Posts Tagged budget

As we identified in an earlier post, Robert (Bobby) Champion Jr., State Coordinator for Wine Marketing, would be taking a new position in the Texas Department of Agriculture on September 1st. Today, Bobby sent out an email discussing his new job and the growth of the Texas wine industry.

Ten  years of Texas Wine Marketing – this calls for a toast!

As most of you know, this is my last day as State Coordinator for Wine Marketing at TDA. Beginning Thursday, I am the agency’s new Food and Beverage Coordinator. It seems like only yesterday that I first walked into this office and thought, “What have I gotten myself into?”

It turns out, I’d gotten myself into the best events, best conversations and best friendships in Texas. So if you don’t mind, before we all take that next step forward, I’d like to take just a minute to look back.

In 2001, progressive Texas winemakers, the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association and Commissioner Susan Combs worked side by side with our Texas Legislators to launch the Texas Wine Marketing Assistance Program (TWMAP), a different kind of partnership that would provide the industry with new resources and promotional tools.

Wineries and retailers displayed the newly created GO TEXAN logo alongside Texas wine banners, posters and other marketing items, giving the state’s industry a continuing, unified theme. Ad campaigns put Texas wine on the tip of consumers’ tongues. The program expanded to include seminars, wine pairing classes, grants, restaurant partnerships and other initiatives to encourage wine tourism. Lawmakers joined in, passing bills allowing wineries to sell in dry areas and ship wine anywhere in the state. It was an exciting time for Texas wines… and it was only the beginning.

I’d like to extend my personal thanks to so many people, and especially to the late Senator Frank Madla and his family for helping make all of this possible.

When the Legislature expanded our outreach capabilities in 2005, our industry’s economic impact was $997 million. Currently, it is $1.75 billion and growing.

Six years ago, the challenge was to take a booming industry and find ways to push the marketing envelope even further so it could reach its full potential. The injection of new funds and the arrival of newly-elected Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples provided new opportunities. It also meant our impact and impressions had to be bigger, better and stronger.

We geared up for a surge. In marketing, we expanded our media outreach by hiring public relations firm Hahn, Texas and aligned ourselves with Texas wine powerhouses like Russ, Ron, Jeff and Guy. We established the State Fair of Texas wine garden, implemented the Texas wine passport program, created the Texas wine website, elevated social media activities, launched the “GO TEXAN or GO THIRSTY” campaign and established the Texas vineyards grants. None of this would have been possible without the expertise and assistance of the people in the Texas wine industry. You have embraced and supported every initiative and, as a result, each of these programs was successful and very well received.

Despite recent legislative cuts, the Texas wine industry is still strong and well positioned for future success. Continuing the climb will take the involvement of every industry stakeholder—a challenge you’ve proven you’re more than capable of meeting. You have an excellent voice in TWGGA and your grassroots efforts in Austin and Washington will pay big dividends in the future.

The beauty and strength of our dynamic industry, in my humble opinion, is that while we may compete with each other on some level, we are all proud Texans who work hard and honestly care for one another. We have excellent grape growers, fantastic university resources and winery owners who are creating world-class wines. While TDA is honored to be part of your story, it’s you and your hard work that are responsible for elevating the Texas wine industry to unprecedented heights.

My hat’s off to you. Well done.

I close this e-mail with a heavy heart. I’ve made many good friends and this experience has been much more than a job for me. I care for each and every one of you and consider the people of this industry part of my family. While I embark on a new role here at TDA, I will still be here to help you in any way that I can. My e-mail and phone number will be the same (for now) and, if you ever need anything, please let me know.

This isn’t the end of our story. It’s just the next page. But I wanted to take this moment of transition to say thanks for the memories and for doing so much to help me, this program, and this industry be the best we can be.

It’s been a fun ride! I hope we’ve made a difference in your life. You’ve definitely made a big one in mine.

Sincerely,
Bobby Jr.

We would like to thank Bobby for his past service with the Texas wine marketing program and also wish him the best in his future position!

