TRADE MISSION NOTES:

True believers in the benefits of international trade

Andy Brassington, Vintners Global Resource

08/25/10

At Vintners Global Resource, we're true believers in the benefits of international trade. Every one of the 8 plus direct jobs in our Yakima-based firm is dependent on international trade. Our business also creates other indirect jobs in warehousing and logistics. We work with more than 200 family-owned wineries in Washington and throughout the Northwest, providing them with the bottles and cartons that allow them to market their quality products. After all, without the bottle, it's impossible to sell the wine.

If Washington vintners had to rely exclusively on domestically produced bottles, they would be out of luck. We don't have the production capacity here in the U.S., let alone in Washington, to meet the demand of the state's 700 + licensed wineries. And not only is trucking bottles up from California, Mexico or the Mid-West more expensive than importing bottles on efficient ocean liners from China, it uses more fuel, too.

Wine bottle production is a large global industry and our Washington based business uses our direct manufacturing/importing/distribution platform to provide important wine bottles and inventory services to Washington wineries.

We import, warehouse and deliver millions of wine bottles to the region every year, but we're proud to work with some of the smallest boutique wineries in the state. We understand that not everyone is large enough to attract the personalized attention of the bottle manufacturer, and we will always be focused on the family owned and operated wineries of the Pacific Northwest. The hallmark of Washington wine production is quality, not quantity.

As someone who has participated in governor's trade missions to Mexico and China in the past, I've
seen firsthand the benefits of government-to-government relationships. In China, much more than in the U.S., businesses need that formal introduction facilitated by a governor's mission. Other nations place
significant importance to the value of government to government relationships. Trade missions are a very real and personal means to bring our cultures together and create a better world. When private companies stand side-by-side with our state's government leaders, we can cultivate the new business partnerships that lead to jobs back home.