January 2025 Newsletter
Join us for the 2025 MWC Annual Meeting and Election, Log onto Twitter for our 2025 #PinkSociety event, Save the dates for MI wine industry events, and More! |
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2025 MWC Annual Meeting & Election
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| Michigan Wine Collaborative will be holding our Annual Meeting & Election next Tuesday January 14th at the 2025 Northwest Orchard & Vineyard Show at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City. The meeting will begin at 4:05 pm and will last about an hour.
At this meeting we will be briefing our membership and the public on our achievements and projects from 2024, presenting our goals for 2025, getting update from our committees, and holding our Board of Directors Election.
The following positions will be included on the ballot:
Winery Seat (SE Region)- Currently held by Bob Utter (Flying Otter Winery)
Winery Seat (Other Region)- Currently held by Peter King (Drew Ryan Wines)
Grower Seat (NW Region)- Barry O’Brien (O’Brien Vineyards) and Robert Schutzki (Daddy Long Legs Vineyards) Running
Grower Seat (Other Region)- Bob Sorenson (Pleasant Valley) Running
Tourism- Currently held by Ed Peabody (HOUR Media/Michigan Wine Country Magazine)
Honorary IT Specialist: Jeff Wheeler (Thistlevale Vineyard) Running
Treasurer- Currently held by Peter King (Drew Ryan Wines)
Grower Seat (SW Region)- OPEN SEAT
Honorary Financial Specialist: OPEN SEAT
We are encouraging all of our members to attend the 2025 NW Orchard & Vineyard Show and our Annual Meeting & Election in person. However, we are also offering remote participation.
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2025 #PinkSociety with Brengman Family Wines is TONIGHT!!
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| Our annual collab with #PinkSociety is TONIGH (January 9th) at 9pm EST. Join us and Brengman Family Wines (AKA Brengman Brothers) as we discuss their 2022 Riesling Trocken and the Michigan wine industry. Grab your bottle of Trocken and warm up your keyboards, this is going to be a wine tasting and discussion you won’t want to miss. Only on Twitter/X!! Remember to hashtag #PinkSociety to participate and keep up with the chat.
The #PinkSociety is an opt in social media group on Twitter and Instagram social platforms. The Pink Society is comprised of 200 plus members that grows weekly. Their mission is to bring together like minded individuals with an overall focus on wine and wine culture. The #PinkSociety provides a platform for wine enthusiasts to collaborate, share knowledge, socialize, engage with industry leaders, and interact with winemakers and wineries.
Join us to chat about all things Michigan wine and share your Michigan wine stories!
Make sure to follow:
@BrengmanBrother
@thepinksociety_
@MIWineCollab |
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The Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC) is currently seeking committee chairs for the following committees:
Research, Education, and Workforce Development
Membership
Sustainability
Requirements of Committee Chairs include:
- Holding monthly meetings
- Reporting to the Executive Board on projects and progress
- Submitting budget requests
- Providing update reports to the membership at monthly and annual meetings
- Mobilizing committee to work on initiatives of the committee
If you are interested in taking on an open Committee Chair position please CONTACT US HERE! |
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Southwest Michigan Horticulture Days
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| The 2025 Southwest Michigan Horticultural Days will be held Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 5 and 6, 2025 at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan. It is hosted by the Michigan Grape Society and Michigan State University Extension.
Two days of educational sessions will cover important topics such as climate considerations and mitigation strategies, new precision management technologies, orchard and vineyard floor management, and pest and disease management.
Registration and the trade show begin at 8 a.m. and the educational sessions start at 9 a.m. both days. A wine showcase free for all attendees will be held Wednesday afternoon. Pre-registration for both days is $ 60.00 per person, postmarked before Jan. 17. Registrations for both days postmarked after Friday, Jan. 17, online and at the door, will be $75.00 per person. Single day registrations are available for a $15 discount off the full event registration price.
Questions regarding registration, phone Renee Tinkey at 269-944-1477, ext. 201. Email [email protected].
Checks made payable to Michigan Grape Society. Mail to MSU-SWMREC, 1791 Hillandale Road, Benton Harbor, MI 49022. Attn: Renee Tinkey. |
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Michigan Craft Beverage Council Summit
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| The Michigan Craft Beverage Council has announced the dates for the 2nd Annual Michigan Craft Beverage Summit. Mark your calendars for MARCH 11-12, 2025.
The goal of this Summit is to convene Michigan craft beverage businesses to create collaborative partnerships and advance an ever-growing craft beverage industry. Michigan wine, beer, cider, and spirit businesses are invited to join the conversation, with topics including:
State of the industry panels.
Conversations with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
A new consumer-facing brand for Michigan craft beverages.
Join your colleagues at this annual event and help shape the future of Michigan’s craft beverage industry!
The Michigan Wine Collaborative will also be hosting our March Board Meeting at this event IN PERSON! We look forward to seeing our membership and the industry there!
Stay tuned for more updates and information!
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Final Push for PA 232 Signatures
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| Thank you to those who have signed and also considered the PA 232 proposal for wine grapes in Michigan. We were excited to see the amount of signatures gathered on the online petition and have submitted it for the next phase of the program.
While State of Michigan is in process validating our petition, we have some additional housekeeping…
Unfortunately, we cannot use ANY Anonymous signatures. Losing these signatures of support could be detrimental. There are approximately 20 outstanding. Losing these could put us below the required threshold of 25% of wine grape growers in Michigan for this initial step. If you are one of the anonymous supporters, you can still support anonymously by emailing Jamie Guardiola at the Office of Legal Affairs at MDARD <[email protected]>. She will accept this as confirmation if you can prove your link to grape growing. If you have yet to sign the petition we ask that you also reach out to Jamie ASAP.
If you wanted help us to continue to gather more support the petition for handwritten support can be found HERE! |
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| MWC offers a classifieds section on our website highlighting available wine jobs, equipment for sale, grapes for sale, and more. Check out what the industry is offering and promote your offerings too! MWC members are welcome to submit listings to be promoted on the website at any time. To submit a listing reach out to us at [email protected]. |
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2025 Eastern Winery Exposition
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Registration for the 2025 Eastern Winery Exposition is OPEN! MWC is a Supporting
Sponsor of EWE and as one of our member benefits, members receive a registration discount of 10%. That promo code will go out to MWC members this week. Feel free to reach out to us for the code at any time.
Now in its 13th year, EWE returns to Lancaster as the largest winery and vineyard trade show held east of the Pacific states. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with more than 200 exhibiting companies, attend workshop, conference sessions covering all aspects of the winery and vineyard business, network with 1,000+ other industry professionals, and attend the numerous social & networking events.
New in 2024: the License to Steal ® wine marketing conference is returning to EWE and will be presented as a Marketing track within the EWE Conference. That means all conference attendees can attend LTS Marketing sessions without needing to register for a separate pass and vice versa.
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| Check out the official Michigan Wine Gear Store and stock up on all kinds of branded swag featuring Taste Michigan, Michigan Wine Collaborative, Cool is Hot, and Vintage Michigan. From hoodies to hats to joggers and more. We regularly update the shop with new designs and items. Check in often! |
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Promote Your Events with Vintage Michigan
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| We want to help promote your vineyard and winery events!! MWC members who are Vintage Michigan participants 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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MWC 2025 Board Meeting Invitation
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The Michigan Wine Collaborative appreciates support from the following Sponsors and Supplier/Vendor Members:
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| 2024 MWC Sponsors & Donors |
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Are you interested in promotional opportunities for your business? Check out our partnership opportunities HERE!
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