There have been reports recently that the Texas Winery Passport program will end on August 31st, 2011 because the Texas government cut the wine marketing budget. Even some Texas wineries we have visited recently have told us the same thing, and one even had a sign posted with that information.

I decided to find out the correct information straight from the main source, Robert (Bobby) Champion Jr., State Coordinator for Wine Marketing at the Texas Department of Agriculture. Things of course are being restructured because of the budget cut and unfortunately people will be losing jobs on August 31st, but Bobby told me:

For now, the passport program will continue but there will be significant changes. What those changes will be is still being determined. Because the program is so large and extensive, we are having to look at every aspect to see what is possible and cost-effective as things proceed forward.

That is fantastic news for Texas wine consumers who love visiting wineries. Let’s hope the Texas Winery Passport program will continue. However, just in case you do have any filled passports or are close to filling some, visit more Texas wineries, fill those passports, and submit them to the Texas Winery Passport program site (http://www.gotexanwine.org/passport/index.html) by August 31st.

http://www.landonwinery.com

Landon Winery has two locations, the square in McKinney and in the city of Greenville. Owner Bob Landon opened the first location in McKinney as a D’Vine Wine winery. After a year he then opened in 2005 what we know today as Landon Winery.

We were first introduced to Landon Winery from the Texas Winery Passport program. We had reached the reward level where wineries start giving rewards and our first reward was a private wine tasting with a winemaker for ten people. The winery giving the reward was Landon Winery and we were given a choice to have the private tasting at either Landon Winery location. Since we live over four hours away from McKinney and even farther from Greenville, we chose the McKinney location. Trying to get ten people together for the private tasting was very difficult but we did finally accomplish the feat.

Note: Since the Texas wine marketing budget was cut, there have been rumors that the Texas Winery Passport program will end. Wineries are now even telling customers to submit your Texas Winery Passport codes before September 1st, 2011. We are trying to get confirmation, but if you have any full Passport booklets, be sure to get them submitted before September 1st just in case.

Update! Word is the Texas Winery Passport program will continue. Read more here and here.

Private Wine Tasting

McKinney

Landon Winery is very easy to find in McKinney since it is located in the center of town. The hardest part was finding a parking spot on a busy Saturday since McKinney itself is a tourist attraction with its quaint shops.

Brian Keffer is the general manager of the McKinney location and is also one of the three winemakers at Landon Winery. When we arrived at the winery, we learned he was going to hold our private wine tasting. After all our people arrived, we were seated in the barrel room and Brian introduced us to some of their different wines to taste. There were also cheese and fruit trays available to enjoy during the tasting. Brian gave us a little tour of the production facility in the back of the winery and all of us were able to sample a wine from one of the stainless steel tanks. Overall, everybody had a great time as Brian and Landon Winery were wonderful hosts.

Since we had not done a public wine tasting, the next time I was in the McKinney area I did just that. We had not spent a lot of time at the Greenville location so I decided to do a full tasting in Greenville and a smaller tasting in McKinney. The pourer in McKinney on my last visit was Nichol.

Tastings are held while standing at the tasting bar and there is a fee for tasting five wines. I asked the percentage of Texas grapes used in their wines but Nichol did not know. We counted the wine labels and six wines were labeled as Texas which should mean 75% of the grapes used in the wine are from Texas.

You can buy a cheese tray to eat along with your wine. There is a gift shop available with wine accessories and more. They also offer personalized labels you can put on their wine. The barrel room or the entire winery can be rented for private events.

Outside is a nice sitting area overlooking the McKinney square. Live music events are held every Friday and Saturday at the winery.

Greenville

The Greenville location for Landon Winery opened in 2010. The location is set up as a large restaurant to serve both lunch and dinner. When I first walked in around lunch time, I was asked if I was ready for lunch. Sorry, I was interested in just doing a tasting. It was early for lunch so there were not too many people present in the winery at that time. Later on, the winery started filling up.

