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Please forward this e-newsletter to other members of your organization who might have interest in the articles. It's easy to subscribe -- follow the link at the bottom of any page at www.michiganwines.com to be sure you don’t miss an issue. Back issues are posted on the website under Industry/Council Business/E-Newsletters. Feedback and suggested content is always welcome. Contact Karel Bush at 517-284-5742 or bushk9@michigan.gov.
 February 22-24, 2017
Grand Traverse Resort, Acme
It's just a week away, but there's still time to register!
Some sessions have filled up - be sure to register in advance to secure your spot at those most valuable to you.
Join more than 250 members of Michigan's wine industry for this annual conference, featuring educational sessions on grape and wine production, business management, sales and marketing.
Details and register online at www.michiganwines.com/conference
The hotel's discounted room rate expired on February 1, but rooms are still available at their regular rate. Reserve online at www.grandtraverseresort.com.
Highlights for the 2017 conference:
Climate Change and Riesling
We are pleased to have renowned viticulturist Dr. Hans Reiner Schultz, president of Geisenheim University, present this session virtually from Geisenheim, Germany.
Winery Development Pre-Conference Workshop
This Pre-Conference Workshop is targeted to individuals who are considering starting a winery or hard cider business with topics relating to industry trends, fruit-growing regions, business planning, marketing, regulatory considerations, available resources and owner experiences.
View the Winery Development Pre-Conference Full Agenda
Michigan Certified Alcohol Service Training (Mi-CAST)
Are you a brand new winery with a tasting room? Or … did your tasting room strike gold with a hire but have no time to develop them into the employee that you need to start on day one? Or … are you a manager or business owner interested in teaching your team basics in making the sale in your tasting room with memorable customer service? This pre-conference is for you!
The Mi-CAST program is comprised of three modules that will soon be recognized as a credentialed program:
Module 1: Customer Service Training (8 hrs)
Module 2: Techniques in Alcohol Management (TAM) (4 hrs)
Module 3: Wine Fluency/Sensory Evaluation (4 hrs)
Take the one that catches your eye or sign up for all three at one great price!
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Thank you to our generous sponsors!
"World-Class Wine Tour" Traveling Dinner Sponsor:
Welcome Reception Sponsor:
Vintage Sponsors:
 Are you a producer of Michigan cider? Registration is open for the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition, taking place in Grand Rapids, MI April 19-22. More information can be found at http://glintcap.org/. The competition is open to both commercial and non-commercial producers. Good luck!
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From Imed Dami and Paolo Sabbatini, MSU:
Dear Grape Growers:
The polar vortex events of 2014 and 2015 reminded us that plantings of the most popular grape varieties are risky since they are the most vulnerable to cold damage. Thanks to a variety of winter protection methods such as soil hilling, many of these cold tender varieties have recovered and have been grown successfully. However, there has been a high cost to produce a yield of optimum quantity at a competitive price from these varieties grown in our climatically-challenged region. The good news is that there are alternate methods to soil hilling with less negative impact on the grapevine and the environment.
The 16-question survey is designed to gauge your interest in this novel method. Completing the survey will take less than 10 minutes.
Please click the link below (or copy and paste it into your browser).
https://aytm.com/rd227ef
Your feedback is greatly appreciated on this important issue that keeps threatening the growth and sustainability of the grape and wine industry in Michigan. Thank you for your time and participation.
 Michigan wineries are invited to participate in a sampling event in Chicago on April 22:
Event: Chicago Wine Fest
Date: Saturday, April 22nd
Location: The Lakewood - 1758 W Lake St.
Expected # of Guests: 1,200 attendees
- There are no charges or table fees to participate
- Request a 10-case commitment per brand
- Winery reps must be basset certified in order to pour onsite
- Venue to provide: table, linen, ice bucket and trash can
- Attendees would be able to purchase wine or gift sets online directly after sampling (via brand website; tablet to be provided by winery)
View flyer with details about winery participation.
Event information: https://www.facebook.com/events/664703350391876/
Contact Gina Oliva for more information: 814-769-3031, grose421@gmail.com.
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Do you use the Enviroweather website? Enviroweather is working on modernizing its website. This will be a fairly major undertaking and will involve changes in the programming structure as well as the website appearance. To ensure that the changes meet the most pressing needs of their users, they have created several short user surveys - a different one for each commodity:
General Weather tools (not crop specific). Everyone can take this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GeneralTools
Tree Fruit tools: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TreeFruit
Small Fruit tools: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SmallFruit
One of the primary goals in modernizing the website will be to create a mobile-friendly site. Consequently, they need to know what information in each existing tool is critical.
If you rely on Enviroweather, please contact Beth Bishop to receive an excel file to list critical information for each tool you use. Email Beth at bishopb@msu.edu.
 Proposals due to MDARD by 3 p.m. on April 6, 2017
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced a request for proposals through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program from the United States Department of Agriculture Agriculture Marketing Service. The grant funding is contingent on the availability of funds from USDA.
The program is designed to enhance the competitiveness of Michigan’s specialty crops. Grant proposals must be received by MDARD no later than 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2017, by submitting them to MDA-grants@michigan.gov.
The grants, with a maximum award of $100,000, enhance the competitiveness of the state’s specialty crops, including but not limited to the following: promotion; marketing; research; nutrition; trade enhancement; food safety; food security; plant health programs; education; increased knowledge and consumption; increased innovation; improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems; environmental concerns and conservation; product development; good agricultural practices; good handling practices; and good manufacturing practices.
