May 2024 Newsletter

Celebrate Michigan Wine Month, Check out Taste MI Invades the D, Raise a glass to Taste Michigan’s most recent award, Read the 2024 issue of Michigan Wine Country, Check out the new Vinroom Features, Last chance to enroll in Vintage Michigan Wine Club, Mark your calendar for a Vintrace webinar, Attend a wine sensory webinar, Shop new Michigan wine gear styles, Catch up on MWC’s Town Halls, and More!

Michigan Wine Month: 2024 Vintage

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! MICHIGAN WINE MONTH!! And Michigan Wine Collaborative is ready to celebrate. We have exciting things planned for this month and the rest of the 2024 vintage. Taste Michigan and Vintage Michigan Wine Club is in on the action too. From the MI Wine Month Spotify playlist to Taste MI Invades the D to Sharing MI Wine Love from Vintage Michigan. Stay tuned to all of our social media accounts to follow along, share, and celebrate Michigan Wine Month and an epic Michigan wine summer!

Buckle Up! Taste Michigan Invades the D!

Buckle Up! A Michigan wine extravaganza including food & wine pop ups, a local wine fest, and the MI Wine Expo is coming to invade the Motor City! MWC has been hard at work building partnerships between our member wineries and the Detroit market for this epic MI Wine Month weekend. Bookending the Uncork Me Michigan Michigan wine festival at Comerica Park, these Taste Michigan events maximize the exposure for Michigan wine that weekend in celebration of Michigan Wine Month. Let’s Ride!

Stay tuned for more updates at tastemichigan.org!

Click Here for the Current Line Up!

Click Here for to Save the TMID Map!

Taste Michigan+Cool is Hot Wins Marketing Award

The Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC) is excited to announce that it will be recognized at the Wine Industry Network Marketing Awards for Association Marketing awarding the Taste Michigan™ brand and the Cool is Hot campaign.

Wine Industry Network’s inaugural Wine Marketing Awards “celebrate excellence, innovation and creativity in the marketing of wines to consumers. These prestigious awards recognize the efforts of wineries, marketing agencies and wine professionals who successfully navigate the unique challenges of marketing wine in a hyper-competitive and highly regulated market…” according to the organization. “This award underlines the energy and enthusiasm that has been in the Michigan industry for several years. This is another example of the world-class recognition that the Michigan wine industry deserves as an emerging region and as the hands-down capital of cool climate wines in the United States,,” says Brian Lillie, President of the Michigan Wine Collaborative.” Taste Michigan™ was awarded alongside major wine regions and mega producers in California such as Frank Family Vineyards and Treasury Wine Estates.

Taste Michigan™ is dedicated to showcasing the vibrant culinary and winemaking scene of the Great Lakes State. Through curated marketing, events and outreach, Taste Michigan™ provides a platform for locals and visitors to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Michigan’s gastronomic delights.

Click To Learn More!

THIS JUST IN: 2024 Issue of Michigan Wine Country

Read all about it!! The 2024 Issue of Michigan Wine Country is here! Get up to date on what’s happening in Michigan wine and plan out your summer tasting room trips. A true Michigan Wine Month gift!!

Click To Read the Newest Issue!

Vinroom Expands Features

Modernize your winery’s tasting room with Vinroom, a pioneering app that opens a world of opportunities to sell wine and build lasting connections with your customers. Vinroom creates a branded home for your winery on your customers’ phones, perfectly complementing their tasting experience and seamlessly integrating with your current technology.

Click here to watch a 3-minute video to learn how Vinroom can help your winery keep pace with evolving consumer tastes and demographics.

Contact Jeff Schell ([email protected]) to schedule a demo today.

It’s Time to Fund the MWC!

It’s time for the annual Michigan Wine Collaborative Sponsorship Drive! We work hard at MWC to provide our members with benefits as well as promoting and supporting the wider Michigan grape and wine industries. In order to continue our momentum we are seeking sponsors, corporate partnerships, and donors. Help sustain the Michigan Wine Collaborative through contributions in 2024…while expanding your marketing reach and client bases. We need your help to continue growing Michigan wine!

