Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(August 16, 2015 - August 22, 2015)
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As I See It...
 
Budget season is upon us!

While liquor operations are not paid though levy dollars, the success and profitability of your facility can have a significant impact on the city's levy.

The funds that you are able to transfer to the city's general fund to help reduce the taxes paid by your residents and businesses are such an important part of the revenue budget.

Make sure you are letting your Council and residents know the positive impact that those dollars have on the tax levy.
 
Last year in North Branch we transferred $140,000 to the general fund.
 
That is always great news to be able to give to the Council as they are struggling with which important projects they can fund in their budget debates.

To further illustrate the huge impact that transfer has on our general fund budget, I pointed out to them we would need an additional 174 homes valued at $150,000 to generate that same amount of revenue!

I think that really hit home with some of them.
 
Make sure you are letting them know the positive things you are doing at your facility to generate additional dollars to put towards the general fund.

Have you switched out light fixtures or equipment for energy savings (by the way, check with your utility company there may be rebates available for this), have you changed a process for better efficiency and savings, have you added new programs to increase profits?

Let the Council know what you are doing to help them with their very hard budget decisions!
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
Did You Know?

According to Minnesota Administrative Rules:

7515.0300 DUTIES AND RESTRICTIONS.

Subp. 7. Sales discrimination forbidden.

Minnesota manufacturers and wholesalers shall not discriminate in the sale of their products to retailers except that manufacturers or wholesalers may refuse to sell alcoholic beverages to a retailer who may have violated any law, rule, or municipal ordinance relating to the sale of alcoholic beverages at retail, or who has breached a contract for sale with the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Upon notice from the commissioner, manufacturers and wholesalers shall not sell alcoholic beverages to any on-sale or off-sale licensee who refuses to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to any person because of race, color, national origin, or who discriminates in the selection of its membership on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

7515.0310 WHOLESALE INFORMATION.

Subp. 12. Equal information to retailers.

Any wholesaler who publishes, mails, delivers, distributes, advertises, or in any other way directly or indirectly disseminates written price information for distilled spirits and/or wine, shall, in any such material, include all allowances, discounts, or terms, and shall disseminate the information to all retailers served by it.

As a result, a copy of the latest (July, 2015) Total Wines and More proprietary price list is available to all retailers by clicking HERE.

You can order these products by clicking HERE.
2015 Minnesota Hospitality Expo

Hospitality Minnesota invites you to attend their second annual Minnesota Hospitality Expo.


* Hear keynote speaker, theme restaurant/attractions developer Steven Schussler.

 

* Attend workshops on relevant topics that will help you grow sales, learn about trends and focus on business essentials.

 

* Discover new products and services on the exhibit floor while you comparison shop, sample foods and beverages, visit current vendors and meet new suppliers.

 

* Visit "The Brewhouse" to sample craft beer from Minnesota breweries.

 

* Connect with other owners/managers in the state who share the same challenges and rewards as you.

 

* Have a great time celebrating our industry.


Admission is free, but you must register!
Ten Wine Myths Debunked
Wine2

Some common thinking about wine is really common misinformation - common myths that aren't true. The following sections set the record straight about these wine myths.

The best wines are varietal wines

One advantage of varietal wines - wines named after a grape variety, such as Chardonnay or Merlot - is that you supposedly know what you're getting. However, the presence of a grape variety name on the label tells you nothing about the quality of the wine.

Varietal wines range in quality from ordinary to excellent. Wines named in other ways also range in quality from ordinary to excellent. Varietal wines in general are no better and no worse than other wines.

Expensive wine is better wine

For wine, as for many other products, a high price often indicates high quality. Purchasing a high-priced wine shows others that you can afford "the very best" and that you have good taste.

But for sheer pleasure, an expensive wine is rarely the best choice. For one thing, the highest quality isn't itself the best criterion for choosing a wine. Not all situations call for a very high-quality wine, and besides, your personal taste might not align with what critics think of as high quality.

A screw-cap closure indicates lower-quality wine

Not all that long ago, this statement was true, but it's no longer the case. Screw-off caps are still the closure on large "jug" bottles of those old-fashioned, really inexpensive domestic wines, but that type of wine is a dying breed. Meanwhile, sleek and modern screw-off caps have come on the scene as the closure of choice on many bottles of fine wine, especially white wines, from all over the world.

In addition, research in New Zealand has proven that wines can age and develop in bottles closed with screw caps, as wine does in cork-sealed bottles.

Red wines are more sophisticated than white wines

Something about red wine just says "serious," right? But why? Maybe because many people enjoy white wines when they first start drinking wine, and then with experience, they progress to red wine. But many serious wine lovers rediscover the unique virtues of white wines, such as their compatibility with light meals and their easier drinkability, later on.

White wine goes with fish, red wine goes with meat

As guidelines go, this one isn't bad, but it's a guideline, not a rule. Anyone who slavishly adheres to this generalization deserves the boredom of eating and drinking exactly the same thing every day!

