MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Thursday, May 26, 2016 Mari Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

Transcription

1 MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Thursday, May 26, 2016 Mari Vineyards, Traverse City, MI Council Members Present: Gordon Wenk, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Jeff Lemon, Lemon Creek Winery Taylor Simpson, Good Harbor Vineyards Martin Lagina, Mari Vineyards Richard Rinvelt, Public Member Michael Brenton, Public Member Sharon Martin, Michigan Liquor Control Commission Doug Buhler, Michigan State University Matt Moersch, Round Barn Winery Bill Kratz, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Council Members Absent: 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 Bonnie Rinvelt, Wixom, MI Peter Anastor, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Dustin Stabile, Mackinaw Trail Winery Kerry Krone, Michigan Liquor Control Commission Marie Chantal Dalese, Chateau Chantal Winery Cristin Hosmer, Mari Vineyards Liesl Clark, 5 Lakes Energy Jamie Scripps, 5 Lakes Energy Welcome and Introductions The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Gordon Wenk at 9:27 a.m. Marty Lagina welcomed the Council, staff, and public to Mari Vineyards. The winery is named after his grandmother. Agenda for the May 26, 2016 Meeting MOTION: JEFF LEMON MOVED THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE AMENDED AGENDA TO ADD WASTE WATER TO THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR THE MAY 26, 2016 MEETING. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Minutes of the February 26, 2016 Meeting MOTION: MICHAEL BRENTON MOVED THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 26, 2016 MEETING. JEFF LEMON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1

2 Introductions and Council Member Comments Michael Brenton is a public member to the council. Bill Kratz, MEDC-Bill has filled the position that was vacated by Tino Breithaupt. Bill works in retention and growth within MEDC. Sharon Martin, MLCC-Sharon thanked Marty Lagina for hosting the meeting at Mari Vineyards. Richard Rinvelt is a public representative for the Council. Richard is in his second year serving on the council. Doug Buhler, MSU-There are a few changes at MSU. Jeff Dwyer is now the Extension Director. Tom Zabadal has stepped down as coordinator at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center, with Bill Shane filling in as interim. There is a new dean for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ron Hendrick will begin his role on July 1, Matt Moersch, Round Barn Winery-Matt is a new member to the council. Matt is also on the Research and Education Advisory Committee, as well as Vice Chair of the Michigan Wine Collaborative. Taylor Simpson, Good Harbor Vineyards-Taylor is the Chair of the Promotion Committee for the Council. Jeff Lemon, Lemon Creek Winery- The vineyards are green and there is potential for a large crop this year. Marty Lagina, Mari Vineyards- Everyone is excited for a potential harvest. The vines have rested for 2 years and should be ready. Gordon Wenk, Chair, Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council, Gordon will report on issues pertaining to the wine industry later in the meeting. Agriculture industry prices are depressed. Prices, labor, and wastewater are all issues that farmers and processors are dealing with. Public Comment on Agenda Items The pubic introduced themselves and had no comment on agenda items. Staff Reports Karel Bush reported on a number of items related to the grape and wine staff: Karel read a thank you letter from Dr. Ron Perry for the Council s recommendation for the 2016 Distinguished Faculty Award (Attachment A). The 2015 production has been added to the dashboard (Attachment B). Michigan bottled 2.5 million gallons in It was recommended that wine grapes planted should be changed to wine grapes in production on the dashboard. Sustainability Update-Liesl Clark Liesl gave an update on the progress of the sustainability project that 5 Lakes Energy is working on through a Specialty Crop Block Grant from USDA. Phase I was survey work and research with visits to California, Washington, and Oregon. Phase II is working with waste water issues. The Michigan Wine Collaborative is an active group following the research 2

3 being done by 5 Lakes Energy. The Research and Education Committee had also committed money to help with flow meters for wineries to collect data. Liesl and Jamie Scripps held a webinar last month which had great attendance and is now up on the 5 Lakes website for anyone to view. There will be a meeting in June to help start planning a sustainability conference for 2017, if funding goes through. Matt Moersch is a member of the Michigan Wine Collaborative. Matt was a member of the sustainability team that traveled to Oregon and Washington. The mission of the collaborative is to raise money for industry issues. The Grape & Wine Council has limited funding and what they have is now at risk. The collaborative is looking to create a press release to announce a membership drive. There were three grants related to the wine industry submitted for Specialty Crop Block Funding for the next year: Michigan Wine Camp, City of Riesling, and a Sustainability Conference. Conference Report (Attachment C). Karel reported that attendance was down for the 2016 conference, but more winery staff attended. There were fewer sponsors this year. Vendors have to choose which conference to attend, as they too have budgets for conferences. Staff will be researching other conferences for their sponsorship packages to become more competitive. Matt Moersch suggested maybe doing a public wine tasting to draw the public in for added revenue. Marty Lagina suggested reviewing the New York conference to see if their attendance is dropping. A budget update (Attachment D) was sent to the Council for information purposes. The November meeting is being moved to December 1 and will be held at the Round Barn Brew Pub in Baroda. Business Development Committee Bill Kratz has been chosen to serve as Chair of the Business Development Committee. Bill reported that the committee met yesterday and added waste water issues to their list of priorities. Wastewater and zoning issues, and the lengthy permitting process are significant issues for the wineries and they need definitive guidelines from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ. The Business Development Committee has recommended that the Council Chair send a letter to DEQ for help in clarifying the waste water guidelines. MOTION: MICHAEL BRENTON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL CHAIR SEND A LETTER TO THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY FOR GUIDELINES TO HELP THE MICHIGAN WINERIES FOR WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. There was continued discussion from guests Cristin Hosmer and Dustin Stabile who are currently going through waste water permitting issues at their wineries. Mari Vineyards submitted their paperwork in November and are still waiting for their permit. Mackinaw Trial was built in 2012 with an approved permit and now are told they have to start over. They have been waiting six months for a permit. Kerry Krone from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) suggested they have their state representatives come out to their wineries. The Chair called for a vote on the motion. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Kerry Krone reported to the Council that Senate Bill 929, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, has passed the Senate. The bill creates a Liquor Control Enforcement and 3

