Vineyard & Winery Management

January/February 2014

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PUBLISHERS'S PAGE Ever-Changing, Always 2014 10 V I N E YA R D & WINE RY MANAGEM ENT Growing For many of us, 2013 was the first time in the last few years that we really felt that the recession was ending and we could see a light at the end of the tunnel. It also was a year in which Vineyard & Winery Management made many positive changes and laid the groundwork to better support the North American wine industry in the coming years. We have redesigned our magazine, from cover to cover, to reflect a fresher and more contemporary design. This change has garnered much positive feedback from our readers and industry partners, and we intend to continue "modernizing" our magazine and its design. Our editorial has been enhanced with new issue themes, such as our "Best Wine Industry Suppliers" issue for March/April and our "20 Most Admired" issue for November/December. I encourage everyone in the Midwest and the East to read the editorial preview in this issue (page 108) highlighting the exciting changes we've made to our two annual industry conferences. With the explosion of craft brewing and distilling in North America, we've expanded Wineries Unlimited to become Wineries + Breweries Unlimited, and the Midwest Grape & Wine Conference is now the Midwest Grape & Wine + Craft Brew Conference. This year's programs will cover an intensive four days, with full-day seminars, accredited courses and the inclusion of craft brew and distillation sessions and workshops. The synergies between the wine industry and the craft brewing and | Jan - Feb 2014 distilling industries cannot be denied, and we feel that including these components in our educational sessions and workshops, and well as on the trade show floor, is an exciting step forward. Our wine competitions are also evolving. V&WM now produces five major judgings, which we are committed to maintaining at the highest standards. Our oldest wine competition, the International Eastern Wine Competition, has merged with the West Coast Wine Competition to highlight each region's wines separately, as well as pitting the top medalists against each other in an East-meets-West showdown. The NextGen Wine Competition has partnered with Wine Channel TV to become the International Wine Channel TV Awards, providing increased media exposure for medal-winning wineries. And, we created The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge, in which wines from six North Coast counties compete for the title of Best of the Best. My family has been committed to providing exceptional editorial, education and access to products and services for this industry since 1974, and on behalf of my family and our team, I thank you for your support over all those years. We are deeply committed to the success of the North American wine industry now, and in the years to come. Cheers! Robert Merletti Owner/Chairman Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. w w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m

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