SEATTLE (November 19, 2021)—The organizers of Taste Washington regretfully announce today that the Taste Washington festival will not occur in 2022. They are immediately working toward a full relaunch in 2023.
There are a myriad of reasons a festival is not possible in 2022. Among them, Visit Seattle, which has owned and operated the event for the past 10 years, will be stepping back from an ownership role of Taste Washington. This is due to many factors, including the devastating effects of the pandemic on Washington’s hospitality industry.
“Though Visit Seattle will no longer have an ownership role in Taste Washington, we will continue to be involved as an advisor, sponsor and advocate moving forward,” said Ali Daniels, Senior Vice President of Visit Seattle. “It’s been an honor to partner with the Washington State Wine Commission to grow Taste Washington into the nation’s largest
single-region food and wine festival.”
In addition to this ownership change, the festival is not possible due to the limited bandwidth of previous event production partners, the large financial risk given the current uncertainties and challenges, the recent, severe impacts on the food and beverage industries, and a general lack of staffing availability in our communities.
The Washington State Wine Commission, which launched Taste Washington in 1998 and continues to own the trademark, is actively searching for a new event owner and operator. The industry will continue to celebrate Wine Month in March 2022 with meaningful ways for both trade and consumers to engage with Washington wine.
“We are fully committed to bringing back the Taste Washington festival in 2023,” said Steve Warner, President of the Washington State Wine Commission. “This gives us a chance to reimagine the event we all know and love, to relaunch it better than ever.”
More details will be released as available at tastewashington.org.
About the Washington State Wine Commission:
The Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, WSWC provides a marketing platform to raise positive awareness about the Washington wine industry and generate greater demand for its wines. Funded almost entirely by the industry through assessments based on grape and wine sales, WSWC is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987. To learn more, visit www.washingtonwine.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Heather Bradshaw | hbradshaw@washingtonwine.org | (206) 495-5844
Averyl (Dunn) Mooney | admooney@washingtonwine.org | (206) 295-5763
About Visit Seattle:
Visit Seattle has served as the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Seattle and King County for more than 50 years. A 501(c)(6) organization, Visit Seattle enhances the economic prosperity of the region through global destination branding along with competitive programs and campaigns in leisure travel marketing, convention sales and overseas tourism development. Visit visitseattle.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kauilani Robinson | krobinson@visitseattle.org | (206) 461-5839