4 License Investigation Revolving Fund and directs wholesale vendor license fees to that fund. Wholesale vendor licenses total approximately $170,000 per year and currently are directed to the Grape and Wine Industry Council. The bill is now in the House and Kerry is expecting to hear something within the next week. Gordon Wenk, Chair of the Council, stated there is discussion of allocating some of the general fund dollars to the Council to replace the $170,000 that would be redirected to the Enforcement Fund. Gordon also reported on two other bills that pertain to the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council: Senate Bill 671, which would expand the Council to include microbreweries, small distillers, and brewpubs and change the name of the Council to the Grape, Wine, Brewing, and Distilling Industries Council, has passed the Senate and is now in the House. House Bill 5025, which is also looking to expand the council to include brewers, has established a workgroup to gather information before moving forward with the bill. Viticulture and Enology Research and Education Advisory Committee Report (REAC) Jeff Lemon welcomed Matt Moersch to the Council as well as the REAC team, the Sustainability Committee and the Michigan Wine Collaborative. Other items reported: The REAC Team met on a conference call in April to review the priorities. Education, funding, and hiring a state enologist were all high priorities. Tom Zabadal has requested approximately $1,500 to transport northern growers to southwest Michigan for an educational tour of vineyards, specifically Zabadal s own-rooted vinifera project. Jeff suggested the money could come from unused research grant money. Council members determined a motion was not needed as the money was already allocated for research. The Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center has requested $3,500 from the Council for the purchase of a van to do grape work. MSU will cover 50percent of the cost and is asking the National Grape Cooperative, the Horticulture Society, and the Michigan Grape & Wine Council to pay $3,500 each. The Council has a contingency fund that money could be drawn from. MOTION: MATT MOERSCH MOVED THAT IF THE OTHERS PARTNERS AGREE TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR SHARE, THE COUNCIL WILL FUND $3,500 TOWARD A NEW VAN FOR THE SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER. MARTY LAGINA SECONDED. DOUG BUHLER ABSTAINED FROM THE VOTE. MOTION CARRIED UNNANIMOUSLY. Jeff also asked that the Council staff give the researchers more time for submitting their proposals. Last year, there was a short turnaround time for them to submit their proposals. Karel Bush agreed to this request. Consumer and Trade Promotion and Education Committee Report Jenelle Jagmin reported that the Promotion Committee met yesterday and has chosen Taylor Simpson as its Chair. There was discussion about changing the date of Wine Month and it was agreed to keep it in the spring. There was discussion among the Council about moving Wine Month to 4

5 May, as April is difficult to get wine into stores. Jenelle will bring this suggestion back to the committee. Matt Moersch also suggested tying Vintage Michigan in with the Michigan Wine Collaborative. Members of the Collaborative would become members of Vintage Michigan as well. The Michigan Wine Showcase was held on May 23, The trade attendance was down, but the consumer tasting was a sellout. There were questions about the wineries being able to sell wine at the event through their online stores. Sharon Martin will check with the Liquor Control Commission. The Chicago Showcase event will take place on August 29, 2016 at the Gage. Vintage Michigan made $5,700 after expenses this past year. Facebook ads for Vintage Michigan did not result in any noticeable increase in sales but showed considerable reach during the campaign. The promotion committee suggested we continue the campaigns and pursue other ideas for increasing memberships. Michigan Wines now has an Instagram Eligibility Review Karel Bush reported she has received four applications, Northville Winery, Rudbeckia Winery, Wolfe Creek Winery, and End of the Road Winery for promotional listings by the Council. Northville Winery will be tabled at this time, as they did not get their completed form in on time. Rudbeckia, Wolfe Creek, and End of the Road Winery all meet the eligibility requirements set forth by the Council. MOTION: RICHARD RINVELT MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE RUDBECKIA WINERY, WOLFE CREEK WINERY, AND END OF THE ROAD WINERY AS PRODUCERS OF MICHIGAN WINE FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES OF THE COUNCIL. BILL KRATZ AND MICHAEL BRENTON SECONDED SIMULTANIOUSLY. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The Council has 123 wineries to date. New Business State Enologist-Adam Satchwell approached the Council about the State Enologist position that is a high priority of the REAC team and Council. Adam recently left Shady Lane Cellars as head winemaker to pursue a consulting business. Adam brought ideas to the Council as to how a position could be started. Doug Buhler asked if he could be hired as a consultant and purchase a block of his time to start. Richard Rinvelt questioned how many other states have a state enologist. Adam responded that Wisconsin, Ohio, and Virginia among others have a state enologist. Chair Gordon Wenk recommended that the REAC team take this under advisement and report back to the Council. The next meeting of the Council will be August 4 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing, MI. Public Comment There was no public comment. JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL MEETING BE ADJOURNED. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5

6 The meeting adjourned at 12:10p.m. Attachments A. Thank you Letter from Dr. Ron Perry B. Michigan Grape & Wine Program Dashboard C. Conference Report D. Budget Update 6