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 Deadline for entries: March 10, 2017
"Rosé Today" celebrates the bounding popularity of the wonderfully wide world of Rosés as it becomes the preferred toast to the food, fashion and fun of a contemporary life style every single day. This is the fourth annual Competition. Domestic and international producers are invited to submit in dry, sparkling and a little sweet categories.
Visit www.rosewinetoday.com for information and to submit your entries online.
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New York Wine Events contacted Michigan wines to present an opportunity for wineries participate in their events in the NY/NJ Metro area. It is stated that they draw an upscale crowd of wine and food lovers and feature a live jazz performance in addition to numerous tasting/sampling/vendor tables. Their events are held in venues such as PlayStation Theater in Times Square, the Hilton Short Hills, Industry City in Brooklyn and the Broad Street Ballroom in NYC's Financial District.
They are offering a 50% discounted rate to Emerging Brand/Boutique Wineries to enable our member wineries to participate at a reduced cost. Additionally, tables may be shared (by two wineries) to further promote participation. To learn more about this opportunity, please visit http://www.newyorkwineevents.com.
These buyers are seeking suppliers of Michigan wine:
- Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers
- Busch's Fresh Food Market
- D&B Grocers
Visit www.messageblocks.com/agsummit for more information.
The Council has partnered with Michigan State University Extension to produce videos, in a webinar format, that will help growers implement research projects funded by the Council. Videos are currently available for projects funded in 2015. We'll use feedback from users to determine whether this method is effective and valuable for the industry. If they're useful, we will produce videos for additional projects. The videos and PDFs of the final reports can be accessed at michiganwines.com.
Details for the following positions are posted at www.michiganwines.com/jobs. If you have employment opportunities at your winery, contact Sherri Goodreau, goodreaus@michigan.gov, with information about the position, to have them listed on the Council's website.
Domaine Berrien Cellars - Tasting Room and Hospitality Manager, and Tasting Room Sales Consultant (Berrien Springs)
Mackinaw Trail Winery - Vineyard Manager (Petoskey)
 Do you want to expand your market reach internationally? Are you interested in assistance with food or agricultural exports? There are many food and agriculture export marketing programs and services that the International Marketing Program offers in conjunction with various partners and service providers. For an overview of a few of the programs and services that are offered, please see this "Working Together to Reach the World" export brochure.
For more information, contact Allie Fox VanDriel, International Marketing Program Coordinator, 517-284-5737 or foxa1@michigan.gov.
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How are businesses thinking about sustainability? How are other wineries talking about their sustainable practices? Want to learn more? Hosted by Liesl Clark and Linda Jones from 5 Lakes Energy, this webinar (recorded on January 18) covers tips for owners and marketing staff in developing customer communications regarding MAEAP and other sustainability practices that are of interest to today's consumer.
The Council was recently contacted by the developers of "Wine Trail Adventures" extending an offer to Michigan wineries to be included on the website and mobile app at no charge. We are just passing along this information about the offer:
#1 What is Wine Trail Adventures?
Wine Trail Adventures is a website and mobile app for people who love wine and wine tasting. We reward consumers for exploring, reviewing, and sharing their favorite wines and wineries.
#2 What do I need to do? What’s the catch? How much does this cost?
No catch. Claiming your listing is free and it always will be. We believe that is in our best interest. Just like with your other social media profiles.
Soon, we plan on launching some advanced features, and there will be a small, optional charge for those. However, it is our goal to save you more in marketing and advertising expenses than we charge you for the service. If it is not a win-win then you don’t need to do anything. Just keep your free listing.
For now though, the best thing you can do is claim that listing. It only takes a few seconds. This way, you will have control over your contact info, tasting room hours, etc. Go to: www.winetrailadventures.com/claim, search for your winery, and click the claim tab. We will get you approved ASAP.
#3 What kind of advanced features? How can you help me?
Too many to list here! We also have a huge marketing push coming up and you can be the direct beneficiary. Feel free to email us at wineries@winetrailadventures.com for more info on what we have planned and how you can benefit from this with just a little time and effort.
... MAWBY for receiving a "Good Food Award" in the Cider category for "Bright" and "Century"
... Brys Estate for being named one of the "20 Most Admired Tasting Rooms in North America"
by Vineyard & Winery Management
... Nathaniel Rose for winning a Double Gold for his 2013 Syrah 'Katherine's Vineyard' at the San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition
26 Ways to Celebrate the 26th State's 180th Birthday (Blog post shared by Governor Rick Snyder)
Alumnus and professor uses love of wine to help Michigan wine industry (The State News)
Romance the Riesling on Old Mission Peninsula (Fox 2 Detroit)
Best Michigan Wineries to Visit (Food & Wine)
Michigan is a wine region to watch (WKAR Radio)
Area wineries creating 'ice wine' (Daily Press)
Michigan wineries diversify to stay fresh (Grand Rapids Business Journal)
Lawyer William Schopf saved Music Box. Now he wants to save Michigan from bad wine. (Crain's Chicago Business)
Migrant farm workers, protecting crops discussed at SW Michigan Horticultural Days (WNDU TV)
Aromatic whites showcased at Alsace Festival (The Press Democrat)
Leelanau winemaker grabs eight awards in California (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
May is the New April (Hour Detroit)
Celebrate Valentine's Day in West Michigan with ballet, wine, chocolate & more (Broadway World-Detroit)
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