MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Thursday, August 4, 2016 Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center East Lansing, MI

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1 MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Thursday, August 4, 2016 Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center East Lansing, MI Council Members Present: Gordon Wenk, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Jeff Lemon, Lemon Creek Winery Richard Rinvelt, Public Member Michael Brenton, Public Member Vance Baird, Michigan State University Matt Moersch, Round Barn Winery Council Members Absent: Martin Lagina, Mari Vineyards Taylor Simpson, Good Harbor Vineyards Bill Kratz, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Sharon Martin, Michigan Liquor Control Commission Brien Fox, Henry Fox Sales Steve Massie, Meijer Corporation Others Present Sherri Goodreau, Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council Karel Bush, Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council Jenelle Jagmin, Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council Stefanie Wirth, Michigan grape & Wine Industry Council Peter Anastor, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Lee Lutes, Black Star Farms Paul Hamelin, Verterra Winery Welcome and Introductions The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Gordon Wenk at 11:00 a.m. Agenda for the August 4, 2016 Meeting MOTION: MICHAEL BRENTON MOVED THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE AMENDED AGENDA FOR THE AUGUST 4, 2016 MEETING. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Minutes of the May 26, 2016 Meeting MOTION: JEFF LEMON MOVED THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 26, 2016 MEETING. MICHAEL BRENTON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Introductions and Council Member Comments Jeff Lemon, Lemon Creek Winery, the wineries are having a great summer in southwest Michigan. The grapes are moving through veraison. We are looking for a great harvest. Michael Brenton, public member of the Council, Michael stayed in Traverse City and toured some wineries and winemakers, tasting wines made with west coast fruit. The wines were great, but prefers local fruit. Things are looking good for harvest. 1

2 Matt Moersch, Round Barn Winery, beginning Friday August 12, Free Run Cellars will be doing a new epicurean tasting. On Fridays they will offer food pairings with four wines. They are currently working with a new reservation system to give visitors the best experience possible. Richard Rinvelt, public member of the Council, Richard has been traveling around the state. He went to Southwest Michigan and visited with Jeff Lemon and Matt. He stayed at a B&B while there and visited nine wineries. The dry reds blew me away. Richard represented the Council at a Michigan Retailer Association event at House of Pure Vin in Detroit. Vance Baird is representing MSU in place of Doug Buhler. Ron Hendrick is the new Dean at the College of Ag and Natural Resources. The department has a lot of new hires, though none in viticulture. Gordon Wenk, chair of the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council, reported that he and Ron Hendrick went with the Governor to an Antrim County multi use farm. Gordon also visited the new location for Verterra Winery, beautiful location. Jeff Lemon and Paul Hamelin represented the wineries as guest judges for the Michigan Wine Competition. The sweepstakes round for dry reds was higher than last year, with 26 wines vying for the Best of Class award. Public Comment on Agenda Items The public had no comment on agenda items. Business Development Committee Gordon Wenk gave the committee report in the absence of Bill Kratz. There was discussion at the last meeting about sending a letter to DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) for guidance on waste water models for wineries. There are guidelines out there, but continued work is necessary to help make the process go smoothly when working with wastewater issues. Karel Bush suggested that council staff will include the guideline documents from DEQ in with startup materials to potential new wineries to inform them before they invest in a system. DEQ encourages systems developed at Fenn Valley Vineyards and Napa Valley. The legislators are on summer recess so nothing is moving with regards to bills presented to change the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council. Things will pick back up when they return. Karel Bush has been talking with Brian Lillie about the Hospitality Training program. The goal is to have a three-module certificate for the completion of the program. The customer training section and TAM are set up. The wine education training needs to be built. The idea is to reach out to Tom Smith and VESTA to build this program. They are hopeful to get a workshop together to add to the 2017 Michigan Grape & Wine Conference in February Viticulture and Enology Research and Education Advisory Committee Report (REAC) Jeff Lemon reported on several things the REAC team has been working on: The SWMREC (Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center) had requested help from the Council for funding a van to perform grape work. They were not able to secure funding from other sources, so the committee has decided not to act on this request. 2

