Yesterday, the Wineries Unlimited Conference and Trade Show, sponsored by Vineyard  & Winery Management magazine, began Main Conference Day One with a General Session presentation by Andy Beckstoffer. He is president of Beckstoffer Vineyards in California and has a long history of involvement in the wine industry.

After this presentation conference attendees chose between Viticulture & Enology sessions and Marketing & Sales sessions. While Terry attended the first two Viticulture & Enology sessions, I chose to attend the Marketing sessions.

The moderator of the Marketing sessions was Paul Wagner from Balzac Communications & Marketing in California. Wagner is a dynamic and informative speaker. Paul presented information that would be helpful for wineries to use when marketing their products. One of the most important points he made was to let consumers know what makes them unique. One of the interesting statistics Paul mentioned was that there were 5,000 wines rated at 90 or above. Customers are looking for authenticity, personality, best buys, high scores, and interesting photos.

For the third sessions, Terry and I switched so I could have the opportunity to hear Randall Grahm’s presentation. Terry was happy going to the presentation by Danny Brager of Nielsen Research who presented relevant statistics.

Randall Grahm’s presentation was presented as a serious contemplation of  “terroir.” After speaking for a half hour, Randall was happy to field questions from the audience. After the session was over, several people stopped to speak with Randall. I was one of them. I had “met” Randal Grahm on Twitter and enjoyed reading his tweets. I introduced myself as “wineabout,” my Twitter handle. It was great meeting someone whom I followed on Twitter. How unique to meet someone through Social Media and then actually meet them in person! What a small world! Note I had also read Randall Grahm’s book, Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology and written a review of it.

Today I’m looking forward to learning more about Marketing & Sales at the Wineries Unlimited Conference.

Cheers! Kathy

Tuesday, March 29 was the day for Wineries Unlimited 2011 Pre-Conference Workshops. The conference is at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The conference rooms are large. For the morning session the room was filled. The afternoon sessions I attended did not have quite as many in attendance. During the day we met someone from Nova Scotia, who noted that the wine industry in Nova Scotia has really taken off.

I started with a presentation by Merrill Bonarrigo of Messina Hof Winery who described the beginnings of their winery and the immense progress they have made since the beginning. Some of the themes she emphasized included Trust & Commitment, Honesty: Be Authentic, Spend Time Together: Events & Personal Availability, Communications: Stay in Touch, as well as Listen and Respect. Merrill believes that these are some of the essential keys to creating a successful winery.

In the early afternoon Dave Barber, Vice President of Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association in Burke, Virginia provided an “Overview of the East Coast Wine Industry.” The presentation was a quick and clear look at the wine industry on the East Coast from an historical view.

Then next session on “Newcomer Expectations” looked at the cost of starting a vineyard and a winery. To start a one-acre vineyard it can cost up to $50,000. The basics needed to start a winery can cost well over $100,000. The attendees were warned that it does not pay to take shortcuts. Shortcuts will likely end with a lower quality wine. Wines lacking quality will not bring visitors to your winery tasting room.

After this somewhat sobering but realistic view of owning vineyards and a winery, several presentations presented the concept of Custom Crush facilities. Another alternative discussed was the Alternative Proprietorship.

After sessions, attendees were offered the opportunity to ask questions.

At the end of the day participants were given the opportunity to meet other winemakers and vineyard owners while tasting wines that were donated by winemakers. Hors d’oeuvres and small sandwiches were provided. It was a pleasant time and we had time to converse with the owners of Flying Otter Vineyard in Michigan, Watts Roost Vineyard in West Virginia, and Rosemont of Virginia Winery.

We are looking forward to meeting many more people and walking through the trade show to see what is new this year!

Cheers! Kathy

As I noted late last week, the Maryland General Assembly initially passed legislation that will allow wineries to ship wine to consumers in Maryland. Now is not the time to sit back and think all the work is done for promoting direct wine shipping.

The bills in both the Maryland Senate and House are a little different. Anything can happen to the legislation before it secures final passage. Kevin Atticks, Executive Director of the Maryland Wine website wrote in a comment to another wine blogger, Vinotrip, “Even though it’s not a perfect bill, we’re thrilled for this [BIG] step forward. Know that it has a few more hurdles (one of the two bills must get through the opposing chamber in the coming week) without amendments or trickery before heading to the Governor’s desk.”

So even though similar bills for direct wine shipping have passed, there is still work to be done before direct wine shipping is legal in Maryland. Since the Maryland legislature is only in session for two more weeks, it’s important this get settled quickly.

