Sara Higgins on transition, advocacy, sustainability — and what comes next
The Washington Winegrowers Association is a nonprofit serving the Washington grape and wine industry. They assist approximately 1,100 members through public and political advocacy, supporting education and research, and fostering relationships across the industry.
The association’s executive director is Sara Higgins. She is a passionate advocate for all stakeholders as an industry representative. Her efforts support the industry’s business success and enhance the state’s standing as a producer of high-quality wines and vineyards.
The association’s annual education and networking event, WineVit, brings together stakeholders from every facet of the sector from farm to bottle. We sat down with Higgins to have a conversation about the state of the industry.
Sip: When you look back, how would you characterize 2025?
Sara Higgins: 2025 was a major year of transition. We’ve seen [industry] consolidation and contraction over the last few years. The industry has continued to evolve and is adapting to a new operating environment. There are questions about: when will things start to change for the better, what does that look like, how do wineries adapt, and what does the future look like?
The Winegrowers Association is responding and adapting alongside the industry by keeping our eye on the ball about industry needs and how we can best meet those needs. We have worked to identify educational opportunities and speakers that can address these questions and help provide answers.
The 2026 WineVit conference is a good example of one of those outcomes. We made changes to downsize and focus the sessions on topics that we knew the industry needed to talk about.
Sip: What are some top challenges you see facing the industry?
SH: We’re in a situation of oversupply and under demand. For several years we’ve had the benefit of enjoying a large amount of vineyard acreage and plentiful opportunities to sell our wine. Consumer trends have changed, due to multiple factors. Recently, we’ve seen some major sales of winery operations and several entities move out of Washington state.
Change isn’t easy. When something has worked in the past and now you must come up with something new and different, that can be hard and scary. A lot of credit goes to our board for being willing to sit through the tough conversations about how we shape the future.
When it comes to advocacy, we’ve had a huge challenge. This year is a short session in the state legislature. But the number of bills that have been submitted is astronomical. It’s hard to get anything done in a short amount of time when there’s that many bills occurring. There are many tax bills that would allow the state to generate more revenue and [the wine industry] can’t handle more costs. We’re putting our nose to the grindstone to make sure that we can survive as an agricultural industry despite these challenging bills.
Sip: What are some of the top trends you are seeing?
SH: The positive data and information coming out of the WinVit State of the Industry session generated a good vibe. We’re seeing opportunities for the industry.
One piece of data shared was 40% of Washington wineries shipments are currently growing. That’s super exciting because we’ve felt for a while that we’ve been in this slump. And now we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and opportunities developing.
There’s also been this myth out there that people just weren’t drinking wine anymore. The State of the Industry session shared data that people are in fact drinking wine. They’re also drinking other beverages or they’re drinking wine on different occasions. The ability to identify how to respond to [this trend] is one of our roles in education.
Sip: What is the importance of the Sustainable WA program and what is the status of potentially expanding to certify wineries as sustainable?
SH: In 2025, we had almost 15,000 acres (100+ vineyards), certified through Sustainable WA. About 92% of them were also dual certified with Salmon Safe as well. Participation in the program is growing step by step each year.
In terms of the importance, from a consumer trend perspective, sustainably produced wine is among top factors that influence purchasing decisions. Retailers and distributors are responding to consumer interests, so it’s important to them as well. So when you’re trying to compete for consumer attention [sustainability] can help give you a leg up.
Last year, we took a hard look at a sustainable wine program. In December, our board looked at the work we completed to learn more about what the [program] might entail and our industry’s interest in pursuing it right now. Our board “pushed pause” to make sure as we continue to pursue the opportunity, we don’t negatively impact the sustainable grape program. We also need to ensure that we have complementary programs that support each other and that we’ve enough of the industry able to participate. We know many large producers are interested, but interest more broadly needs to be confirmed before we pursue it further. The board will meet again in March.
Sip: I appreciate your time and the industry insights you’ve shared. Any final thoughts?
SH: Yes. For the last few years there’s been a lot of conversation about the challenges that we’re experiencing as a wine industry and in agriculture overall. I think we need to shift our focus to shaping the future. Let’s talk about where we want to go and how we’re going to get there. Instead of where we are and how we got here. Let’s be more forward thinking!
Note: Edited for length and clarity
