A group of competing Washington wine national account executives has formed the One Voice Council, a Seattle-based coalition designed to present a unified front to buyers across the national on-premise channel. The council's founding principle — community over competition — marks a rare move in an industry where rival producers typically guard their sales relationships closely.
For restaurant, hotel, and travel buyers, the practical implication is a more coordinated pitch for Washington wine as a category, rather than a fragmented parade of individual brand representatives. The council aims to make it easier for national account buyers to understand and commit to the state's wine portfolio by streamlining how the region is introduced and advocated at the program level.
The on-premise channel — encompassing national restaurant groups, hotel chains, and airline and hospitality programs — has long been a competitive arena where wine regions fight for limited list space. Washington's wine industry, home to established American Viticultural Areas such as Horse Heaven Hills and the Columbia Valley, has historically competed against better-known regions like Napa and Willamette Valley for those placements. The One Voice Council positions itself as a structural fix to that visibility gap.
The council is independent, meaning it operates outside any single winery's commercial interests, which organizers say is central to its credibility with buyers. By pooling the expertise of national account professionals who collectively understand the purchasing cycles and decision-making structures of major hospitality groups, the council hopes to secure stronger, more durable placements for Washington wine across elite on-premise accounts.
The formation follows a broader industry pattern of regional wine bodies and producer groups investing in coordinated on-premise strategy — a trend our restaurant beverage program coverage has tracked as sommelier-driven lists give way to centralized corporate buying. For operators evaluating their wine-by-the-glass and bottle programs, a more organized Washington wine voice could translate into better-supported placements, more consistent sales training, and stronger category storytelling at the table. Readers following beverage industry trends will recognize this as part of a wider push by emerging U.S. wine regions to compete structurally, not just on quality alone.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
