Thanks to Governor Cuomo's Taste NY initiative, once again this year there's a strong New York presence at the Boston Wine Expo, the Northeast's largest wine and food event that draws about 8,000 trade and consumers.  The two-day extravaganza of seminars, tastings, and networking opportunities takes place at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center right on Boston Harbor. (Last year there was a major blizzard, but fortunately this year it's just real cold and very clear.)

                  Taste NY, orchestrated by the Department of Agriculture & Markets, sponsors the overall pavilion, making it far more affordable for New York wineries to participate.  As a result, there is good representation from several regions, with  participants including Arrowhead Springs and Black Willow from the Niagara region; Brotherhood, Pazdar and Warwick Valley from the Hudson Valley; Capoccia from the Capitol region; and, from the Finger Lakes, Bully Hill, Casa Larga, Damiani, Dr. Frank, Fox Run, Fulkerson, Hazlitt, Hunt Country, Inspire Moore, Keuka Lake, Pleasant Valley, Ravines, Standing Stone, and Thirsty Owl.

                  "Class by the Glass: The Taste of New York Gold" is the theme of the tasting/seminar I gave, featuring 10 different varietal wines from 10 different wineries, with the common thread that all the wines won Gold medals in major competitions or received scores of 90 or above in major wine consumer magazines.  In other words, today's New York wine industry is a blend of diversity and quality.

                   Massachusetts came into the 21st Century this year by allowing direct interstate shipment of wine to consumers, opening up new opportunities for New York wineries.  We get lots of tourists from our neighboring state, and now we can sell more wine to them.

                   Another new feature of the Boston Wine Expo this year is an app by which attendees can order wines featured at the Show on site, for in-store pick-up or delivery from their favorite retailer.

                   Someone once said, "The first step to success is just showing up".  That's what these New York wineries are doing as a way to expand their markets.  Since 2011 when Governor Cuomo took office, there has been a 67% increase in new winery licenses due to the best business climate in New York's history.  That growth is great, but it also means we need to expand our markets beyond the local wine regions and the State to other states and countries.

                  The Taste NY presence at the Boston Wine Expo, which was totally mobbed today, is a great step in that direction.

                  Each year in late January, the Wine Market Council comes to New York City to present a fascinating and illuminating update on what's happening among consumers when it comes to wine (or other craft beverages, and the interplay among them).  This year was no exception, with a combination of perspectives that provide an intricate tapestry of consumer trends.  Some highlights:

                  WMC President John Gillespie reported that since 2000 the high frequency wine drinker segment (our core consumers) has essentially doubled from 7.6% to 13.9% of the legal drinking age (LDA) U.S. population. The increase has been especially strong since 2005 due to young Millennials.   "Occasional" wine drinkers (also important) increased from 18% to 26%.

                   Danny Brager, Senior Vice President of Nielsen's Beverage Alcohol Practice Area, added more detail to the trends.  In terms of total spending on beverage alcohol ($216 billion), wine is still the smallest at $32 billion, compared with spirits ($80 billion) and beer ($104 billion).  Sparkling wine growth (11.7% in dollar value) was more than double that for table wine (5.2%) in 2015.  Consumers are continuing to "trade up" to more expensive wines ($11 and above), leading to gains in those categories and losses in lower priced wines.  Millennials consume alcohol beverages more frequently than any other age group, and most of them consume more than one type of beverage.

                   Jennifer Pagano (WMC Director of Research) and Danelle Kosmal (Nielsen VP) reported on women and wine in particular.  Women account for 57% of wine volume consumed in the U.S., with 66% of their wine purchases planned.  Highly involved female drinkers are mostly Millennials, are more often urban educated professionals, and more ethnically diverse than the typical female wine drinker.  And women are more likely to buy a wine they've never tried before based on the label when browsing or based on a recommendation from friends, family, and off- or on-premise staff, rather than seek out a wine they've read about.

                    I have the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors of the Wine Market Council, the mission of which is "to grow, strengthen, and stabilize the wine market in the U.S. on behalf of all segments of the industry".  For more information, visit www.WineMarketCouncil.com.

                  Rose may be the next Riesling in the Finger Lakes, which is why a large group of wineries is inviting the public to "Discover Dry Rose" during the entire month of April at more than 30 participating wineries. 

                   A couple decades ago, White Zinfandel was all the rage (and saved much Zinfandel grape acreage in California), creating a new category of "Blush" wines which were pink, sweet, and enormously popular for years, though much less so today.  Now consumers are more inclined toward beautiful pink wines that are dry, and can be made from a wide variety of grape varieties from Cabernet Franc to Merlot and Pinot Noir, to name just a few.

                   For more information about the special month, visit www.DiscoverDryRose.com.

                   Wine in Supermarkets is coming to our friends and neighbors in Ontario, Canada--only 90 years after the repeal of Prohibition!

                   The provincial government has announced that its long-time monopoly on beverage alcohol sales, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), will finally have some competition from privately run supermarkets--starting with 70 this fall and expanding to 150 not too much later.  Ontario consumers have long been clamoring for better choices than those offered by the LCBO, and now they'll get it, along with better customer service.

                  Why should we care?  We have had an export program focused on Ontario for many years, and the antiquated, bureaucratic LCBO has been a major impediment to sales growth there.  Hopefully the new private sector operators will be more open and forward-looking.  We'll see...