3 Council staff have received nine proposals from researchers for the 2017 round of grants. Karel will send the proposals out to the team and they will meet on September 7 in Grand Rapids to review and make recommendations for funding. The budget for 2017 is $150,000. At the last council meeting, Adam Satchwell approached the members with a letter about a State Enologist position for the industry. Adam has since secured a position with Brick Packaging. There was discussion about the need of a state enologist, the lack of funding for such a position and if the industry would utilize that help. Other states that have a state enologist fund that position through cost sharing or excise taxes. Consumer and Trade Promotion and Education Committee Report Jenelle Jagmin reported to the Council on the following: The Chicago Showcase is scheduled for August 29 at the Gage in Chicago. To date, there are 10 wineries attending. Jenelle has posted the event on the Michigan Wines Facebook page to promote the event. The council staff is reviewing proposals submitted for creative services for MDARD. The state requires departmental contracts be opened for competitive bid every 3-4 years. LKF Marketing has been the creative agency for the last 15 years. The Pure Michigan radio and digital campaign finished in June. The Council dedicated $25,000 to the campaign, which was matched by MEDC. Matt Moersch inquired as to how locations are picked. Karel Bush responded and said Taylor Simpson and Tino Breithaupt chose the Cincinnati location for this past year. The committee is moving forward with the Michigan Wine Camp. A proposal was submitted for a Specialty Crop Block Grant, but was not funded. The committee feels it is an important activity, bringing national writers and trade representatives to Michigan to taste and write about Michigan wines. The camp will take place in Lee Lutes suggested that we reach out to states that Michigan wineries can distribute to, maybe in the Great Lakes Basin. The committee was approached by the producers of the Wine Warriors, a reality show. The committee agreed to sponsor $5,500. Chateau Chantal, Mawby, Chateau de Leelanau, and Good Harbor are participating in the show. There will be six episodes, and if picked up, another six will be filmed. Jenelle is working with the producers to incorporate statewide messages. Eligibility Review Karel Bush reported she has received an application from Yooper Winery in Menominee for promotional listings by the Council. They meet the eligibility requirements set forth by the Council. MOTION: JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE YOOPER WINERY AS A PRODUCER OF MICHIGAN WINE FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES OF THE COUNCIL. MICHAEL BRENTON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The Council has 124 wineries to date. The Council recessed for lunch at 12:20. The meeting reconvened at 12:50 pm Michigan Wine Collaborative Matt Moersch presented. 3

4 The Michigan Wine Collaborative was initiated by Lee Lutes of Black Star Farms and Dave Miller of White Pine Winery. The purpose of the collaborative is to try to secure money from the industry to help fund projects and activities, such as research and marketing that benefit the industry. Mission: To enhance the sustainability and profitability of the Michigan wine industry by supporting wineries, growers and other businesses and individuals connected to the industry today and for future generations. There will be separate accounts for research funding and lobbying. Donations will be accepted. The Michigan Wine Producers Association will be the voice for lobbying purposes. A press release has been issued as part of a membership drive. Consumers will be able to join, but they will be non-voting members. Karel Bush has approved a complimentary Vintage Michigan membership for new members of the collaborative. Online donation is available, MichiganWineCollaborative.com. Members will receive a discount to the Michigan Grape & Wine Conference. Vendors are interested in becoming members. Staff Reports Karel Bush presented the staff report. The Michigan Wine Competition had another successful competition. There were 26 dry red wines that went into the sweepstakes round for Best of Class. The majority of the dry red wines were from the 2013 vintage. The 2015 competition had 17 dry reds enter the sweepstakes round. Lee Lutes stated that bios about the judges should be released to the wineries so they can see the caliber of the judges coming to Michigan for this event. Tip of the Mitt is now an Approved Viticultural Area (AVA) in Michigan. The Petoskey group is the fifth appellation in Michigan. Southeast Michigan started the process of becoming an AVA several years ago. They became frustrated at the amount of time and the cost of acquiring an AVA so they let the process lapse. Black Star Farms recently became the recipient of a Value Added Producer Grant. Awards have yet to be announced for the Specialty Crop Block Grants for The winery sustainability project is diverting their flow meter funding into one-on-one meeting with the wineries. The cost of the flow meters is much higher than anticipated. One on one meetings will help guide the industry on waste water management. There will be a Sustainable Fruit and Hops conference on February 22, This will coincide with the Michigan Grape and Wine conference held at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme. There will also be a Winery Development Pre-conference for newcomers on the same day. There is also discussion of a grand ball for members of the Michigan Wine Collaborative and a wine tasting sponsored by the collaborative at the conference. The Grape & Wine Dashboard was distributed (Attachment A). The dashboard shows the growth of the industry as well as the growth of wineries participating in Council activities. Michiganwines has Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. The updated Council budget was distributed to the members (Attachment B). The 2017 budget will show an increase with a one-time state allocation of $170,000, which would offset the loss if SB 929 passes. The Council can submit a request each year for money if the bill passes. New Business 4

5 Karel introduced the 2017 budget to the Council for approval. It was moved to increase the contingency fund from $10,000 to $20,000. MOTION: MATTHEW MOERSCH MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE 2017 MICHIGAN GRAPE & WINE INDUSTRY COUNCIL BUDGET WITH $20,000 ALLOCATED INTO A CONTINGENCY FUND. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Public Comment Lee Lutes stated the industry is hearing rumors that the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council is going away. Lee asked if the Council can let the industry know that the Council is still in operation. Karel Bush responded that she will look for opportunities to address the concerns, as an alternative to a generalized, broad statement. JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL MEETING BE ADJOURNED. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 3:13 p.m. Attachments A. Michigan Grape & Wine Dashboard B Budget 5