The best winemakers know that great wine is made in the vineyard. The quality of grapes being grown in Illinois is a part of the reason that the quality of Illinois wine is growing in excellence. Recently, Midwest Wine Press visited grape growers in Southern Illinois whose grapes are being made into award-winning wines by Northern Illinois wineries. Heimann Vineyards, Dix, … [Read more...]
Publisher's note: In this three-part series, Midwest Wine Press will explore how wineries in Northern Michigan, Indianapolis, and Columbus, Ohio structure successful events that are coordinated with the operations of the winery and tasting room client expectations. Hosting events can expose wineries to new patrons, diversify an existing customer base by offering a variety of activities, … [Read more...]
Creating a buzz about wine was on every participant’s mind at “License to Steal 2012,” a national wine marketing conference in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. More than 100 winemakers, distributors, and promoters came to this wine-country resort town from as far away as New Mexico and California to trade ideas and make new connections. For three days last week, attendees compared notes on … [Read more...]
Record-high gas prices this spring threatened to deflate plans for tasting rooms to welcome a steady stream of visitors coaxed by unusually mild temperatures. But, according to tourism officials in wine regions throughout the Midwest, wine lovers don’t mind paying current gas prices, as high as $4.25 a gallon in some areas. Midwest wine tourism officials interviewed last week reported no … [Read more...]
Could bottled wine become passe? Wineries aren't ready to move out of glass containers yet, but a future with fewer wine bottles seems more plausible than ever. Boxed wine, after all, is roaring back into style and now there's a new trend -- keg wine -- which is making headway on both coasts and has now come to the Midwest. The Gotham Project, a collaborative effort between New York winemakers … [Read more...]
To comprehend Chateau Grand Traverse’s (CTG) reach beyond its home state of Michigan, you need only check out the winery’s Facebook page. One recent post: “Spring Break: CGT Late Harvest Riesling and Ship of Fools spotted at Sharky's On The Pier in Venice, Florida,” along with an image of a table placard perched against a backdrop of blue, sunny skies. Scrolling down the page, another … [Read more...]
As more people seek their region’s local foods to purchase, more than 1,000 new farmers markets began operating across the country last year. As of mid-2011, 7,175 farmers markets were recorded, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Considering that consumer interest in local foods has helped foster interest in regional wines, farmers markets and wineries would seem a natural coupling, … [Read more...]
The Millennial Generation – those roughly between the ages of 21 and 35 – has a strong interest in developing community ties. Supporting businesses near their homes makes them natural customers of local wines. “You want to support your state’s economy, especially when your state’s economy is not doing that well,” explains Cynthia Drake, 32, of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. That's why she … [Read more...]
For more than 100 years, Dallas Clark’s family has farmed the land that now includes the vineyard owned by the current Indianapolis Colts tight end and former Iowa star. Clark’s farmland, in north-central Iowa, is near the site of a tragic event that occurred July 3, 1920. On that date, a Minneapolis-St. Louis Railway passenger train derailed, killing eight people and injuring several … [Read more...]
As the economy continues to limp along, more winery owners are diversifying their product offerings to boost their bottom lines. Some wineries are adding brewing capabilities, but in the Midwest, more wineries are starting a distillery, producing vodkas, gins, whiskeys, brandies in addition to wine. For example, Woodstone Creek Winery in Cincinnati became the first licensed micro distillery in … [Read more...]
Recently, Midwest Wine Press spent time with Clara Orban, the author of Wine Lessons: Ten Questions to Guide Your Appreciation of Wine. Clara not only chairs the Department of Modern Languages at … [Read More...]
Publisher's note: This is the second in a three part series on how wineries structure successful events Lacking the dramatic backdrop of vineyards, urban wineries, such as family owned Easley … [Read More...]
