MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Friday, March 6, 2015 Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing

Transcription

1 MINUTES Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council Friday, March 6, 2015 Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing Council Members Present: Gordon Wenk, MDARD Tino Breithaupt, MEDC Jeff Lemon, Lemon Creek Winery Richard Rinvelt, Public Member Michael Brenton, Public Member Doug Buhler, Michigan State University Taylor Simpson, Good Harbor Vineyards Council Members Absent: Sharon Martin, MLCC Mark Esterman, Meijer Corp. Brien Fox, Henry Fox Sales Martin Lagina, Villa Mari Vineyards Walter Brys, Brys Estate Vineyards Others Present Linda Jones, MDARD Sherri Goodreau, MDARD Karel Bush, MDARD Brian Lillie, Chateau Chantal Sarah Morgan, LKF Marketing Cam Brown, 5 Lakes Energy Liesl Clark, 5 Lakes Energy Scott Vicary, Leelanau Cellars Mike Krombeen, Midwest Strategy Group Bill Harrison, Lawton Ridge Vineyards Ryan Saucy, Southwest Planning Commission Welcome and Introductions The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Gordon Wenk at 9:40 a.m. The Chair welcomed Council members and guests. Agenda for the March 6, 2015 Meeting MICHAEL BRENTON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR THE MARCH 6, 2015 MEETING. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Minutes of the JANUARY 7, 2015 Meeting RICHARD RINVELT MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 7, 2015 MEETING. JEFF LEMON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1

2 Council Member Comments Richard Rinvelt Richard thanked the Grape & Wine staff for the great conference that was held March 4-6, Jeff Lemon Lemon Creek Winery. When he gets home, Jeff will be inspecting the hybrid grapes for damage, vinifera will be next week. Primary buds are damaged but secondary buds may be alright. Taylor Simpson Good Harbor Vineyards. Craig Cunningham and Good Harbor Vineyards have merged to form Harbor Management Services. Doug Buhler Michigan State University. MSU is working to build relationships with the community colleges. It s budget season and fortunately there is interest by the Administration in increasing funding for colleges. Michael Brenton Michael would like to congratulate the staff on the success of the conference. He also reported that he and Karel Bush attended a southwest wine tasting. It was an educational day. Tino Breithaupt Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Tino found it valuable to attend his first Michigan Grape & Wine Conference.. Gordon Wenk Council Chair. Gordon commented on a number of items. It was another successful conference with many great sessions. The wine producers met during the conference with talks about funding resources for ongoing research and other industry wide needs. On the state side, it is budget season. Public Comment related to the Agenda There was no public comment. Staff Reports Gordon Wenk reported that the NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) has sent a survey to fruit growers to assess acreages and varieties. Responses are due by mid- April. Linda Jones will send out reminder letters to wineries and vineyard management companies later in March. Linda Jones addressed a number of items: The Start Up Guide is sent to people who request information about starting a vineyard or winery. The guide gives people direction as to where they need to start. The guide is in booklet form and also on the website. She distributed copies of the handout used in the Winery Development Pre-Conference on March 4 for the Council members to peruse. Tino Breithaupt suggested adding the SBDC network as a link on the Start-Up pages on the website. WineAmerica is an association that works on legislation pertaining to the wine industry at the national level. Some of the issues that WineAmerica watches are the Farm Bill, taxes, regulation, and immigration. A new State Associations Council has been formed. This committee works on the state level. The 2

3 Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council is a member of this committee. WineAmerica would like to gather feedback from member wineries and the Council regarding some upcoming proposed changes to use of AVAs by neighboring states. Linda plans to convene a conference call with WineAmerica members from Michigan and interested members of the Council, in early April to gather input to take to WineAmerica s spring meeting April in Washington, D.C. Business Development Committee Tino Breithaupt reported that the committee met on February 10, 2015 in Traverse City. Some of the members attended the meeting via teleconference. Brian Lillie met with the committee and discussed the training program he had implemented as part of a grant project and how to move the program into the next level of creating a certification program. The Business Development Committee recommends the Council support the next level of creating a certification program for training tasting room servers. The Committee also discussed the Economic Impact study that was presented to the Council at the January meeting. They felt the current model is something that should be followed and the study should be done every three years. The Committee is recommending the study be completed every three years using the same model. The Committee is continuing its work on the legislative changes in the following areas: o Licensing for post-secondary institutions winemaker training. o Special events permits for the Grape & Wine Industry Council o Language for permits of wine festivals Workgroups will be formed to discuss possible bill language to address these issues. There was discussion on the Greenstone Farm Credit Services benchmark program that was presented to the Council at the January meeting. The Committee is not clear how this would benefit the Michigan wine industry. The Business Development Committee is recommending the Council not support the Greenstone benchmark program at this time. These topics were discussed by the Council and motions were made. RICHARD RINVELT MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL SUPPORT TAKING THE TASTING ROOM TRAINING TO A STATEWIDE TRAINING PROGRAM. JEFF LEMON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL SUPPORT THE CURRENT MODEL FOR THE ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY BE USED AND THAT THE SURVEY BE COMPLETED EVERY THREE TO FOUR YEARS. MICHAEL BRENTON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3