I was directed to sit at the tasting bar where Kathy helped me and also provided some information. As in McKinney, there is a fee for tasting five wines. All the wine is corked and Kathy poured from the bottle. The first pour was kind of funny because it was like a normal glass of wine. I said, “Wow, that’s a taste?” She laughed, corrected the mistake, and gave a normal portion for a tasting. I shouldn’t have said anything!

Landon Winery gets their grapes from the Lubbock area, but Kathy wasn’t sure either what percentage of grapes used in their wines are Texas grapes. They make at least these 100% Texas wines: Viognet, Tempranillo, Gewurztraminer, and a Tawny port that came in at a whopping 22% alcohol level. That was the largest percentage I have encountered yet in a Texas wine, and it was good!

I was asked if I wanted an appetizer while I tasted but I declined. Water was served during the tasting. Landon Winery has a wine club and I was told the many benefits of the wine club which are also described on their website.

The production for Landon Winery is done at both the Greenville and McKinney locations, including an Ivanhoe location, although the plan is to soon move all production to Greenville. Landon Winery also helps other local wineries with the production of their wines.

Tours are available at the winery if someone is available to give one. There is a small gift shop available at the winery. A large outside patio is available in addition to numerous inside tables.

Like McKinney, live music is also held Fridays and Saturdays. There is a room and mezzanine which can be rented for private events.

If you are in the McKinney or Greenville area, be sure to check out Landon Winery. Landon Winery’s two locations are on the Munson Wine Trail.

The Texas Winery Passport program is a fantastic program to get into if you are a consumer of Texas wines and especially enjoy visiting Texas wineries. The problem is not many people know about it!

We did not know about the program until we happened to be at Texas Hills Vineyard in Johnson City (http://www.texashillsvineyard.com) and the pourer asked if we wanted the Texas wine passport code for their winery. Not knowing what she was asking, she explained what the program was and that started our journey to visit Texas wineries. Unfortunately we had already visited a few wineries, so it meant a return to those wineries to get their Texas wine passport code. That also means no other Texas winery told us about the program.

First, here’s the link to the free Texas Winery Passport program which has further links to details about the program: http://www.gotexanwine.org/passport/index.html

We have explained to more than a handful of people about the program which we summarize as being similar to an airline frequent flier program where you gain miles and eventually can turn them into free airline flights. In every case, we are always thanked for the information and in some cases they wish they had known about it earlier as they had already visited Texas wineries.

So this post is directed to you, the Texas wineries. Wineries which participate in the Texas Winery Passport program receive a display which they usually display in their tasting room. The display holds a number of passport booklets along with the special Texas wine passport code for that winery.

Most wineries we visit do have the display but we sometimes have to ask for the winery’s code. Most of the time, the person at the winery has a stamp with the code or knows the code by heart and writes it in our passport booklet. However, we have come across wineries which do not know their number so they end up having to call somebody to get it. Sometimes that phone call doesn’t produce a passport code and we’re told the next time we come in, they should have the code. This happened at Water 2 Wine in Houston.

The GO TEXAN website lists over 130 Texas wineries and that makes it easy to find wineries with Texas wine passport codes, however since there are roughly 215 wineries, you may come across wineries which aren’t listed but also have passport codes. If you really want to see if they have a passport code, you will either need to take a chance and stop by, or call prior to visiting. I have called some wineries asking if they have a Texas wine passport code, and in some cases, I was told they think they had a code because they have a display but had no idea how the program worked. I in turn end up educating them on the Texas Winery Passport program.

We visited one local winery in Katy and it is a very nice winery. When we asked if they had a Texas wine passport code, the answer was the owners had not gotten around to apply for one yet even though they had been open for over a year. That’s too bad because the consumers who do know about the Texas Winery Passport program would surely visit their winery which would mean more business.

Maybe we do not know all the details behind the Texas Winery Passport program, but to us any kind of advertising, especially when somebody else is doing it for you, i.e. GO TEXAN website, is great advertising.

Another local winery is scheduled to open soon which I found out by calling them. They have been listed on the GO TEXAN website for a long time but just haven’t opened yet. He assured me he would have everything in place, including a Texas wine passport code, in time for the opening. Now that is one person in our opinion who understands what it means.

