Latest news with #WillametteValleyVineyards
Fast Company
03-08-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
This company figured out how to reuse glass wine bottles, and it's reshaping the Oregon wine industry
BY The 2023 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley Vineyards has notes of candied cherries, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco. But its defining feature may be its container: a glass bottle designed specifically for reuse. Made by 3-year-old Oregon startup Revino—the first company to launch a reusable glass wine bottle in the U.S.—the Pinot Noir's green Burgundy-style bottle is sturdy enough that it can be used, sanitized, and refilled up to 50 times. Willamette Valley Vineyards, which operates 13 vineyards across Oregon, began selling 1,452 cases (or 17,424 bottles) of its 2023 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir in Revino's containers last year. The winery plans to put another 1,452 cases—of its 2024 Whole Cluster Pinot—in Revino bottles again this year. Seven of its nine tasting rooms now double as collection points for Revino bottles. 'We will take any Revino bottle back,' says Jim Bernau, Willamette Valley Vineyards' founder and CEO. That means customers can drop off bottles from Willamette's vintages as well as any other more than 70 Oregon wineries that Revino works with, including Bethel Heights, Cameron, Et Fille, and Remy Wines. More than 40 of these wineries already have wine in Revino's signature bottles. (The remaining wineries are still aging their wine and will bottle in Revino containers in the coming years.) When it comes to beverages, glass is often thought of as the 'greenest' packaging type. Not only is it infinitely recyclable, but unlike bauxite (used for tin cans), it doesn't require cutting down large swaths of rainforest to mine it. But as a circular material, glass is only as good as the recycling efforts that surround it. And in the U.S., those are few and far between. Revino founders, Keenan O'Hern and Adam Rack were critics of single-use packaging when they met in early 2022 through an MBA student who was doing a project on refillable beer bottles. On trips to the Netherlands, O'Hern, whose mom is Dutch, had observed residents habitually returning their beer bottles to shops. 'It's just a way of life over there,' he says. 'You return a beer bottle, bring it back to the shop, and they wash it and reuse it,' he says. Rack, who worked at Portland's Coopers Hall winery for nearly a decade, was an early adopter of refillable beer bottles, which Coopers Hall began using in 2018. (Rack's email signature is a quote from Dr. Seuss's The Lorax: 'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.') Together, they saw an opportunity to create an ecosystem for reusable wine bottles, starting in their home state of Oregon. Revino, which launched in 2023, makes money selling extra-durable U.S.-made bottles to wineries. Retrieving and washing the bottles is included in the cost of the bottles—even if that means Revino drivers have to drive 258 miles to Quady North in Southern Oregon's Applegate Valley. The company offers wineries a 10 cent credit on future glass purchases for each bottle returned, and an additional discount to wineries that collect and neatly stack them in a pallet. Customers, meanwhile, can return Revino bottles from one winery to bottles at any return site (not just Willamette Valley Vineyards). In Portland, that includes Vino wine shop, Statera Cellars, John's Marketplace, and others. Revino is on track to sell nearly half a million bottles this year, and aims to make $35,000 in monthly recurring revenue by early 2026. In addition to Oregon wineries, Revino has onboarded a handful in Napa (Frog's Leap, Silver Oak) and Washington state, as O'Hern and Rack work to expand their model to other parts of the country. Thus far, Revino has secured more than $440,000 from investors, including a prize from the Strategic Economic Development Corporation's Pitch Willamette. CRACKING THE GLASS RECYCLING PROBLEM Only 31.3% of glass is recycled in the U.S. according to the EPA. Many states don't have curbside pick up of glass; and only 10 states have bottle bills, which require beverage makers or distributors to add a deposit on all glass bottles that consumers can recoup if they return the containers. States like Oregon and Maine that have bottle bills have fairly high recycling rates. But elsewhere in the country, many people just resort to throwing glass in the trash. Though it's highly recyclable, glass is an energy-intensive material. To recycle it, glass cullet (crushed glass that's ready to be remelted), limestone, sand, and soda ash are heated to between 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit, a process that can emit toxic air contaminants when pollution controls aren't properly installed. Glass is also heavy, which means it's both expensive and carbon-intensive to transport. A 2014 study commissioned by the Wine Institute in California found that the making and transporting of glass bottles account for 29% of wine's carbon footprint. Revino aims to solve these issues by making it easy for winemakers to reuse bottles. Before launching, O'Hern and Rack held meetings with dozens of Oregon winemakers to collaboratively design the company's first reusable wine bottle—the green Burgundy one. Made by glass manufacturer O-I Glass in its Kalama, Washington, and Tracy, California