October 2023 Newsletter
Last reminder to renew your MWC membership, Complete the MWC Member Testimonial form, Listen to the first installment of the Music in the Bottle’s MI Governor’s Cup Series, Read October’s Wine Law, Stock up on Taste Michigan merch, Connect with MWC Sponsor Double A Vineyards, Update your Vintage Michigan listings for the holiday brochure, and More! |
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2023 Michigan Wine Collaborative Membership Drive and Renewals
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| The Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC) membership drive is still in effect. Help us sustain and expand our organization by ensuring your membership information is up to date including preferred payment method and if you are not yet a member of MWC the time to join is NOW! Memberships are billed annually each September 15th. Get a bit more out of your membership by joining TODAY! For our current members who have not renewed, we have extended the renewal date to November 1st. If you have not renewed by that date your membership will be archived and you will lose all member benefits.
Learn more about MWC membership here:
Membership – Michigan Wine Collaborative |
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CALLING ALL MWC MEMBERS: SUBMIT YOUR TESTIMONIAL TODAY!
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| Thank you for being a valued member of the Michigan Wine Collaborative. We strive to provide our membership with support, resource, opportunities, and community. In order to increase our community we are seeking testimonials from our membership to incentivize more wineries, growers, educators, suppliers, vendors, affiliates, and more to join us at the Michigan Wine Collaborative. Please take a few moments to share some words about what make the Collaborative special to you, how we benefit your business or organization, why others should join, etc. We cannot wait to read your words.
**We will be circulating this to our membership regularly. Keep an eye on your inboxes. |
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Music in the Bottle Completes the First Installment of the 2023 MI Governor’s Cup Series
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| MWC is excited to announce the conclusion of the first installment of the 2023 MI Governor’s Cup Series collaboration with Music in the Bottle podcast. This first installment features the winning wines from the 2023 Michigan Governor’s Cup! The series kicks off with an episode on all things MAWBY!! Indulge in the first episode of the series and hear from Mike Laing of MAWBY as well as get some feedback from Darryl and Jamele of Music in the Bottle on what they really think of MAWBY’s Grace Brut Rosé and 2017 Mille Brut Methode Champenoise. The duo continues with St. Julian’s one and only, Nancie Oxley as they discuss the incredible sweep they enjoyed from the competition as well as give MWC some epic shout outs. The first installment of our 2023 MI Governor’s Cup series concludes with 12 Corners where they sit down with head winemaker, Glen Greiffendorf, and dive into the platinum medal winning estate Vidal Blanc Ice Wine.
We are in the works planning part deux of the 2023 MI Governor’s Cup series with Music in the Bottle. This installment will feature more wineries included in the Governor’s Cup Case and more! Stay tuned for this part of the series dropping in the new year!
Follow Music in the Bottle on Instagram, Facebook, and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts to stay updated with our Governor’s Cup series and all of the episodes from the duo. You can indulge in additional information about the episodes as well as some cool behind the scenes content on our website! |
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Field Blends Takes Michigan Wine!
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Field Blends is coming to Michigan where the next wave of winemaking is captivating the palates of wine pros and pleasure seekers alike. This immersive 5-day food + wine excursion is focused on spotlighting the vintners, growers, farmers, chefs, and community members in and around Traverse City who shaping change and shifting the narrative on wine.
The tastemakers of of the Great Lakes’ winemaking epicenter are making waves and securing a promising future in the world of wine and beyond. |
| MWC has known this for some time, and now Field Blends is helping us spread the word! MWC has partnered with Field Blends to assist in planning and promoting their epic event taking place in Traverse City June 2024.
MWC has committed to forming a partnership to fund at least 1 Trip Award scholarship for the organization. We are still seeking 2-3 partners to aid us in achieving our $5k goal. Please reach out to us ASAP to lock in your commitment as we strive to bring new talent and recognition to our state’s wine industry! |
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October’s Wine Law with Mark Vanneste
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MWC is excited to invite you to indulge in the October Wine Law feature, with Mark Vanneste of Howard & Howard. The full Wine Law articles are currently available on our website. Tune in monthly as Mark covers a new topic relevant to the Michigan grape and wine industries. So without further ado here’s a word from Mark on The Attorney General’s Enforcement of Michigan Direct Shipping Liquor Laws… “A few months ago, I wrote about the requirements to ship wine directly to the consumer in Michigan and complying with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (“MLCC”) requirements to do so. Both in-state and out-of-state wineries or wine manufacturers are generally eligible to apply for a Direct Shipper license. The application is not necessarily onerous, and the fee is only $100 initially and for annual renewals, plus $70 for an “inspection fee” when applying…”
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We heard you! As a result of the lack of interest in participating in a PA 232 conversation- based on the 0 responses to last month’s newsletter- we are now exploring other options for sustainable revenue streams for the MWC. These methods include:
- Merchandise- Taste Michigan merch will launch this month!!!