4 JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL FORM WORKGROUPS FOR LEGISLATION WORK IN REGARDS TO FESTIVALS, COUNCIL SPECIAL EVENTS AND LICENSING OF POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION TRAINING OF WINEMAKERS. MICHAEL BRENTON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL TABLE A DESCISION ON THE GREENSTONE BENCHMARK PROGRAM UNTIL FUTHER INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED. TAYLOR SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Viticulture and Enology Research and Education Advisory Committee Report (REAC) Jeff Lemon reported that the committee met with 5 Lakes Energy earlier in the morning for an update on the Sustainability Program Feasibility Study. Cam Brown from 5 Lakes Energy presented to the Council the following information: 5 Lakes has received 42 completed surveys to date. There will be a meeting in Southwest Michigan on March 13, 2015 where he expects to receive more surveys. Members of the Steering Committee just came back from an educational trip to California wine country. Robin Usborne gave a presentation on the trip to Lodi in the steering committee meeting. Other members will be traveling to Washington and Oregon in April to see the sustainable practices that are taking place there. A Final Report will be completed this summer. Jeff Lemon reported that the 2014 final reports from the researchers are coming in. Several of the researchers have been presenting on these projects at winter grower meetings and acknowledging Council funding support. The final reports will be posted to the website by the end of March. The Committee will hold a meeting before the May Council meeting to discuss ways to disperse research dollars. Linda Jones gave an overview of the VESTA program and distributed the curriculum brochures. Jeff Lemon is participating with other industry members from around the country in the annual curriculum review with VESTA co-ordinators to make recommendations for changes to keep the curriculum relevant to the industry.. Consumer and Trade Promotion and Education Committee Report Karel Bush gave the promotion report in the absence of Mark Esterman, who is out of state. Sarah Morgan from LKF Marketing was introduced to the Council. Sarah has worked in some capacity with the Michigan Department of Agriculture for about 15 years. LKF Marketing has worked for the Council in the following capacity: They designed the point-of-sale material that the Council provides to the industry. They designed and programmed the michiganwines.com website. Currently they are working through a Specialty Crop Block Grant to increase the attendance of media and trade to the Michigan Wines Showcase events, as well as increasing media coverage nationally. 4

5 Karel gave the following update on the Pure Michigan Ad Campaign along with Vintage Michigan: The Promotion Committee will be spending $25,000 on the ad campaign this year. The campaign will run in the Awareness Market of Cincinnati, Ohio. The campaign will run from mid-march through August. The price of a Vintage Michigan membership has been increased to $25 effective March 1, This is the first time the price has ever been increased. Tickets for the Michigan Wines Showcase at the Rattlesnake Club in April are now on sale through the website. Richard Rinveldt suggested that the Pure Michigan logo be incorporated into the event graphics. Karel agreed to discuss this suggestion with LKF. Eligibility Review Linda Jones received eligibility applications from Kayla Rae Cellars, Torch Lake Cellars, Crane s Winery, and Westview Orchards. Linda informed the Council that these wineries meet the requirements set forth by the Council. TINO BREITHAUPT MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE KAYLA RAE CELLARS, TORCH LAKE CELLARS, CRANE S WINERY, AND WESTVIEW ORCHARDS AS PRODUCERS OF MICHIGAN WINE FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES OF THE COUNCIL. TAYLOR SIMPSON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Linda has received a request from an additional winery, Maple Moon Family Sugary that She needs additional information from the owners before she can submit the application to the Council. New Business Money has been allocated in the budget for a strategic planning activity in Further discussion on the strategic plan will take place at the May Council meeting. Ryan Saucy from the Southwest Planning Commission presented the Council with a synopsis of two Specialty Crop Block Grant proposals (Attachment A) for wine grapes in Southwest Michigan that he will be submitting. He is asking for letters of support from the Council. The proposals are: Wine Country Comprehensive Land Use Policy Analysis Wine Country Broadband Needs Assessment and Capacity Building JEFF LEMON MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL WRITE LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR RYAN SAUCY S TWO PROPOSALS FOR SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK FUNDING. TINO BREITHAUPT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Linda Jones asked the Council to review five grant ideas (pre-proposals) and select two to be enhanced for submission by the Council for Specialty Crop Block Funding for The funding will be up to $100,000 per grant. The deadline for submitting grant proposals is March 26, The ideas (with rough estimates of funds required) are: 5

6 MSU Consumer s View on Michigan Wine Labels - $72,000 Sustainability Program Phase II-Develop workbook - $90,915 MI Wine Camp media project - $87,000 MSU Tasting Room Data - $30,000 Tasting Room Staff Training - $40,000 There was discussion about the proposals. Some of the partners who developed preproposals were available to answer questions from the Council. The Council voted by silent ballot to select the two proposals for further revision and submission. TAYLOR MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE SUBMISSION OF THE MICHIGAN WINE CAMP AND THE TASTING ROOM DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS PROPOSALS FOR SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK FUNDING. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. After more discussion by the Council, an amendment was added to the motion of the Specialty Crop Block Funding. TINO BREITHAUPT MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL MAKE AN AMMENDMENT TO THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK FUNDING TO ADD THE TASTING ROOM TRAINING PROPOSAL TO THE TASTING ROOM DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS PROPOSAL AND SUBMIT THEM AS ONE PROPOSAL. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. TINO BREITHAUPT MOVED TO ACCEPT THE AMENDED MOTION FOR SUBMISSION OF THE PROPOSALS BY THE COUNCIL FOR SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK FUNDING. RICHARD RINVELT SECONDED. THE VOTE WAS 6 AYES TO 1 NAY, MOTION CARRIED. Public Comment There was no public comment. Linda Jones distributed copies of a dashboard that staff are working on, to provide a one page snapshot of Council activity and industry growth that can be updated as new information is received. Adjournment IT WAS MOVED BY MICHAEL BRENTON AND SECONDED BY JEFF LEMON TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY The meeting was adjourned at 12:26pm. Attachments: A. Letter from Ryan Saucy asking for letters of support from the Council. 6