Greetings from New York City!
For anyone just getting acquainted with the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, it might be news for you to find out that NYC is my home base. And while most of the NYWGF team is in the Finger Lakes, we also have two staff members in the Hudson Valley region. We’re a small but mighty team of seven, connecting with each other every day to work harder (and smarter) for the wineries and growers of New York State. We are frequently in many of your regions, so, if you ever want to reach out to us and set up a face-to-face meeting, we’re here for you.
I’m thrilled to announce that you can expect to see updates from me in your inbox regularly, at least once a month. Through these updates, I aim to provide you with a firsthand account of the latest developments at the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. While many of you engage with us through our programs and as valued members, I want to offer you a unique perspective on the global impact of your contributions as industry professionals and advocates for our community. My monthly Executive Director’s Corner will share highlights and insights from my viewpoint. Also be sure to read our bi-monthly Grapevine newsletters, released on Saturdays, for my Public Policy Corner that provides updates on issues affecting the industry.
For our winery and grower community, our team will be hitting the road for you next month on our statewide roadshow. These informal information sessions will provide updates on three of our biggest initiatives in 2024, the New York Vineyard Survey, the Sustainable Winegrowing Program, and the roll out of our new Membership Year, which begins on April 1st.
We are also here for you, the wine enthusiasts and champions of New York State wines. We are in the process of making improvements to our website to help you find exciting wines and wine experiences, and more information on where to buy New York Wines – including those made with sustainably grown grapes! Stay tuned for more…
I look forward to hearing from you more frequently, as I’ll be hosting monthly office hours via Zoom on the last Friday of each month for personalized chats starting on April 26th. Feel free to click the link to book a time on my calendar…
Big things are on the horizon, and we’re thrilled to have you on this journey with us.
Now, my take on the most exciting developments that have happened over the last two months. Thank you to all the wineries, growers, and wine enthusiasts who have participated and made these programs a great success:
- At last… NYWGF launched a New York State Vineyard Survey in February. Thank you to the over 140 growers who have already responded! NYWGF staff will be traveling around the state to provide information sessions to growers far and wide in April. This is an important initiative for anyone growing grapes in NYS to participate in because it enables the State, NYWGF, and Cornell CCE to be better stewards of the industry when it comes to investments in research, effective marketing, and when responding to adverse weather events like last May’s frost.
- NYWGF supported the organization, business content development, and promotion of the B.E.V. NY conference in March 2024, which welcomed over 200 wineries and growers in a great new location in Canandaigua. The energy of connecting with others again in-person is priceless and impossible to duplicate virtually.
- In January 2024, 13 New York wineries were featured at the 4th edition of the Tasting Climate Change Conference, which took place in Montreal from January 22nd – 23rd. The conference attracted 390 attendees. NYWGF showcased New York’s environmental initiatives via the New York Sustainable Winegrowing and Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing programs.
- In February 2024, NYWGF held events held in four different countries: Finland, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. We collectively showcased over 180 New York wines at events such as Vinexpo Paris 2024, where the team was able to share knowledge with guests at the stand, showcasing 50 wines from 25 New York wineries.
- Love was in the air in February when we co-hosted the “Love Is in the Wine: Romantic Rosés, Sparkling Delights, and Silky Reds” webinar with Crush Wine XP for over 100 wine enthusiasts.
Did You Know….
We know you’re busy and, just maybe, have not had time to read our 2022-2023 Annual Report. So, let’s take a quick look back at last year, shall we? From 2022-2023, NYWGF activities helped the industry achieve these impressive milestones:
- 2.6 million people were reached during the first 5 months of the Wine Folly New York Wine Region Guide launch.
- Supported by a NYWGF funded advertising campaign, our winery members sold over $380,000 worth of wine on the Wine.com platform from March – December 2022 alone, an increase of 123% over that same period in 2019.
- Supported by a NYWGF funded advertising campaign, New York wineries sold over $415,000 worth of wine on the SevenFifty platform from September – November 2023, an increase of 49% over that same period in 2022.
- Supported by the NYWGF Export Program, 21 participating New York wineries exported $798,824 worth of wine to international markets from July 2022 – June 2023.
- Twenty grape research projects, carried out by experts at institutions such as Cornell University, were provided $688,436 in funding from NYWGF.
I look forward to seeing many of you in-person during the first half of April as I crisscross the state with the NYWGF for our Statewide Roadshow. And, I’m excited to connect virtually with those of you who are eager to book a time to have more in-depth conversations with me about NYWGF and the direction of the industry.
Cheers,
Sam Filler
New York Wine & Grape Foundation, Executive Director
