Bigger and Easier
The clock is ticking, and the 2003 Cheers Beverage Conference gets closer and closer. Held in New Orleans February 12 13, at the Hotel Inter-Continental New Orleans, one of the Big Easy’s best, the conference leads off with keynoter Joseph Micatrotto, Buca di Beppo. We’ll provide a walking tour of New Orleans oldest and most vibrant bar and nightlife scenes as a pre-conference activity. (Space is limited, so please register right away.)
We also have a powerful package of presentations, including how to reach the 21 to 29 year old consumer from Hilary Perkins, vp global marketing for diamond sponsor Allied Domecq, drawing upon the company’s proprietary data and experience marketing to young adults. Seattle-based, chef, author and consultant Kathy Casey will share the philosophy of flavor that put her services in demand by a wide range of national restaurant, retail and manufacturing clients. Catherine Fallis, the fifth woman in the world to earn the Master Sommelier title, offers her perspectives on wine service wisdom. Noted spirits writer Gary Regan of Ardent Spirits shows us how important a coherent approach to cocktail creation is essential, and Hale Group consultant Laura McPhail answers the questions, “What is the perfect price?” and “How much is too much?” when it comes to pricing strategies.
For further information and registration, call 888-EVENT29 or visit our website www.cheersconference.com. A special rate at the Inter-Continental is available for conference attendees. See our ad on page 12 — 13 for more info.
At Your Service
Training and service are two of the hobby horses we ride around here, so we always welcome news like this: Allied Domecq Wines USA has unveiled plans to create what it calls an “ambitious and comprehensive Academy of Wine & Service Excellence.” Heading the program: master sommelier Evan Goldstein.
“While the longer term programming will offer something for everyone, our initial efforts will focus on our core audiences: retailers, brokers, in-house sales teams, restaurateurs, and our emerging global partners,” said Goldstein, ADWUSA’s new director of wine and hospitality education.
The ADWUSA Academy of Wine & Service Excellence will build on the company’s existing regional education training staff, eventually incorporating online courses. Initial efforts will take place in the field, but the Academy will also conduct courses at Allied Domecq’s six California wine properties, including the newly completed Clos du Bois hospitality center in Sonoma County.
Topics covered in classes will include wine geography and production, viticulture and winemaking, food and wine pairings (introductory level, advanced and customized), wine tasting skills and comprehensive tastings, and multi-faceted on-premise server training. Additional topics will include developing a wine list, staging a successful winemaker dinner, the basics for conducting blind tastings, and building powerful on-premise incentive programs.
To learn more about the Academy, go to wineacademy.org and register for free at the trade site. Or call Evan Goldstein at 707-473-2356 or 800-375-9002.
We’ve Moved
Adams Beverage Group, the parent company of Cheers, Beverage Dynamics, Stateways and the Adams Beverage Handbooks, has moved its offices. The new address: 17 High Street 2nd Floor Norwalk, CT 06851. Telephone number, website and email addresses all remain the same.
Lafayette, They Are Here!
They’ve been watching their share of the US wine market dwindle for years, and now French winemakers are ready to do something about it. As they announced at wine and spirits show Vinexpo Americas in New York last November, the French wine industry has set goals for modernizing wine-making and marketing to stem the tide of non-French wine now washing over America, and will launch what they say will be a long-term effort to do so.
Things are not dire; French still wine exports increased 10% in volume during the first seven months of 2002; however, Australian exports were up 41% and Italian wine by 20% over the same period. (France is now third in volume and second in value.)
Included in plans are a proposed new French wine category called “Cépage de France” (varietals of France) which would allow producers to work outside the strict Appellation d’Origine Contr