Even if you're a perfectionist who's always looking for the ideal food and wine combination, you'll find yourself wandering from this guideline. The best wine for a grilled salmon steak is probably red - like a Pinot Noir or a Bardolino - and not white at all. Veal and pork do equally well with red or white wines, depending on how the dish is prepared. And what can be better with hot dogs on the grill than a cold glass of ros�?

Wine critics know which wine is best for you

Turning to critics for advice is natural. We do it all the time. In most cases, we weigh the critics' opinions against our own experience and tastes. Yet when many wine drinkers hear that a wine received a 90-plus point rating from a wine critic, they go out of their way to get that wine. The curiosity to try a wine that scores well is understandable, but the rigid belief that such a wine is (a) necessarily a great wine and (b) a wine you'll like is simply misguided.

The critics' scores are nothing more than the critics' professional opinion - and opinion, like taste, is always personal.

Wine quality is objectively measurable

If human beings were machines, maybe a person could taste a wine and, with repeated and reproducible accuracy, ascribe a quality ranking to that wine. As it is, however, the equipment we have to work with (our noses, mouths, and brains) is personal and varies in performance from one individual to the next. The experience of wine is always subjective, and the quality statement given to a wine is, therefore, always subjective.

Everything about the wine-tasting experience influences your subjective impression of a wine's taste. For example, the weather, your mood, and the ambiance of the situation all affect your reaction to a wine. Not only that: One bottle of a wine can be subtly different from another bottle of the same wine, and the same wine in a different glass can taste different.

Wine authorities are experts

Wine is an incredibly vast subject involving biochemistry, botany, geology, chemistry, climatology, history, and culture. How can anyone be an expert in all of that?

Different aspects of wine appeal to different people. Depending on what they particularly like about wine, people tend to specialize in some of wine's disciplines at the expense of others. Don't expect any one person to be able to answer all your questions about wine. Just like doctors and lawyers, wine professionals specialize. They have to.

Old wines are good wines

The idea of rare old bottles of wine being auctioned off for tens of thousands of dollars is fascinating enough to capture anyone's imagination. But valuable old bottles of wine are even rarer than valuable old coins because, unlike coins, wine is perishable.

The huge majority of the world's wines don't have what it takes to age for decades. Most wines are meant to be enjoyed in the first one to five years of their lives. Even those wines that have the potential to develop slowly over many years will achieve their potential only if they're properly stored.

Champagnes don't age well

To the contrary, Champagne does age well! Depending on the particular year, vintage Champagne can age especially well. The trick, though, is that Champagne demands excellent storage. If kept in a cool, dark, humid place, many Champagnes can age for decades, especially in the great vintages. They lose some effervescence but take on a complexity of flavor similar to fine white Burgundy. Champagnes in magnum bottles (1.5 liters) generally age better than those in regular size (750 milliliters) bottles.
A Wife, Being the Romantic Sort....

A wife, being the romantic sort, sent her husband a text:

If you are sleeping, send me your dreams.

If you are laughing, send me your smile.

If you are eating, send me a bite.

If you are drinking, send me a sip.

If you are crying, send me your tears.

I love you!!

The husband, typically non-romantic, replied, I'm on the toilet.  Please advise.
Future Dates to Remember
2015 MMBA Regional Meeetings

September and October

2016 MMBA Annual Conference

April 17 - 19, 2016
Arrowwood Resort

Ask A Director

Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163

Cathy Pletta
Kasson
507-634-7618
  
Bill Ludwig
Paynesville
320-250-3325
  
Candice Woods
Hutchinson 
320-587-2762
  
John Jacobi
Isanti
763-444-5063

Michael Friesen
Hawley
218-483-4747

Lisa Kamrowski
Nevis 
218-652-3135

Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732

Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-549-3710
Brenda Visnovec
Lakeville 
952-985-4901
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113

 Karissa Kurth
Buffalo Lake
320-833-2321
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925
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Minnesota SMART

The SMART campaign: Supporting Minnesota's Alcohol Regulations and Traditions, is a renewed public education and grassroots advocacy effort in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations and three-tier system.

 

We believe Minnesota's current alcohol regulations are smart, balanced, and supported by many citizens and our local small businesses.    

    

They work well for Minnesota!

 

The SMART campaign functions to help you engage in advocacy efforts with state legislators and others in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations, and to oppose issues-such as Sunday alcohol sales.

We want to make it easy and effective for you to engage.

 

Take action and send an email to your state legislators today through the new SMART campaign website.   

 

We have sample letters and legislator contact information put together that is ready to go.   

 

  Click Here for the Website
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Beverage Alcohol Training

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 Contact Bob Leslie at:
 
320-766-3871
 


Contact Gary Buysse at:

763-428-0164

How I Learned to Communicate My Inner Life with Asperger's
Alix Generous is a young woman with a million and one ideas - she's done award-winning science, helped develop new technology and tells a darn good joke
(you'll see).

She has Asperger's, a form of autistic spectrum disorder that can impair the basic social skills required for communication, and she's worked hard for years to learn how to share her thoughts with the world.
 
In this funny, personal talk, she shares her story - and her vision for tools to help more people communicate their big ideas.

 Click Here 


Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you.

Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
 
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