Archives for April 2014

Where’s the Pied Piper when you need him?

April 30, 2014 by

Watch out!  This is the time of year to keep a good look out for ground squirrels.  These four inch rodents can do such terrible damage that they can kill vines.

Watch for mounds and loose dirt around the base of your vines.   If your vineyard is less vigorous or your vines are wilting it may be a sign that the animals are digging around down there.   These varmints are prolific so getting ahead of the problem is important.

Stay on top of these ground squirrels, because if you don’t you may have other animals trying to do it for you.  That can be almost as bad as the rodents themselves.  Foxes, dogs or other predators will try to dig them out and that can kill a vine or render it useless with mounds of dirt and holes in the vineyard.

If you have just a few varmints, an easy way to control them is to use a rat trap (like a big mousetrap).  Bait the trap with peanut butter.  Come back thirty minutes later and take the dead squirrel out and re-bait the trap.

You may have to drill a hole in the trap and secure it to a post with a wire because a hungry fox or hawk may take the squirrel along with the trap before you get a chance to remove him.

If you have a large infestation you may consider using a device that puts propane into the holes.  When you light the propane.  Kaboom.  No more ground squirrels.  You won’t have to bury them either since they are already in the ground.

Of course, be careful with this method.  Play with fire at your own risk.

I don’t care for poisoned bait since I don’t know for sure that another animal won’t eat it.  I have heard of people putting the exhaust of a motor into the holes.  I haven’t done this myself so I can’t speak to the effectiveness of this technique.

You’ll have to make the final decision how you want to deal with the varmints, in the end.  Unfortunately the Pied Piper doesn’t live around these parts so you’ll have to get your hands dirty.

Staying ahead of the little buggers is the main thing.  They can multiply rapidly and take out several plants before you know it.  Keep your eyes peeled.

Good luck.

Filed Under: Winemaking/Viticulture

Ardon Creek Winery

April 30, 2014 by

159 years ago, an Irish family made its way to Southeast Iowa and settled between the rivers Cedar and Mississippi. The descendants of that family reside there still, and display their ancestral pride through a symbolic three-leaf clover, artfully worked into the logo of the family’s current venture: a vineyard and winery named Ardon Creek.

“I was raised here, and all the Furlongs in our lineage are from here,” said Mike Furlong. Along with his wife, Diane, he manages the day-to-day operations of the vineyard and winery.

“My father raised tomatoes for Heinz when Muscatine had a plant,” said Mike. “During those years, the place would be full of people working, harvesting, and so I got exposed to that and some of the pitfalls – the good, bad, and different. I think that has helped us because it’s a little like the wine business.”

In addition to Mike’s experience on the family farm, the Furlongs’ work experience in the business world has proved valuable as well. “The marketing stuff, the sales stuff,” said Diane. “I sometimes think that it can be lacking [in other wineries].”

Transitioning the family farm into a vineyard hadn’t been at the top of the Furlongs’ list from the start. Instead, driven by a desire to rejuvenate the ancestral farmstead, they entertained a variety of options. It was a grape growing seminar which finally convinced them it was the right course of action.

“[Mike] came back from that seminar, that very first one he went to, and said, ‘I think I found it, I think we’re going to raise grapes and make wine’,” said Diane. “At that point we were so captivated by the whole romance idea of wine.”

“We started to go to classes that Iowa State put on in 2000, planted our first grape vines in 2004, and then opened the winery in 2009,” said Mike. “So we’re starting our fifth year as a winery, and eleventh as far as the vineyard.”

Ardon Creek produces about 3,000 gallons of wine annually from the grapes they grow on site including Concord, Noiret, Chancellor, Edelweiss and LaCrosse. Additional juice is brought in from New York which they use to fulfill their total production of 6,000 gallons or more, a process made easier with help from loyal community members.

“It’s just amazing to me. We bottle probably about once a month, twice a month, seventeen times in a year, or something like that – the bottling team are the same volunteers every single time,” said Diane.