plants, the bottles are produced with 50% to 70% recycled material. Even though Revino's bottles are durable enough to withstand roughly 50 washings, they weigh just 495 grams, which is less than some winery's regular bottles. Winemakers concerned about their carbon footprint appreciate this since the lighter the bottle, the less fuel is used to transport bottles to club members on the East Coast. Revino's first Flint bottle—clear glass, for rosé, pinot gris, and other whites—will be produced by the end of this year, and ready for purchase by January 1. Because the new bottles are all made in the U.S., there won't be any price fluctuations due to Trump's tariffs. O'Hern and Rack are closing on a wash facility in the Portland metro area and have purchased a high-end German Seitz bottle washer. Until that facility comes online, wineries like Willamette Valley are storing the empty bottles, which will eventually be cleaned by Revino, and then sold back to wineries at a discounted price. Willamette Valley pays $12 a case of 12 bottles for its Revino bottles, which is more than the $9.20 that Bernau says he pays for a case of bottles from Saxco bottles, made in Kalama, Washington. That said, with the 10 cent discount that partner wineries receive on future glass purchases for each bottle returned, Bernau will get a discount of $1.20 per case on his next purchase of bottles. An additional two-cent credit per bottle is added if the winery is willing to collect and neatly stack a full pallet of returned bottles for Revino to pick up. This brings the cost per case to $10.56—still $1.36 more than the Saxco case. Bernau isn't concerned about the price difference because he knows he's doing the right thing by keeping glass out of landfills. 'In the end, if Revino can stick with this, there will be cost equivalency,' he says. With glass bottle prices continuing to rise, Revino may pencil out sooner rather than later. 'If you think about it, the glass wine bottle has value already,' Rack says. 'Pint glasses at a restaurant or wine glasses are used hundreds of times. These bottles don't break when you throw them in the trash because they're so heavy and thick—but [people still] throw them away. And they're gone. There's value there!' MORE WINE VARIETALS, MORE BOTTLE STYLES There have been previous attempts to create a rewash system in the Willamette Valley, but the scale has always been too small and the task of collecting bottles too daunting. Also, some winemakers have been reluctant to part with their various bottle styles, according to Pat Dudley, a founder of Bethel Heights winery. But Dudley says winemakers' attitudes are starting to shift as they see their customers demanding more sustainable forms of packaging. 'I think there has been enough push in that direction that winemakers are starting to feel obliged to give up that silliness about the bottle weight and the bottle shape,' she says. 'Let your label be your brand!' Revino's clear Burgundy-shaped bottle for rosé is on track to debut later this year and the company has plans for other styles in the future. Rack and O'Hern are active members of the PR3 alliance, which is developing the only global standard for reuse. Members include environmental nonprofits like the Clean Water Fund and Surfrider as well as government entities like Seattle Public Utilities and the San Francisco Environment Department. (Companies like Clorox and Target are also members.) Rack is part of the washing standards work group. Revino also has ambitious expansion plans, but Rack says they want to develop their infrastructure on the West Coast before expanding further east. 'Some of the wineries in Napa have been looking at reuse for almost a decade, wanting to figure it out but they didn't know how to do it on their own,' Rack says. Revino is also launching some pilots with a few Napa wineries to 'back-wash' their existing bottle line, which will both create another income stream for the company and allow the wineries to see how high their return rates are. 'This will also help us present ourselves to policy experts down there and investors,' O'Hern says. Eventually they'd love to open a California wash facility to cater to that market. 'That's the whole goal,' he says. 'We don't want to have this hub and spoke facility. We want these to be localized to the regions that we're collecting and washing in.' MARKETING THE REUSABLE BOTTLE Willamette Valley's Bernau says the decision to work with Revino was a no-brainer. 'From the beginning, we've been focused on environmental stewardship,' he says. Founded in 1983, Willamette Valley Vineyards is certified through the Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) program and its Bernau Estate Vineyard is certified biodynamic. In 1990, Bernau became the first Oregon winemaker to add a 10-cent bottle credit to all his labels. The winery's estate tasting room in the Salem Hills has been a collection point for wine bottle returns ever since. 