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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.
 Thank you to all who participated in this year’s conference. It was a resounding success, with record attendance at both the pre-conference and conference, and a sold-out trade show with many new vendors.
The inaugural Michigan Certified Alcohol Service Training program (Mi-CAST) surpassed our expectations with 25 participants receiving a credential after completing the two-day program. Thanks to Brian Lillie, Cristin Hosmer, Meridith Lauzon, Ron Edwards and Tom Smith for making the concept a reality.
With a staff of three, and the number of wineries and vineyards increasing every year, we would not be able to coordinate this conference without the support of our colleagues at MDARD, our event planning partner, Meeting Coordinators Inc., and our Conference Planning Committee. Thank you all for making this conference a success.
And a very big Thank You to our sponsors and exhibitors – your financial support helps us keep the cost reasonable for our attendees.
Most of the presentations are available online at www.michiganwines.com/conference. The presentations from the Mi-CAST sessions are available upon request, to those who registered for those sessions. Contact Karel Bush (bushk9@michigan.gov) to have any of the Mi-CAST presentations sent to you.
The online feedback survey ended March 17, and Kim Zacharias, from Black Star Farms, won the $100 Meijer gift card! Thanks to all who provided feedback – both online and via the printed forms in the sessions. We review all surveys and use the information to guide decisions in the future.
Mark your calendar for February 26-March 2, 2018. We're still finalizing the location, but we'll be back in the southwest part of the state.
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Thank you to our generous sponsors!
"World-Class Wine Tour" Traveling Dinner Sponsor:
Welcome Reception Sponsor:
Vintage Sponsors:
 
Rebuilding Customer Trust with Stronger Sustainability Communication
11am-12noon, March 30
To help rebuild trust and restore faith in the system, businesses must step outside of their traditional roles and work toward integrating sustainability and social responsibility internally while communicating these efforts in a truthful and transparent way.
In this webinar, Mike Hower, a GreenBiz blogger and current communications strategist, will discuss how companies can formulate effective strategies for engaging customers and local communities on sustainability -- and how this can generate shared value that rebuilds trust while benefiting the bottom line.
Register for the webinar
This conference brings in industry members from all over the eastern U.S. to discuss relevant topics in marketing for individual wineries, wine associations and tourism industry professionals. Visit nationalwinemarketing.com for details and to register online.
 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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 Recent volatile weather has stirred interest in the impact of climate change. How might short- and long-term changes in the climate affect our ability to grow juice and wine grapes in Michigan? What can we expect in our area? We will attempt to answer this question on April 18 at the annual Southwest Grape Growers' Kick-off. Our featured guest will be Jeff Andresen, Climatologist and MSU Professor of Geography.
The educational program will also include updates from Faculty Specialists on changes in insecticide and herbicide registrations. We'll also hear an update on the progress of the Northern Grapes Project, a multi-state research initiative now headed by MSU's Paolo Sabbatini.
The meeting starts at 2:30pm at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center, 1791 Hillandale Rd., Benton Harbor. Dinner after the educational program begins at 5:00. 2 RUP Recertification Credits have been requested. Registration is $15 if received by April 11th, or $20 at the door. Those on MSU's grape grower mailing list will receive a registration form in the mail. Or download the registration form here. Otherwise call 269-927-5674, ext. 4011 for Jamie Styburski or ext. 4012 for Brad Baughman, to register for this event or to be added to the mailing list.
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Congratulations to Petoskey Farms Vineyard & Winery for making it to the final round of "Project Tourism" - a live, pitch-based event (similar to Shark Tank) where hospitality/tourism based businesses will compete for cash prizes to help leverage funding for a special project.
Petoskey Farms will be one of six businesses competing April 19 for the $7,000 first-place prize from the Michigan Travel Commission. The event will take place at the Hagerty Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Each of the six finalists will be given five minutes to pitch an idea to the panel of judges - and to the audience! Judges' votes will be 80% of the vote, and 20% will come from the attendees of the event. Register today at www.traversecity.com/project-tourism.
Please complete a survey that will help researchers identify impacts of Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) on fruit growers and look for new management tactics and programs, improved insecticide efficacy and SWD training.
Michigan State University researchers are part of a recently funded project, "Sustainable Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Management for United States Fruit Crops," and the team is surveying fruit growers with two goals:
1. Measure the impact of SWD throughout the United States
2. Guide our project activities over the next four years
Link to survey
Michigan Wine Month moved to May and we have updated posters available. Please contact Sherri Goodreau to place your order 517-284-5733, goodreaus@michigan.gov
 Host: Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council
Date: Monday, May 1, 2017
Time: 2-5 for Trade/Media, 6-8:30 for Ticketed Consumers
Location: RattleSnake Club, Detroit
Attendance: 400
Info: www.michiganwines.com/showcase
Kick off Michigan Wine Month at the annual Michigan Wines Showcase event. Space is limited and preference is given to wineries that participated in the Showcase last year. Reserve your spot today!
