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Our client, FAIR Spirits, joined with SVN as a partner and donated vodka for the SVN Spring Conference. FAIR understands the value of working with the dynamic people SVN attracts and looks to elevate the liquor conversation.

Here’s the situation: You’re a PR/Marketing company and you want to make the “case” to wine writers and influencers that Oregon pinot noir styles—including those from a client or two—are moving to a more elegant expression of the heartbreak grape. What’s a marketing firm to do?

When Chicago Magazine honored Greg Hall of Virtue Cider with a 2013 Green Award, we were excited, but not surprised.

Last weekend, Mark Bittman of the New York Times examined a new trend in fast food: healthy alternatives. Not only are the established chains beginning to see consumer interest in healthy foods that have a lighter impact on the planet, but whole new chains are springing up to fill this new(ish) need.

Sir Francis Bacon had it right when he said, “knowledge is power.” At Watershed, we agree whole-heartedly and believe that expertise is what differentiates our clients, helping them to become coveted resources for journalists in today’s information-hungry world.

Watershed Communications, a national brand strategy and communications firm with offices in Portland, Ore. and New York City, is proud to represent many of the most talented, trendsetting, and talked-about people and businesses in the national food and beverage landscape today. Our client list spans the following categories:

In celebration of Women’s History Month we’ve asked some of our favorite women in the food and wine industry about their experiences. Lynn Penner-Ash was Oregon’s first female winemaker and blazed the trail for many to follow.

Hot on the heels of eating all around New York city and environs, Lisa had a chance to take in San Francisco’s restaurant scene as well. SF offers a lot of great options, but in your effort to keep things simple we’d like to present our second installment of The One Word Review Series.

This festival of the pig was inspired by a hundreds year old northern Italian tradition. On the first new moon after the first full moon of the year, an entire village would come together to slaughter their pigs and prepare them to feed families through the winter, making sausage and salami, chops and roasts.

Lisa recently wrapped a working visit to the New York office and used the opportunity to catch up on the NYC dining scene.

Every growing company needs a brand strategy in order to reach its full potential. Drawing up your business plans, deciding on your market and getting the doors open are a lot of work, but in order to go to the next level it’s always wise to bring in some trusted advisors to show you the best way forward.

On the face of it, that a healthy food system is built and maintained by a community seems pretty obvious. It’s been that way from the beginning – we, as humans have long banded together to hunt and grow food. Community has been so ingrained in our food system it has been hardly noticed – until now.

Here at Watershed, New Year’s Resolutions can start a little late. With the opening of a beautiful new restaurant, Raven & Rose, on the January 4th and a plethora of potential new clients with wines to taste and foods to nibble, it can be hard to locate one’s self discipline as it seems to be hiding behind a glass of single barrel whisky.

This is one of the things that bugs me the most when we’re creating a brand activation event to promote a winery or its selections. Let’s say we realize the focus of the menu is Asian and want to showcase a winery’s gorgeous aromatic whites that will work super well with the menu items.

2012 is almost over, and the Watershed crew has been thinking about the things we’ve seen, the things we’d like to see, and things we’d like to go away. The past year was full of excitement and surprise, but we expect to see even more out of 2013.

When working as a sommelier I must have tasted one billion wines (give or take a handful of zeros.) All my friends would roll their eyes when I talked about a “tough day,” but really, tasting wine for evaluation purposes is not an easy task.

At cocktail parties the best way to make friends is to ask people to talk about themselves.  Social media works the same way.  Yes, you want to create content that shows your thought leadership but companies who get the most engagement are the ones that dig deeper into hot topics, talk about companies they most admire and share wisdom from others.

After many years working in the food and wine industry I’ve seen many successful businesses – and even more businesses that have failed to thrive. There is nothing more heartbreaking than working with talented, intelligent and driven individuals who can’t grow their businesses. Often, though, the source of the failure is not just a poorly designed business model or a stroke of bad luck. It’s fear – fear of failure or fear of success.

Alan Richman’s article in the November issue of GQ does a good job (albeit with a strong New York accent of snark) of mapping out Portland’s prominence as “today’s most important American food city.”