'Since the 1989 vintage, our first vintage, we've been teaching our customers to bring the bottles back,' Bernau says. Revino uses design to help this effort. The first iteration of its bottles had the word 'Refillable' embossed along the heel and an embossed impression of the state of Oregon on the punt (the dimple at the bottom of a bottle). The second version says 'Reusable.' And because Revino is already expanding into neighboring states, the Oregon shape will be replaced with a tracing circle, a symbol for reuse. Revino is also getting participating wineries to change their labels to include language that says 'Reusable Bottle' with a QR code that leads consumers to Revino's returns page. Bernau says that customers have been enthusiastic about the winery's refillable bottles. The Revino marketing materials, which are on all Willamette Valley's tasting room bars, have become a talking point and even sway some customers to order the Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, according to the winery's estate general manager Spence Fogarty. 'They feel they're a conscious consumer,' he says. 'And then they are shown the bottle—which has a unique shape and the [imprint of the] state of Oregon on the bottom. They feel that they're doing their part.' The tasting rooms offer another incentive: If you bring six empty Revino bottles in, you get a free flight. Bernau says since the whole cluster was released in August, he's already received 12% of the bottles back. That's nearly double what O'Hern and Rack had forecasted for the first year. 'Looking at those early indicators, it's really quite exciting seeing the amount of participation,' Rack says. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hannah Wallace writes about regenerative agriculture, green businesses, the cannabis industry, and, lately, the way that cities and communities are responding to the homelessness crisis. Her articles have appeared in CityLab, Dwell, Inc., Portland Monthly, and Vogue, and she is a frequent contributor to Civil Eats and David Byrne's Reasons to be Cheerful More
Business Insider
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Willamette Valley Vineyards files $20M mixed securities shelf
16:19 EDT Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI) files $20M mixed securities shelf Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>>
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willamette Valley Vineyards Posts Results for Q1 2025
SALEM, Ore., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. (NASDAQ:WVVI) (the "Company"), a leading Oregon producer of Pinot Noir, generated a loss per common share after preferred dividends of $0.26 and $0.22 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 respectively, an increase of $0.04, for the three month period ended March 31, 2025 over the same three month period in the prior year. Sales revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $7,541,583 and $8,803,080, respectively, a decrease of $1,261,497, or 14.3%, in the current year period over the prior year period. This decrease was caused by a decrease in revenues from distributor sales of $1,285,815, partly offset by an increase in direct sales to consumers of $24,318 in the current year's three-month period over the same period in the prior year. Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $4,759,108 and $5,272,722, respectively, a decrease of $513,614, or 9.7%, in the first quarter of 2025 over the same quarter in the prior year. This decrease was primarily the result of a decrease in sales through distributors. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $5,629,086 and $5,875,299, respectively, a decrease of $246,213, or 4.2%, in the current quarter over the same quarter in the prior year. This decrease was primarily the result of a decrease in selling expenses of $60,072, or 1.5% and a decrease in general and administrative expenses of $186,141, or 10.1% in the current quarter compared to the same quarter last year. General and administrative expenses decreased in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024 primarily as a result of lower legal costs. Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $728,981 and $521,805, respectively, an increase of $207,176, or 39.7%, in the first quarter of 2025 over the same quarter in the prior year. The increase in net loss for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the comparable period in 2024, was primarily the result of lower case sales to distributors in 2025. Jim Bernau, Founder and President of the Company said "This first quarter reflects the current challenges in national distribution through our wholesalers. In order to help address these challenges, we have hired Mike Osborn as our new Chief Executive Officer. Mike, who was the founder of will bring to the Company extensive experience in the wine industry." For a complete discussion of the Company's financial condition and operating results for the first quarter 2025, see our Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR. Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. is headquartered at its Estate Vineyard near Salem, Oregon. The Company's common stock is traded on NASDAQ (WVVI). This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, referred to as the "Securities Act", and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, referred to as the "Exchange Act". These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business, and beliefs and assumptions made by management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates", "predicts," "potential," "should," or "will" or the negative thereof and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to: availability of financing for growth, availability of adequate supply of high quality grapes, successful performance of internal operations, impact of competition, changes in wine broker or distributor relations or performance, impact of possible adverse weather conditions, impact of reduction in grape quality or supply due to disease or smoke from forest fires, changes in consumer spending, the reduction in consumer demand for premium wines, and the revenues or costs for any of our tasting rooms and restaurants exceeding our expectations. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic economic conditions. Many of these risks as well as other risks that may have a material adverse impact on our operations and business, are identified in Item 1A "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following is the Company's Statement of Operations for the three months ended March, 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024:Three months endedMarch 31,20252024 SALES, NET$ 7,541,583$ 8,803,080 COST OF SALES 2,782,4753,530,358 GROSS PROFIT 4,759,1085,272,722 OPERATING EXPENSES: Sales and marketing 3,967,7104,027,782General and administrative 1,661,3761,847,517 Total operating expenses 5,629,0865,875,299 LOSS FROM OPERATIONS (869,978)(602,577) OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) Interest expense, net (298,221)(229,678)Other income, net 142,47698,043 LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES (1,025,723)(734,212) INCOME TAX BENEFIT 296,742212,407 NET LOSS (728,981)(521,805) Accrued preferred stock dividends (563,177)(563,177) LOSS APPLICABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS $ (1,292,158)$ (1,084,982) Loss per common share after preferred dividends, basic and diluted $ (0.26)$ (0.22) Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted 4,964,5294,964,529 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Willamette Valley Vineyards Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willamette Valley Vineyards appoints new CEO
US-based Willamette Valley Vineyards has appointed Michael Osborn, the founder of as its new CEO. The appointment follows the company's founder Jim Bernau's decision in January to step back from the CEO role while continuing as president and chairperson, as part of a planned succession strategy. In a statement published yesterday (12 May), the Oregon-headquartered winery said the appointment is effective immediately. Bernau said: "As the wine market continues to evolve, we need the added horsepower of a new CEO grounded in the industry's business side to accelerate our momentum. 'Mike brings visionary leadership, a deep connection to Oregon, and the sales and marketing experience to invigorate our brand with distributors, retailers, and restaurants across the country and globally.' Osborn founded in Portland and built it into a 'leading online wine retailer' in the US over the past 27 years, Willamette Valley Vineyards said. In the statement, Osborn said he will 'work with the team to elevate the winery's national and global presence while remaining rooted in the people and places that make Oregon wine distinctive'. Founded in 1983, Willamette Valley Vineyards has grown from 15 acres of vines in the Salem Hills of Oregon to more than 1,000, producing over 260,000 cases annually. It manages several estates, including the flagship vineyard in the Salem Hills, Domaine Willamette in the Dundee Hills, Tualatin Estate near Forest Grove and Elton Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. The winery employs more than 350 staff, including more than 40 managers overseeing operations across ten tasting rooms in Oregon, south-west Washington and California. For the year ending 31 December, Willamette Valley Vineyards posted net sales of $39.8m, up 1.7% from the previous year. The company's net loss narrowed by 90.2% to $117,894 compared to the prior year. It attributed this improvement to higher gross profit, driven by increased sales revenue and improved margins, though higher interest expenses in 2024 partially offset these gains. Gross profit increased by 7.3% year-over-year, reaching $24.2m. "Willamette Valley Vineyards appoints new CEO" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Returns On Capital Signal Tricky Times Ahead For Willamette Valley Vineyards (NASDAQ:WVVI)
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after investigating Willamette Valley Vineyards (NASDAQ:WVVI), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger. For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Willamette Valley Vineyards is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.006 = US$572k ÷ (US$109m - US$13m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024). Therefore, Willamette Valley Vineyards has an ROCE of 0.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Beverage industry average of 17%. See our latest analysis for Willamette Valley Vineyards While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Willamette Valley Vineyards. On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Willamette Valley Vineyards doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 6.0% over the last five years. However it looks like Willamette Valley Vineyards might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments. In summary, Willamette Valley Vineyards is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 25% to shareholders over the last five years. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere. Willamette Valley Vineyards does come with some risks though, we found 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant... If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