MWC is a 501(c)3 and we also have a 501(c)6 in the form of Michigan Wine Foundation. We are proud to work in the nonprofit sector to expand the Michigan grape and wine industries in areas from commercial expansion to workforce development, from sustainable agriculture to educational opportunities.

Lock in your sponsorship HERE!

Click Here to Explore 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities!

Donate to the MWC Here!

Shop Michigan Wine Gear

What better way to celebrate Michigan Wine Month than stocking up on Michigan wine gear for the 2024 vintage?! We’ve got new designs and lots of styles to choose from!! Shop hoodies, hats, bags, shirts, and more. Make sure to pick up some items for gifts throughout the year!

Shop NOW!

Enroll in the Vintage Michigan Wine Club! (& Promote Your Events All Year Long!)

We are exiting the first open enrollment period of the year! Enroll your winery or business now in Michigan’s only statewide wine club. We publish our official Vintage Michigan Wine Club participant brochure in the spring and winter each year. NOW is the perfect time to lock in your spot. Attract new guests and loyal customers by offering discounts. Other benefits include promotion in our consumer focused newsletters which go out to over 4000 members, opportunity to post on our exclusive event calendar, and more!

We are now offering advertising options in the brochure. Current offerings include:
Full page ad features (plus 2 targeted email blasts and 2 social media posts replicating the ad digitally): $500 for both editions of the brochure; $250 for Spring OR Winter edition
Half page ad features: (plus 1 targeted email blast and 1 social media post replicating the ad digitally):
$175 for both editions; $125 for Spring OR Winter
Please fill out the form below to lock in your spot:
https://forms.gle/7Ny6PzcbXVHcdwzt5

Don’t forget to submit your events for promotion regularly!!
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.

Share Your Events for the Vintage Michigan Calendar Here!

Mark Your Calendars: Industry Webinars

vintrace Informational Session:

vintrace is a wine production software that has been putting the power of real-time information at your fingertips since 2007, delivering insights to inform critical business decisions and improve a winery’s overall operations.

Save time with vintrace so you can focus on your craft; collaborate with your team from anywhere and gain intelligent insights for faster decision-making just like thousands of daily users and 800+ wineries around the world.

Join vintrace Account Executive Kelly Cusack as she walks you through the importance of wine production management software, the features and benefits of vintrace, and a brief overview demonstration of the platform.

MWC will be hosting an informational session with vintrace on June 11 at 11am. Members can RSVP HERE!

LEARN MORE ABOUT VINTRACE HERE!

Sensory perception of wine:
During the 90-minute webinar on May 21 st 2024 at 3PM Central Time, Dr. Miguel Pedroza (Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo)) will present his research about the human sensory responses to wine quality with a
specific focus on aroma through his presentation entitled “Emotions as a new quality parameter in
wine”.

Then Dr. Maria Pilar Saenz-Navajas (The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) will explain
how perception is formed, with a focus on regional typicality and the identification of sensory markers
linked to typicality.

After these presentations, we will discuss and answer any questions from the audience with the Master
of wine and Master sommelier Doug Frost, and winemaker Hannah Hanlon (Four Daughters Vineyard
and Winery, MN). Please Join Us!

To register, click on the link below and click “register”:
https://iastate.webex.com/weblink/register/r19037c95af24c75a6c435200d38edc9e

Catch Up on MWC’s Town Halls

Check out our newest series, MWC Town Halls! During these sessions we explore issues, opportunities, and solutions relevant to the Michigan grape and wine industries. 2024 Town Halls will focus greatly on funding sources and sustainability of our industry.

Follow us on social media to stay updated on our next Town Hall events. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions for future Town Hall topics.

Click Here to Visit the MWC YouTube!

2024 VineBalance Pilot Program

As the 2024 season starts to pick up we would like to invite you to participate in the pilot year for the 2024 Michigan VineBalance program. VineBalance is a self-assessment grower workbook that aims to help growers implement and adopt the best sustainable viticultural management practices for our climate.

By participating in this pilot program, you will have the opportunity to help shape the future of sustainability in our industry. If you have an interest in participating, please email the Michigan Wine Collaborative sustainability committee chair, Sidney Finan or executive director Emily Dockery to let us know of your interest. If interested, please sign up at the button below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out anytime! We hope to have you join us.