Cheers! Kathy

On April 8, 2011, wineries and restaurants will be at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the RocCity UNCORKED: A Wine & Food Tasting Expo. This special charity event benefits the Camp Haccamo a residential overnight camp for disabled children in Monroe County. The Rotary Clubs of Monroe County are supporting this event that will benefit more than 2,000 children. Camp Haccamo provides a weeklong camping experience for special needs children. While at the event look for Three Brothers Wineries & Estates, a winery located in the Fingers Lakes region of New York State. Three Brothers is a combination of three unique wineries and a brewery all on one property.

Last year, the event drew 2,400 visitors, with 56 wineries, 4 breweries and 22 restaurants participating.  This year the event is even larger. Go to the RocCity Uncorked website for more information. Tickets are available at Wegmans ticket outlet, “That’s T.H.E. Ticket.”

Enjoy tasting wines and food while helping Camp Haccamo.

Cheers! Kathy

Currently, Maryland residents cannot purchase wine from wineries within Maryland or outside the state and have it shipped directly to their homes. That may soon change, as the General Assembly is ready to pass a direct shipping law. In yesterday’s post I commented on some of the rants from the retailers and distributors regarding direct shipping to Maryland residents. A retailer tweeted that, “You would be crazy to order wine plus freight and expect to save $.” That made me think about the motivation one would have to order wine from a winery instead of purchasing a wine from a wine shop.

If consumers who purchase wine are concerned with the price of the wine, they may not order wine from wineries and pay the extra cost of shipping. However, after traveling to hundreds of wineries and seeing other wine travelers ordering cases of wine to be shipped to their homes throughout the country, I don’t believe that price is the motivation behind ordering wine from a winery. The people who purchase wine from a winery and have it shipped to their home do so because they like the wine. Perhaps it is the wine’s taste or aroma. Perhaps consumers like it because it is a variety that wine stores do not carry. Or perhaps the wine reminds them of a vacation in a particular region of the country. Some wineries are involved in charitable giving and perhaps this provides a motivation to purchase wine from that winery. Whatever the reason, seldom is it money related.

Many winery tasting rooms are filled on weekends. Some of the visitors are from the local community, but many are travelers who enjoy visiting wineries. These wine travelers get to taste from the portfolio of wines made at the winery they are visiting. If they find something they like, they will often purchase it. With about 6,000 wineries in the United States, there is a lot of variety. Wine stores simply do not carry the portfolio of 6,000 United States wineries. Go into a Maryland wine store and try to find a bottle of Carlos from North Carolina. Try to find a bottle of Norton from Missouri. Also try to find a bottle of Blanc du Bois from Texas. The proponents of direct shipping in Maryland want the freedoms to purchase wines that they like that are not carried by wine stores.

Price is probably not the only motivating factor. However if it is, note that some wineries do offer case discounts and few offer free shipping at certain times of the year. Wine retailers in Maryland will need a better argument, that people would be crazy to spend extra money to order wine from a winery, if they intend to persuade people from not ordering from wineries once the law is changed.

What would motivate you to order wine from a winery?

Cheers,
Terry

This weekend many of the US states will have cold temperatures. Where is spring? This hot soup recipe may be the perfect way to eat well and stay warm. It uses a little dry white wine.

Cheers! Kathy

Fisherman’s Wharf Soup With Rice

Servings: 6
Ingredients

5 c chicken broth
¼ c dry white wine
1 T butter or margarine
1 t thyme leaves, crushed
½ t salt
1/8 t ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
½ c uncooked rice
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into thin strips 2-inches long
2 ribs celery, sliced
½ c sliced green onions
1 ½ lbs fillet of sole or other white fish, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 c torn fresh spinach
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Combine chicken broth, wine, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf in large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil; add rice.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add cucumber strips, celery, green onions and fish.
5. Return to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Stir in spinach and parsley. Simmer 2 minutes.
7. Remove bay leaf.

Serve immediately.

Recipe provided by USA Rice Federation

Wineries in Maryland and throughout the country may soon be able to ship wine to Maryland residents. Finally, it looks like Maryland will join the 37 other states and the District of Columbia and permit some form of shipping wine directly to Maryland homes. The legislation won initial approval from the full General Assembly. Within minutes of the story being posted on the Baltimore Sun website the rants began.

“The bill only helps the rich,” rants one writer who claims that Maryland residents can already order any wine at their local retailer. This isn’t true in my experience. When California winery South Coast won winery of the year, my local retailer had no distributors that carried their wine and said he couldn’t get it. I was out of luck.

