Thursday was the last day of the Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference 2012. The morning marketing session dealt with the advantages of using eWinery Solutions, a program that helps wineries with dealing with shipping wines and many other winery necessities. A few of the advantages included keeping track of customer orders and separating the list of customers into separate groups including those who attend events, those who drive red cars, or whatever the winery chooses.

In the afternoon, Paul Wagner from Balzac Communications & Marketing, presented the marketing session, “How to Sell Wine and How You Can Tell if You’re Doing it Right.” He presented two scenarios. The first was the “Home Game” and Wagner described how to create sales in the winery tasting room. Wagner noted that anything can be sold to anyone at the right time. He detailed how to greet customers to a winery suggesting that each visitor should be greeted within 10 seconds. Then he suggested questions to ask that would make the customer comfortable. Attention needs to be devoted to the customer and a rapport achieved.

During his presentation Wagner noted that millennials do not want to know about the wine, they want the stories that they can take home with them and share with others. I imagine many others would enjoy the stories.

Wagner discussed what he called the “Away Game.” This is selling wine outside of the winery to businesses. Start by making sure it’s a good time for them to talk about your wines. Let them know you will help them sell your wines.

Wagner’s presentation ended with “How do we measure success?” Wagner stressed not to just count the number of cases sold but also look at the number of meetings held, the number of appointments made and the number of repeat business. Paul Wagner has much to offer wineries to help them sell their wines.

Cheers! Kathy

The 2012 Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference began on Tuesday, March 27 with an emphasis on marketing. Moderator and speaker Elizabeth Slater is a successful and passionate marketing expert. She started In Short Direct Marketing in 1994. Among her numerous ideas, Elizabeth emphasized, messaging is getting the right information through the right channels to the right people at the right time. Wineries need to talk about what makes them unique and providing quality wines is not unique; customers expect quality wines.

John Springer from Four Winds presented, Setting the Foundation for an Extraordinary Team. John was an enthusiastic speaker and he focused his attention on team building. His ideas took us out of our seats and made us move and work with partners.

Jennifer McCloud, owner of Chrysalis Vineyards, was enthusiastic about her winery. She emphasized the environment she has created for consumers visiting her winery.

Susan Dosier, DK Communications Group, presented The Nuts and Bolts of Selling Wine at Your Event. One of her suggestions included inviting the press to the event and giving them a job such as judging a recipe contest, speaking or being a panelist member.

Doug Cohn from Riedel presented a Riedel tasting with Riedel’s Vinum series. Doug  used four stemware pieces included Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon glasses. He compared wines in different glasses with the same wine placed in a joker glass. Doug emphasized the pros of using Riedel stemware in the tasting room. We and numerous winemakers and winery owners were impressed with the difference the Riedel stemware made compared to the joker glass.

In the evening, we sampled wines with cheese and crackers while enjoying conversing with fellow wine enthusiasts.

A more detailed description of the first day of the  2012 Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference is available on the conference section of Wine Trail Traveler website.

Cheers, Kathy

Today we finished our tour of Southern Virginia wineries late this afternoon. We are now near Richmond awaiting the start of the Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference early tomorrow morning. Many of the winemakers and winery owners we met this past week, plan to attend this annual event. We look forward to seeing them again and other winery friends we have met over the past five years. We will also garner more information about winemaking and vineyard management as well as the very important issue of marketing your wine or mead.

From our visit to Southern Maryland wineries we received three recipes that use wine as an ingredient that we look forward to sharing with our readers. We already have more than 200 recipes with wine on the Wine Trail Traveler website.

We discovered how delightfully friendly the winemakers and owners are in Southern Virginia. And in addition Southern hospitality truly can be discovered in Virginia.

We urge you to get away from the busy metropolitan area of Baltimore and Washington and travel south where traffic is less and hospitality abounds.

While we attend the Conference our articles about the wineries we recently visited will slow down as we cover the Conference. However, they should be available in the next week or two.

Cheers! Kathy

Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference is offering an opportunity  to win two full conference packages for the Wineries Unlimited Conference taking place in March 2012.

A sweepstakes for two tickets to the Wineries Unlimited event is in progress now and ends October 31, 2011. Anyone 21 years of age or older and interested in the winery industry should consider entering the sweepstakes.

To enter the sweepstakes, go to Facebook and fill out the form. Or use Twitter to enter the sweepstakes. According to Wineries Unlimited the total value of the sweepstakes is $1,740.

The Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference is the largest conference of its kind on the East Coast. The trade show offers hundred of items to view that are used in the wine industry. The conferences are learning opportunities and participants are given the opportunity to ask questions.

