards tourists that are motivated by the opportunity
to drink for free whereas they are not interested in educational benefits. These
tourists are often called mobile drunks by the winery owners.