Contact Jenelle Jagmin at 517-284-5790 or jagminj@michigan.gov
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Uncork Illinois: "A taste of Illinois with a toast to Michigan"
Host: Downtown Oak Park
Date: Saturday, June 3, 2017
Time: 1-9pm
Location: Downtown Oak Park on Marion Street, South of Lake Street
Attendance: 3000+
Space is limited for this wine sampling event in an affluent Chicago suburb.
Contact Shanon Williams at 708-383-4145 or shanon@downtownoakpark.net
Date: June 24-25, 2017
Location: Orchard Lake, MI - overlooking a beautiful lake in an area filled with million dollar homes
Info: www.fineartfinewinefair.com
100 fine artists from across the USA will be intermingled with Michigan wineries sampling their best wines. Orchard Lake, Birmingham, West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills are the most affluent communities in Michigan.
Contact Bart Loeb at 734-320-5322 or Bart.Loeb@yahoo.com
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.
The videos and PDFs of the final reports can be accessed at michiganwines.com. Topics include: IPM; own-rooted Vinifera vines; invasive insect pests; modernization of Enviroweather stations; leaf removal; and Grapevine Leaf Roll Virus.
With the season starting up, many wineries are hiring tasting room staff. We have several positions listed on our website at www.michiganwines.com/jobs. If you have employment opportunities at your winery, contact Sherri Goodreau, goodreaus@michigan.gov, with information about the positions, to have them listed on the Council website.
Looking for a job in the Michigan wine industry? Check out www.michiganwines.com/jobs.
 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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Contact for craft beverage apprenticeships: Jennifer Hains, Blended Training Coordinator, Northwest Michigan Works, 231-922-3725, jennifer.hains@networksnorthwest.org
Announcing an exciting opportunity to help expand a growing vineyard in Southeast Michigan! Currently home to 12-1/2 acres of hybrid wine grapes, Youngblood Vineyard will be expanding each of their 6 cold-hardy hybrid varieties by planting an additional 10,000 vines this spring. Grape varieties include Marquette, Frontenac Blanc, Frontenac, Petite Pearl, Prairie Star and Traminette.
Youngblood Vineyard is environmentally verified by the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) in both Farmstead and Cropping Systems and is committed to continuing environmentally sound practices. As board members of the Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC), Dave and Jess Youngblood (owners) represent grape growers in Southeast Michigan and passionately support the sustainability and profitability of the Michigan wine industry.
For more information about Youngblood Vineyard, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/youngbloodvineyard/.
Or contact Jess Youngblood at jessicalyoungblood@yahoo.com.
TTB periodically participates in industry conferences and seminars to provide training or relevant TTB-related information, and they often post conference and seminar presentations on their website. They have recently added two new cider-related presentations to the TTB Presentations page: https://www.ttb.gov/main_pages/presentations.shtml
CiderCON 2017: Cider Industry Federal Compliance Training (February, 2017)
This comprehensive presentation covers many topics the U.S. cider industry needs to know about compliance with TTB requirements including permits, recordkeeping, reports, taxes, formulas, and labels.
CiderCON 2017: Recent Changes: Bonds, Annual Returns, Hard Cider Tax Rate (February, 2017)
This presentation covers changes to the Internal Revenue Code that were effective January 1, 2017, regarding the elimination of bonds and annual tax return options for eligible taxpayers, information about the changes to the criteria for wine eligible for the Hard Cider tax rate, as well as some related topics associated with Hard Cider tax class changes.
 As the season kicks off, be sure to check out your property listing on the redesigned Pure Michigan website - www.michigan.org, and update your information there.
You can also post your events to www.michigan.org/events. Contact Amanda Munson, munsona@michigan.org, if you have questions regarding your event posting.
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... Walloon Lake Winery for being voted "Best Winery of the Northwest" by Petoskey News-Review
... Campbell Milarch Vines for receiving a $140,400 grant to produce and market the first locally sourced and cold-hardy vinifera "Truly Michigan Vines" for Michigan vineyard owners and grape growers. The grant was awarded through the MDARD Value Added and Regional Food Systems Grant Program. Read press release
Try all the stops on the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail (Holland Sentinel)
Why lakes produce great wine (VinePair)
Local climate may be warming to grapes (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Karma Vista winery adopts drone technology (sUAS News)
High tunnels extend vineyard growing season (Good Fruit Grower)
Romance the Riesling on Old Mission Peninsula (Fox 2)
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