When Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park, Illinois petitioned the Tax and Trade Bureau during 2007 to use the name Brianna for their wine labels, they found that only one other winery had petitioned for the name. From virtually anonymity just five years ago, Brianna is now growing in popularity all over the Midwest. Grape growers like this wine grape for its cold hardiness, surviving … [Read more...]
Midwest Wine Press recently compiled current TTB data to arrive at the number of wineries in the Midwest. (This tabulation method entails acceptance of the TTB definition of a winery which is subject to debate.) The number of wineries in the Midwest as defined by the 11 states in the Midwest Wine Press market area is now 1,132. There are now also 43 organized wine trails in the Midwest. … [Read more...]
James Ballard of James Arthur Vineyard in Raymond, Nebraska and Peter Hofherr of St. James Winery in St. James, Missouri were elected Officers of the National Grape & Wine Initiative. James Arthur and St. James are the largest wineries in their respective states. Based in Sacramento, the NGWI is a national coalition of grape and wine industry leaders whose mission is to establish … [Read more...]
Here in Minnesota and across much of the Upper Midwest we have had two dramatic frost damage events in the past year and a half. One on Mother’s Day Weekend in Spring 2010 and one this past September 15, 2011. Some growers escaped. Others did not but this has demonstrated clearly how serious these events can be and has made us look toward ways to reduce or escape the damaging effects of late … [Read more...]
Cuthills Vineyards owner Ed Swanson has had a girlfriend for six years, and his wife Holly knows all about it. But Swanson's paramour is not a human; it's a white wine grape called Petite Amie, which is the French term for girl friend. Across the Northern tier of the Midwest, Petite Amie is romancing winemakers who like its cold hardiness and its distinct floral bouquet. Mark Wedge … [Read more...]
As the Midwestern wine industry continues in its rapid growth and the production of high quality wines, it also continues to combat a long-held perception that the best U.S. wines come from California. Several Midwestern states, beginning in Ohio, developed, or are developing, quality wines programs that recognize state-grown wines and promote as an alternative to California. Christy … [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...]
