New York City will be our focus for this week, first with the huge International Restaurant and Food Service Show of New York at the Javits Center, followed by our NY Drinks NY Grand Tasting at Astor Center. The Grand Tasting, featuring 35 wineries from throughout the State, includes an afternoon session for trade and media followed by an evening session for consumers. Since its first year, the Grand Tasting has been sold out, generating lots of buzz. It didn't used to be like this in New York City.
Beverage Trails are starting to pop up around the state, as are producers who now make more than one type of craft beverage. For many years, the wine industry was really the only significant farm-based craft beverage producer in New York, but now there are about 190 craft breweries, 40 distilleries, and 25 cideries.
So the question is: do we join 'em or fight 'em? It depends on who you talk to. Some say these new beverages are stealing market share from wine, while others see new opportunities for diversity and growth. The Cooperstown Beverage Trail, combining wine, beer, and cider, has been thriving for years. In other regions, particularly where there are few wineries, there seems a natural desire to include the other beverages in order to create a critical mass of interest.
On the production side, several wineries have long been making spirits as well, others cider, and most recently beer. The best example is Mazza Chautauqua Cellars in the Lake Erie region, a winery which has been making spirits for several years, has now added beer, and will soon add cider.
And why not? Not everyone likes wine, so it makes (dollars and) sense to offer them alternatives without having to make another stop. And who knows: Maybe the beer drinker will actually discover a wine or spirit he likes, and the wine drinker a cider she likes.
The key, regardless of philosophy or production, is to always offer top quality products.
And speaking of quality, Wegmans is on top once again. The fabulous food market chain was rated the world's Most Respected Company in a recent Harris Interactive poll that rated businesses on several different factors such as Vision and Customer Service, and Wegmans was the only company that rated among the top five in all key categories. It came in ahead of Amazon, Samsung, L.L. Bean, and many others.
There are three great things about having our office at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua: (1) After a 1-minute walk down the hall, I get to eat a great lunch at the Upstairs Bistro, (2) Ryan's Wine & Spirits is 3 minutes away, and (3) Wegmans is just 2 minutes further. So I get to experience wine & food nirvana every day!
There may not be a Wine Press next weekend, as I'll be joining Susan Spence and a group of New York winemakers in the Uncork New York booth at the massive Prowein wine trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany. It's always a nice affirmation of how well New York wines are received by overseas visitors, who typically don't even know that "New York" is anything but a city, that we actually make wine, and that it's so good! But it's also a very humbling experience to see how many countries and companies are making wines. It's a big wine world out there!
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