Nov. 7, 2008
Gov. Ed Rendell signs $15.6 million legislation aimed at regional tourism promotion
Pa. Winery Assn. gets $75,000 for wine trails
Gov. Ed Rendell has signed the Tourism Promotion Assistance Act (Act 50) that replaces an out-of-date matching funds mechanism with direct state funding. The act is mostly aimed at providing cash for regional tourism promotion.
PaWineLife’s take on the story:
More than 130 million people visit Pennsylvania each year. Last year, leisure-time visitors spent about $20 billion on transportation, food, rooms, shopping and entertainment. That's a nice sum of money that supports a load of businesses large and small and a lot of jobs. Anybody who thinks tourism promotion spending is trivial, should think again. Tourism is one of the state's biggest industries.
The wine trails have become nice little organizations that mesh well with other tourism promotion groups in the various regions of the state. For wine enthusiasts, they're great places to get information about wineries and regional events.
May 13, 2008
Pa. Winery Owners Meet New Wine Caucus Legislators
The Pennsylvania Wine Association held its first meeting last week with legislators who have joined a new wine caucus.
Members of the wine association, staff from the state Department of Agriculture and more than 25 other legislators met at the Wine Association headquarters in Harrisburg in a “get acquainted” event, according to the Association Executive Director Jennifer Eckinger.
Eckinger said four legislators are the basis of the group: Sen. Jane Earll (R-Erie), Sen. Michael O’Pake (D-Berks), Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks) and Rep. Patrick Harkins (D-Erie). Other legislators have expressing interest in joining, she said.
Issues discussed at the gathering included:
-- Laws that affect interstate shipments of wine.
-- State Liquor Control Board regulations that affect the wine industry
-- Vintage 2012, the proposed package for industry marketing that would raise funding through a 10-cent-per-gallon tax on wine sold in Pennsylvania. Introduced last September, Vintage 2012 has seen no movement in the legislature.
According to a 2005 marketing study “Economic Impact of Pennsylvania Wine and Wine Grapes 2005,” Pennsylvania wineries contributed $661 million to the state’s economy through jobs and the value of the grapes and wine sold.
PaWineLife’s take on the story: This is some of that nitty-gritty work that state industry groups are good for. Hopefully it will make the future better for all of us who love Pennsylvania wine.
Those who have been around the state law-making machinery are well familiar with the process. Legislators need information, and lots of it, to do their jobs. “Meet-and-greet” gatherings give them a chance to open new conduits to get the info they need. The events give organized groups an opportunity to get their perspective registered in the lawmaking process.
The wine industry in Pennsylvania is growing steadily. This is a move forward.
Pa. Winery Association story: “State Lawmakers Toast State Wine Industry”
http://media.pennsylvaniawine.com/ViewNewsItem.aspx?articleid=233
May 5, 2008
Out-of-date state laws still stop much
direct-to-consumer shipping of wine
State laws that regulate in-state and out-of-state shipping of wine continue to be a constantly changing patchwork that is holding up wineries from making direct-to-consumer sales of wine.
Thirty-five states allow wine to be shipped to consumers in one fashion or another. The laws, many of which date back to the end of prohibition, are sadly out of date and prevent some enormously valuable commerce (including Internet sales) and consumer choice. The intent of most of the laws is to stop minors from purchasing alcohol, but the real reason for the problem is simply inertia in state legislatures.
There had been the stirrings of movement to allow interstate shipments some years ago when a number of states passed laws allowing it. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 nullified many of them when it declared that a state law that allowed wine to be shipped out of the state, but not into the state, was an unfair restriction of commerce. The intent of the laws that were struck down by that decision, of course, was to give in-state wineries a boost, but to protect them from outside competition.
PaWineLife’s take on the story: Trade associations like the Pennsylvania Winery Association only have so much clout in state capitols and certainly modest budgets. This probably isn’t something that congress is going to solve either. There’s no enormous hue and cry from voters, but there is big economic potential for direct-to-consumer sales. Hopefully the problem will be solved in increments, one state at a time.
Kelly Heyboer of the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. wrote a good story about this May 5. It’s pitched to New Jersey readers, but it pretty well sums up the current situation nationwide.