Whether you have or have not attended Wineries Unlimited, consider entering this sweepstakes. Those who have already purchased tickets may also enter the sweepstakes.

Cheers, Kathy

The Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference is to be held in late March 2012. The conference runs from March 27 to March 29 while the trade show is scheduled for March 28-29. After last year’s successful event was held in Richmond, Virginia; the Conference and trade show will again be in Richmond.

For the best 2012 ticket prices, register online before October 5, 2011.

Names you may know will return as moderators for this conference. These will include, Elizabeth Slater, In Short Direct Marketing; Keith Striegler, Ph.D., University of Missouri; ?Bruce Zoecklein; Ph.D., Virginia Tech and Paul Wagner, Balzac Communications and Marketing.

The Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference 2012 takes place at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. This is the 36th year for the conference. Included in this annual event will be the two-day trade show as well as sessions on viticulture, enology, and sales/marketing. In addition, there will be a welcoming wine reception. Participants can enjoy silent and live auctions that benefit the ASEV/ES Scholarship Fund.

If you are wondering what the Trade Show and Conference for 2011 was like read these Wine Trail Traveler articles. An article is also available on Suite101.

Vendors still have time to purchase a booth at the trade show. Advertisers can also become sponsors of this large event and bring exposure to their businesses.

Decide to attend Wineries Unlimited 2012 soon and take advantage of the early bird special.

Cheers! Kathy

The East Coast is becoming more recognized as a growing and vibrant winery and vineyard region. Data shows that several East Coast states have over a hundred wineries including New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Other states with wineries in the east include New Jersey, Georgia, Delaware, Florida and New England states.

A recent development on the East Coast is the announcement of a second wine and trade show conference coming 2012. This announcement confirms that the wine industry is increasing significantly in the East. The date for the first Eastern Winery Exposition is March 7-8, 2012.

The creators of the Eastern Winery Exposition are Bob Mignarri, Show Manager and Richard Leahy, Conference Director. According to the EWE website, “The goal is to provide the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern wineries and vineyards with an easily accessible, low-cost professional meeting with a large number of winery and vineyard suppliers at the right time of year.”

The Eastern Winery Exposition will be held at the new Lancaster Convention Center and Marriott Hotel. Lancaster is a tourist area in Pennsylvania. The Convention Center is located at 25 South Queen Street, Lancaster, PA.

Anyone interested in the Eastern Winery Exposition should watch for additional information on the Eastern Winery Exposition website. Keep the March 7-8, 2012 dates open if you are interested in attending the Eastern Winery Exposition.

For another East Coast conference, the Wineries Unlimited Conference and Trade Show held in Richmond, Virginia in 2011 will announce their 2012 dates soon. Check the Wineries Unlimited website frequently for the dates. Read more information about the 2011 Wineries Unlimited event on the Wine Trail Traveler website.

Cheers, Kathy

Earth Day is April 22, 2011. With Earth Day falling on the Friday before Easter (Good Friday) it may be difficult to find wineries that offer Earth Day events. Some wineries may be closed on Friday or busy preparing for an Easter event on Sunday.

A unique Earth Day celebration is taking place at Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This organic and biodynamic Canadian winery is offering a unique event in celebration of Earth Day.

On April 23, Southbrook Vineyards will host Yoga in the Vineyard. This event will include a one hour yoga class in the vineyards (weather permitting), tour of the winery, wine tasting, snacks and more.

As noted by speakers at Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference last week, a winery can produce great wines but if they aren’t marketing and selling their wines, the winery cannot consider itself successful.

Creativity in events is a good way to entice visitors to visit a winery thus increasing interest in the wines.

What creative events at wineries have you seen?

Cheers! Kathy

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

It’s not too late to decide to attend the Wineries Unlimited Conference in Richmond, Virginia. If you are interested or involved in any part of the wine industry, this is the Conference to attend on the East Coast this year!

The Trade Show will have 300 exhibitors showing a variety of wine industry quality items including bottles, corks, barrels, filters and so much more. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes!

On March 29, there will be Pre-Conference Workshop sessions that will include Tasting Room Profitability, Wine/Case Club Summit, Newcomers Workshop, and “The Many Faces of Custom Crush.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, March 30-31 the Conference will offer a variety of sessions including Viticulture, Enology, Marketing & Sales and “Why Education Matters.”

Friday, April 1 is a Post Conference Workshop, “Public Relations Intensive:
The biggest bang you can get for your buck.” Registration for this workshop is separate from the Conference.

For more information, check out the Wineries Unlimited Trade Show & Conference.

Cheers! Kathy