Growing the Central U.S. Wine Industry
Illinois takes census; Colorado hosts conference, seeks director
A 2012 census of the Illinois wine and grape industry will determine the acreage and types of grapes grown in the state. Photo Source: Mary Michelle Winery and Illinois Cellars
Springfield, Ill.—The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association is working with the United States Department of Agriculture to take a census of the Illinois grape and wine industry in 2012. The goal: to measure wine production in 2011 and assess the speed of industry growth.
The groups will send some 500 surveys to “all known vineyards and wineries in the state,” according to a USDA source. WinesVinesDATA currently lists 101 bonded and virtual wineries within Illinois. In 2007, an estimate pegged Illinois vineyards at 1,000 acres.
The census is designed to determine what types of grapes are grown and how to maintain industry growth and foster understanding of the grape and wine industry within the state legislature. A follow-up survey, plus personal interviews and fieldwork, will precede an announcement of the results in June.
The IGGWA will host its annual conference Feb. 2-4 in Springfield, with lectures and presentations, tastings, a trade show, trivia night and several auctions. Aimed at “wine lovers, growers, vintners and experts,” the conference will culminate in a gala dinner and auction. For details, visit illinoiswine.com.
More news from Illinois
Organizers have announced that the Taste of Chicago festival will be truncated from 10 to five days next summer. It is now scheduled from July 11 to 15 in the city’s Grant Park, foregoing the Grant Park fireworks spectacular on July 4.
Traditionally slated for late June and spanning the Fourth of July, last year the festival drew its smallest crowd since 1986, a still impressive 2.35 million. Mayor Rahm Emanuel returned the event to control of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which is charged with returning the massive festival to profitability with a refocus on local foods vs. expensive imported entertainment.
Inaugurated in 1980, originally the festival was a single-day event. Admission for the public remains free.
Colorado conference allies wine and fruit growers
The VinCO conference held Jan 16-19 in Palisade, Colo., will present an interchange of ideas between the state’s wine and horticulture industries. Sponsored by the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE); the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board (CWIDB) and the Western Colorado Horticultural Society, the conference is open to the public. According to CAVE administrator Sandie Cooper, “It’s the perfect fit” between producers of grapes and other fruit.
VinCO topics will include seminars about grape and fruit pests and diseases; comparative wine tasting; vineyard flavor manipulations; blending and marketing hybrid grapes and improving winery quality. A Jan. 18 marketing panel features master sommelier Wayne Belding; Janet Johnson, western Colorado sales manager for Southern Wine and Spirits, and wine writer Jeff Siegel, organizer of the annual Drink Local Wine conference (to be held this year in Denver on April 28).