The second rant was the ever-present claim that the state government will “pass legislation that will cut local jobs?” Also a similar rant, “So now the middle man will be cut out, local wine distributors will see sales decline as will local wine stores, and Marylanders will lose more jobs.” It would be helpful if these ranters would provide statistics of how many jobs were lost by retailers and distributors in the 37 states and the District of Columbia that already allow direct shipping of wine to their residents. What about creating jobs? Someone has to deliver the wine and wineries that do a lot of shipping may have to hire someone to fill the orders.

Next rant states that Maryland will lose tax money on the consumption of wine in the state. However the wineries that ship wine to Maryland residents are collecting tax for the state of Maryland so the state is not losing tax money.

A commenter indicated that direct shipping would only account for 1% of wine sales in Maryland. One percent should not have a big impact on those that have profited since Prohibition ended. Finally Maryland residents have similar rights as do people living in 37 other states and DC.

The residents of Maryland should be thanking their state legislators for seeing that direct wine shipping should be available to Marylanders.

Cheers,
Terry

According to the Baltimore Sun’s website, the Maryland General Assembly has initially approved a bill to allow wine shipping directly to consumers. Finally passage is expected to take place soon. Maryland wine enthusiasts have been looking for this friendly wine shipping legislation for a long time. At least 37 states are ahead of Maryland in terms of wine shipping, so this legislation is a long time coming.

Both the state of Maryland and the residents benefit when this law is enacted. When Maryland residents are able to order wine online, Maryland will receive more revenue that it needs. Revenue will be obtained from additional taxes collected and a yearly fee paid by wineries to allow them to ship into Maryland. It’s a win-win situation for the people of Maryland.

For those who believe that such legislation will lose jobs because people won’t buy from their local liquor shops, I believe they are incorrect. It’s called competition. The wine shops and the like should focus on offering more than just wine in their shops. As the old saying goes, “Think outside of the box.”

It should be noted that the current legislation would not allow retailers to ship wine. An amendment to allow Kosher wines to be shipped from retailers, which can be difficult to get, also is not included in the current direct wine shipping law.

Cheers, Kathy

During April consider visiting the wineries in Texas Hill Country. On April 1-3 and April 8-10, there will be a Wine & Wildflower Trail event.

Tickets are $35 per person or $60 per couple. Tickets can be purchased on the Texas Hill Country Wineries website.

Tickets for the trail event include the following:

1-3 complimentary tastes of wine at each winery
15% discount on 3 bottle purchases at each winery
One dormant grapevine per ticket
One Wildflower seed packet per ticket

We have visited numerous Texas wineries and continue to remember the friendly people, fantastic country views and Texas wines. Be sure to have a camera handy for photos to remember your time in Texas Hill Country. If you are planning to visit any of these fine wineries, you  can check out the reviews with photos of a number of these wineries.

A map of the region with the wineries designated is available on the Texas Hill Country website.

Take time for a relaxing stroll through Fredericksburg, a town with a variety of German restaurants and more.

Cheers, Kathy

Take some time this weekend to visit a winery tasting room. There are many available winery events this weekend. The list below includes this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At the end of the list, I’ve included some of the ongoing events at wineries. Check out the links for each winery event.

Cheers! Kathy

Friday, March 25

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Music: Janna Audey, Musician
Web Info

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Entertainment: Dennis Ford
Web Info

Saturday, March 26

Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: Winemaker’s Dinner at Marriott Ranch with Sharon & Brian
Web Info

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Entertainment: Trevor
Web Info

Lorimar Winery, California
Event: Sister Speak Alternative Rock
Web Info

Pearmund Cellars, Virginia
Event: Barrel Tasting
Web Info

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: 3rd Annual Kite Flight
Web Info

Sunday, March 27

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Entertainment: Saturday Romone
Web Info

Pearmund Cellars, Virginia
Event: Barrel Tasting
Web Info

Tarara Winery, Virginia
Event: Wine Club Lounge
Web Info

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: Food and Wine Pairings
Web Info

Ongoing Events

Lorimar Winery, California
Wine & Art Show Series?Through March/Heather Van Gaale
Web Info

Tesoro Winery, California
Event: Up close magic by Magician/Comedian Rocky Osborn
Web Info

Fridays and Saturdays
TGISunsets
Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Web Info

Pearmund Cellars, Virginia
Event: Relax and Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF)
Web Info

Ongoing March 11-May 13
Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
“Seasons of the Piedmont” Oil Painting Exhibition
Web Information
March thru April

Laurello Vineyards
Drawing for a Basket filled with wine, KINDLE, plus much more!
Raffle Tickets Available
Proceeds will support Breast Cancer research
Website Information