“A hint of intrigue with a smoky finish
Web wine sales' legality can be confusing”
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/120996213262360.xml&coll=1
April 8, 2008
Lehigh Valley gets
American Viticulture Area designation
In April, an area that includes portions of six counties in eastern Pennsylvania got the designation of American Viticulture Area, allowing wineries to identify their products as “Lehigh Valley” wines.
The designation, from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, means that at least 85 percent of the grapes that went into the wine were grown in the 1,888 acre area that includes parts of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties. Presently there are nine wineries in the area.
Nationwide, there are 185 designated AVAs, 95 of them in California. Other AVAs in Pennsylvania are: Lancaster Valley, central Delaware Valley, Cumberland Valley and the Lake Erie region.
Owners of the nine wineries on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail began the effort to get the distinction five years ago. The basis of the AVA classification is that the region has climate and soil characteristics that result in unique wine.
PaWineLife’s take on the story: There are distinct regional differences in Pennsylvania wines. I’ve spent a lot of pleasant Sunday afternoons at Lehigh Valley wineries. Every winery has it’s own styles and practices, but there really is something to the AVA distinction. Those wines do have something in common.
This will help the wineries market themselves and that’s a good thing. Part of sustainable agriculture is enough profit to make the venture worthwhile.
If you’re truly interested in Pennsylvania wine, exploring the wine “regions” is part of the fascination.
This story got wide coverage in the Lehigh Valley on television as well as a story by Kathy Lauer-Williams in the Allentown Morning Call, which unfortunately is no longer available on the web:
“Valley area vineyards earn special label
Winemakers believe designation will make drinkers take vintages more seriously”
Pennsylvania Winery Association release:
http://media.pennsylvaniawine.com/ViewNewsItem.aspx?articleid=224
Oct. 12, 2007
Pa. wine trade groups propose $2 million annual
state effort to boost quality of wine
The Pennsylvania Winery Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Winegrowers has proposed a plan called Vintage 2012 that calls for $2 million of state spending to improve quality and marketing of the growing Pennsylvania wine industry.
The proposal calls for $1 million from the general fund annually to promote the industry and another $1 million for research to improve winemaking and grape growing in the state. The funds would be administered by a non-profit organization, the Pennsylvania Wine and Winegrape Development Foundation.
According to a 2006 study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board, Pennsylvania was the fifth largest winegrape producer in the U.S. The state’s wine industry added $661 million to the states economy in 2005 and created 5,200 jobs with an annual payroll of $161 million. The industry also resulted in $167 million in tourism expenditures from 877,000 visitors to the state’s wineries.
PaWineLife’s take on the story: This is very important. State-funded marketing efforts generally don’t cost that much and result in big returns. An allocation of $2 million is small change in a state budget pushing $60 billion. The free booklet that enabled me to find Pennsylvania wineries for most of the last 30 years has been made possible each year by a grant from the state Wine Marketing and Research Board. You find the annual “Pennsylvania Touring Guide and Directory of Wineries” on the tasting bars of most of the wineries in the state.
Viticulture research also is a very important aspect of this effort. There’s going to be an element of trial-and-error for all wineries, finding what grapes grow well and make good wine in their location. But good research by agricultural scientists can help wineries avoid mistakes that cost years of production and millions of dollars. French-American hybrids are some of the most successful grapes in Pennsylvania. They are a result of past research and hybridizing.
Unfortunately, industries (and jobs) come and go. In Pennsylvania we’ve had boom and bust cycles in wheat farming, canals, lumber, coal, steel and heavy manufacturing in the last 200 years. Today, our economy depends on diversity. The wine industry is part of that. And it fuels the tourism industry. Agriculture and tourism are generally considered the state’s biggest economic sectors.
John Kramb, co-owner of the Adams County Winery and past president of the Pennsylvania Winery Association, also pointed out something interesting in an interview with PaWineLife in April: vineyards and wineries are fixed in Pennsylvania -- they and the jobs they create are not going move overseas.
Pennsylvania Winery Association release:
http://www.pennsylvaniawine.com/ViewNewsItem.aspx?articleid=201
Marketing Study: “The Economic Impact of Pennsylvania Wine And Winegrapes”