It’s Up to You

If you have a Texas winery, or are involved with one, we would suggest telling consumers about the Texas Winery Passport program. It can only mean more business for you. We recently received our 109^th Texas wine passport code. We can guarantee if it wasn’t for the Texas Winery Passport program, we would not have gone out of our way to visit many of the Texas wineries we have and purchase all the Texas wine we have gotten. However, we did have a fun time at most Texas wineries we have visited.

This year the state of Texas decided to cut the wine marketing budget for the Texas Department of Agriculture. We are not sure what that means for the Texas Winery Passport program, but we do hope it will continue in some way in the future especially for you, the Texas winery.

We as consumers heard that funding for Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) programs which support the Texas wine industry was going to be cut. We had a request to write to our state representatives and senators, and educate them how important the funds are to the Texas wine industry.

I wrote to a senator and a representative, and surprisingly got a quick response from my representative Patricia Harless. Here is the letter I wrote:

Dear Rep. Harless,
I have heard some disturbing news that the funding for Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) programs which support important and much needed programs for the Texas wine industry may be cut. This is a travesty considering how Texas has grown into the 5th largest wine producing state and the billions of dollars the wine industry makes for the state of Texas. My girlfriend and I have spent over the past year visiting over 90 Texas wineries which means we have spent many dollars in gas, hotels, and the support itself of the wineries. To better educate yourself about what the Texas wine industry does for the state of Texas, I hope you take the time to read the latest blog post from Russ Kane which explains the situation: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=4669
Thank you and let’s keep the income from the wine industry coming into Texas!
Jeff Cope

This is the reply I received:

Dear Mr. Cope,
Thank you for your email regarding the level of funding for the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) programs supporting the Texas wine industry. I appreciate you taking the time to keep me informed of your concerns on this important issue. I agree that Texas wineries are an important and valuable part of our state for many reasons.

With Texas facing a $27 billion deficit this legislative session, sadly there will be cuts to every agency. However, I will keep your comments in mind as HB 3289, relating to the expenditure of certain wine related revenue, is considered in the Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee and public testimony is heard tomorrow, April 19. If you are interested in tracking this bill or any other legislation, please log on to www.capitol.state.tx.us http://www.capitol.state.tx.us for more information.

Thank you again for contacting me. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents, and I am grateful for you letting me know your thoughts. Please feel free to contact my office if you have further questions about this or any other matter.

Sincerely,
Patricia Harless
State Representative
District 126

On May 13, I received an email from Representative Harless to people on her distribution list and it started like this:

Dear Friends,
It was a critical week in the Texas House, as we worked at a feverish pace to get bills passed before Thursday’s midnight deadline. Yesterday was the last day House Bills could be considered on the Major State or General House Calendar. The focus in the House now shifts to Senate bills and conference committee reports resolving differences between House and Senate versions of bills.

She then explained summary information on legislation being debated. Missing was anything about HB 3289. I wrote to her asking about that and got this reply.

Dear Mr. Cope,
I am glad you like the update.  HB 3289 was discussed in a public hearing of the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee on April 19th, but unfortunately a vote was never taken on the measure and the deadline to pass House Bills has now expired.  To look up any bill and follow it through the legislative process, you can go to www.capitol.state.tx.us http://www.capitol.state.tx.us.

Thank you for contacting me.  I always appreciate hearing from my constituents and hope this information is helpful.  Please feel free to contact me on this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Patricia Harless
State Representative
District 126

If you look up the bill on the state website (HB 3289 link), you will find it indeed was discussed on April 19th and then “left pending in committee.” So bottom line, they talked about it and then never discussed or voted on it, so it died. And in the aftermath of the non-action, the wine marketing budget was cut, pink slips were handed out, and hopefully the state of the Texas wine industry does not suffer too much.

Update: A new email was received from Representative Harless on May 26. It confirmed what was said above:

All Senate bills not previously considered by the House prior to May 24th at midnight are no longer be eligible for consideration this session, meaning the bills are dead.