- Working with our elected officials to reinvest in Michigan wine using the excise tax paid by Michigan wine producers.
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Stock Up on Taste Michigan Gear
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| Taste Michigan merch is now available on the official Taste Michigan website! We have added a few new items that you will definitely want to check out.
We are working on launching our wholesale shop soon for wineries and retailers looking to stock tasting rooms and store with the Taste Michigan branded items. The first items we will be offering via wholesale will include stemless tasting glasses and hats. We are hoping to circulate ordering instructions and details in the next few weeks. We are exploring ways to expand our wholesale offerings to make a big splash in 2024.
Stock up on all our current Taste Michigan gear and merch today and consider these awesome items as we enter the holiday season! |
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Help Sustain the MWC Talent Pipeline & 4-H Viticulture Clubs
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| MWC is hard at work maintaining and expanding our work on the MWC Talent Pipeline and 4-H Viticulture Clubs throughout the state of Michigan. A focal point of this project is establishing educational vineyards in the city of Detroit in an attempt to both expand Michigan wine country east as well as create a more accessible industry. Our current partners in Detroit include Pingree Farms (featured in the photo above), Drew Ryan Wines, Detroit Vineyards, and MSUE’s Detroit Partnership for Food, Learning, and Innovation.
We need your help to continue the momentum on this innovative and essential project! We are seeking additional partners, sponsors, and club leaders. Some specific needs include:
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| BevFluence wants to know about your social media, podcast, video, and blog stats, some general questions about who you are for a short brand-specific bio, and your experience working with beverage competitions. If you cover food, wine, beverage, travel, cocktails, luxury brands, lifestyle, or cigars you are encouraged to fill this out. |
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Help Us Plan the 2024 MI Governor’s Cup
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| MWC members are encouraged to volunteer to assist us with the planning of the 2024 MI Governor’s Cup. We are working on forming a committee of energetic and committed members to aid us in planning a successful event in 2024. We will soon be working on a request for RFPs to select a location and venue, itinerary for the event(s), format of competition, sourcing sponsors and partners, and more!
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Connect with Double A Vineyards
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Longwoods study on winery travel — reported by the Ohio Travel Association
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We love learning about what other states are studying and data they are collecting so we can use those findings to make our industry better. The Ohio Wine Producers Association newsletter is one of our favorites. Last month we found a study they highlighted from Longwoods to be particularly relevant to our industry in Michigan. Take a few moments to absorb the findings and think about how it applies to your business and our grape and wine industries.
Current Travel Research
Key findings from Longwoods International, fielded Aug. 16:
- Americans planning to travel in the next six months remains high, 89% of Americans say they plan to travel in the next six months.
- With those planning to travel in the next six months:
- 22% say they will travel within 200 miles by car to see family and friends.
- 16% say they will travel more than 200 miles by car to see family and friends.
- 13% say they will travel by car within 200 miles just for a getaway.
- Top activities Americans plan to do on their fall trip include visiting family and friends (66%), taking a road trip (53%), visiting a national park, state park, or monument (39%) and visiting arts/cultural institutions (32%).
- Fears of inflation continue to impact decisions to travel, with 26% of Americans saying inflation will greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, moving up from 23% in July.
- Americans were asked to think back to an overnight trip where they went to at least one winery, distillery, or brewery tour in the last 12 months. Respondents said:
- Going to a winery, distillery or brewery tour was just one of many parts of my trip (36%).
- Going to a restaurant or bar that specialized in wine, beer or spirits was just one of many parts of my trip (34%).
- The main purpose of my trip was to go to more than one winery, distillery, or brewery tour (16%).
- The main purpose of my trip was to go to one specific winery, distillery, or brewery tour (14%).
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You can sign up to receive the Tuesday Tidbits newsletter from Ohio by reaching out to :
[email protected]
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Calling All MI Wine Events!!
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| We want to help promote your vineyard and winery events!! MWC members are welcomed to submit events at any time for promotion in the Vintage Michigan Event Calendar. These events are shared with the over 4000 Vintage Michigan members. Please submit via the form below or contact Emily with event information, links, graphics, and invitations. |
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Michigan Wine in the News
Check out notable mentions in the media featuring Michigan Wine Collaborative members and promoting the Michigan Wine Industry.
Click Here to Read the News!
*Did we miss an important Michigan wine news story? We love featuring our member wineries! E-mail us HERE! |
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The Michigan Wine Collaborative appreciates support from the following Sponsors and Supplier/Vendor Members:
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| 2023 MWC Sponsors & Donors |
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| 2023 MWC Suppliers & Vendors |
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Are you interested in promotional opportunities for your business? Check out our partnership opportunities HERE!
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