Missouri Wines Fall 2008 Edition - Click Here

Inside this issue:

The new Missouri Wines brochures are now available. The updated brochure not only features descriptions of Missouri’s wineries (72 at press time), but also includes info on Missouri’s Wine Trails, the industry’s economic impact and a distinctly Missouri Wine and Food Pairing guide. The glossy 34 page brochures will be shipped to Missouri’s wineries, convention and visitor centers and brochure distribution companies by mid-March.

New Kids in Town…

As of March 1 Missouri has 75 wineries. The newest additions to the family of Missouri wineries include:
Bardenheir Wine
Cellars in Richwoods,
Chandler Hill Vineyards in Defiance
Odessa Country Winery in Odessa
and West Winery in Macon.
Welcome!

License to Steal…

The License to Steal wine marketing conference is back and scheduled for April 1-3 in Geneva, Ohio. The only conference devoted exclusively to the promotion, marketing and selling of regional wines. License to Steal encourages attendees to “steal” marketing ideas from each other. Conference highlights will include presentations on the best new and innovative wine marketing programs from around the country. For more information on License to Steal visit http://nationalwinemarketing.com.

Steal Bonus…

The Missouri Wine & Grape Board is offering “scholarship” opportunities to all Missouri wineries interested in attending the License to Steal conference. The Board will pay for up to two conference registrations per winery. For “scholarship” information contact Danene at the Wine & Grape Board at 573-522-1806.

Welcome aBOARD…

The Wine & Grape Board is pleased to announce that Marty Strussion of Cave Vineyard has joined the Board. Marty was approved by Governor Blunt and confirmed by the Senate earlier this month. Marty will represent the Board on the Marketing committee. Cave Vineyard is located in the Ste. Genevieve area.

Elections ’08…

Move over Hillary, Barack and John...The Missouri Wine & Grape Board held elections at the February meeting. Tim Puchta was re-elected as Board Chair with Jon Held resuming his position as Vice-Chair. Tony Kooyumjian will continue serving as chair of the Research Committee and Barb Ostmann will take over at the helm of the Marketing Committee.

Missouri makeover…

The Wine & Grape Board adopted new language at their recent meeting revamping the make up of both the Research and Marketing committees. The committee structure is now established at 11 voting members, including three or four Board members plus up to five non-Board members. Previously, there was no limit on non-Board voting members on the committees.

Missouri Wine Grapevine

MO Vintner’s Association meeting, 3/27/08, Bias Winery

Food & Wine Magazine gives a hearty shout out to Missouri Norton in the April 2008 edition. continued on page 4 Research committee members are Tony Kooyumjian, Jon Held, Katie Gill, Cory Bomgaars, Sarah Schmidt, Tim Puchta and Bill Sadler. Marketing committee members are Barb Ostman, Patty Held- Uthlaut, Ralph Schrader, Elaine Hoffmeister Mooney, Glenn Bardgett, Jennifer Johnson, Becky Miller, Marty Strussion and Tim Puchta.

Sweet News…

We in Missouri already know that sweet and fortified wines are delightfully versatile, easy to pair with a wide variety of meals, and fun to drink anytime. Now a new group, the Sweet and Fortified Wine Association (SFWA), is making it its mission to spread the word about sweet and fortified wines. Their goal is to educate the wine-drinking public on and build the reputation of American made sweet and fortified wines…a very worthy quest. For SFWA membership information call 530-878-3854 or visit www.sweetandfortifiedwine.org.

Having a Field Day….

Mark your calendars…the 2008 Viticulture Field Day is slated for June 3 at Crown Valley Winery. Presented by the Missouri Grape Growers Association and ICCVE, Field Day activities include vineyard and research plot tours, the MGGA business meeting, and speakers with the latest industry information from Cornell, North Carolina State and ICCVE. To register for 2008 Field Day contact Sarah Norton Says… Norton is the focus of this imaginative, fun advertising campaign designed to call attention to Missouri’s signature grape, Norton. The campaign targets millennials, those wine drinkers between the ages of 21 and 29. This group, the children of the Baby Boomers, is well educated, very so cially connected to each other, experimental in decision making and has disposable income. This campaign, underway now, will expose the target audience not only to Norton but other quality Missouri wines as well while establishing Norton as an iconic name and symbol of Missouri. Check out www.Nortonsays.com ..it’s live and kickin’!

MO Wine All the Time….

Missouri wineries will have the opportunity to show off their award winning products at several venues in 2008. For starters, the Wine & Grape Board will be a sponsor at the Inside Columbia Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival June 25-29. In September, Missouri wineries will have the chance to sample wines for travel writers and journalists from all over the US at the Travel Media Showcase in Kansas City. The Tour of Missouri professional cycling race will feature Missouri’s wines as a silver sponsor once again this year. For information on these and other Missouri wine promotions contact Danene at the Wine & Grape Board. WWW.NORTONSAYS.COM

Everyone loves cartoons...now there are “Nortoons.” Our new graphic display piece featuring the NortonSays “toons” was unveiled at this years Midwest Grape & Wine Conference.

Conference Faces….The 2008 Midwest Grape & Wine Conference held February 2-4 at Tan-Tar-A brought together wine industry professionals from across the Midwest. Grape Growers, wine professional and wine fans enjoyed seminars on viticulture, enology and marketing as well as the expanded Trade Show and the fantastic Grand Banquet finale (Ask anyone who attended about the Port Surprise...awesome and delicious!) clude the chardonel mechanization study, the Best Management Practices program, and a new hybrid varieties study. “We feel these projects have a lot of merit, and deserve funding” said committee chair Tony Kooyumjian.

Norton Workshop…

The first meeting of the Missouri Wine Technical Group is a Norton workshop scheduled for March 20 at Les Bourgeois Winery. Norton winemakers are invited to bring in their 2005 and/or 2006 vintages for a first of its kind in Missouri informal peer review. Each winemaker will submit a technical data sheet for each Norton sample. Wine will be flighted by production similarities, brown bagged and offered to all participants to taste and critique. “ Our goal is to uplift the quality of Norton in the state,” said Cory Bomgaars.

The workshop will be moderated by Rebecca Ford, ICCVE Extension Enologist. Mark your calendar, Chardonel is the focus of the next workshop slated for May 1. Check out page 172. In a feature on “Best American Wines” the magazine does a snapshot of Missouri citing the fact that Missouri was once the most significant wine producing state in the US. “It’s (Missouri) still the home of the underappreciated, spicy Norton grape variety.” The magazine then recommends readers look for the 2002 Hermannhof and the 2004 Stone Hill Nortons. Gotta love that national attention!

Research Report….

The Research Committee of the Wine & Grape Board has selected the projects it will contribute funding to for FY 2009.

Missouri Wine & Grape Board
1616 Missouri Boulevard
P.O.Box 630
Jefferson City, MO 65102 Phone: 800-392-9463