“We kind of take to the Hillary Clinton quote of, ‘it takes a village’, and to run a winery that seems to be our perspective,” said Mike. “It doesn’t hurt that Diane is one of these bon appetit kind of cooks, so she really puts on a nice spread. We think of stories about threshers and getting together to do the threshing of the wheat and oats or whatever – there’s some of that going on. I think the uniqueness of the endeavor intrigues people, so people are interested in being involved.”

“Everybody likes wine,” said Diane.

At the present, the winery operations are contained within a single building which is separated into a tasting room and a large space for winemaking and storage. The winemaking room is lined on one side by a row of tall, stainless steel tanks. On the opposite wall, a long table covered with laboratory equipment. A mountainous stack of boxes sweep down the center: bottles waiting to be filled or sold, oak infusions ready to be immersed in aging wine, labels waiting to be adhered – provisions for a busy winery. A cement crush pad hugs one of the outer walls of the building.

“As time goes on and as the business grows we can see ourselves using real oak barrels to age some of our wines, and adding some reserve releases. We might also put up another facility so we can host weddings more practically rather than worrying about the weather conditions,” said Mike.

Among the challenges the Furlongs have faced has been product recognition and capturing a strong market share.

“It’s a whole learning curve for the audience as much as it’s been [for us],” said Diane. “These grapes have been largely unknown. Everybody recognizes Concord, but that’s about the only one.“

“The market share portion is challenging because to gain market share you have to spend money – any kind of growth you have to spend money, it seems like in this industry,” said Mike.

Despite these challenges the Furlongs remain positive about the endeavor.

“I think that people will begin to recognize more of the cold climate grapes as time goes on,” said Diane.

“I’m a big believer in Chancellor and Noiret,” said Mike. “First of all, I like dry reds. It’s winter hardy to about 15 degrees with 50 percent bud kill. It comes very close to the vinifera world, maybe a light Corot Noir or a Cab, if you want to call it that. When we [the Furlongs] drink wine, we drink that, or I do anyway.  The Noiret grape was developed by Cornell in New York; we have an acre of that and we make that in a dry red style and it has hints of black and green pepper and it makes for a very complex, interesting wine. Does it taste like Cabernet Sauvignon? No, but does it taste like interesting dry red? Yeah.”

In their eyes, the future of the Iowa wine industry also remains positive.

“I would say there would be fewer wineries and they might be larger, and I think those that remain will be better winemakers and will also have different winter hardy hybrids that might make some of the dry people happy,” said Mike. “It took Napa three decades to really get themselves [to where they are now] – and I’m not comparing Iowa to Napa, but it’s a long process.”

In the meantime, however, the Furlongs focus their efforts on rejuvenating the family estate.

“Since it has been in our family 159 years some of it is a legacy thing for the next generation,” said Mike. “This is a community making a unique product and it’s a pretty good product.”

 

This article first appeared in Midwest Wine Press in April 2014.

Filed Under: Personality Feature

Tasting Notes: Wine Labels

April 30, 2014 by

Lauren Chalupsky-Cannon of The Secret Cellar and Nick Thornburg of Iowa Decanted discuss wine labels, what they mean, and how to read them with confidence.

Filed Under: Wine Education

The Power of Friendship in the World of Wine

April 9, 2014 by

wine geek blog-01Yes, this is a wine blog.  That said, we’re going to spend some time talking about friendship.  Why?  I’m glad you asked.  Because it may shed some light into how wineries can keep visitors coming back for more.  Intrigued?

We all have friends (I hope) who’ve made a significant impact on our lives by lifting our spirits when we’re down, giving us encouragement, and leading us through the vast wilderness of interpersonal relationships (let’s be honest, it can be a jungle).  There’s nothing quite like having a BFF.

Now let’s take a moment and think about what makes up a healthy friendship between two people.

Trim away the superfluous and what you’re left with is the impression of mutual benefit between both parties (ex. Billy and Karen are friends.  Billy enjoys spending time with Karen because she is quite humorous.  Karen enjoys Billy’s company because he’s such a good sport and provides moral support when she’s in the dumps. They both benefit from a continued relationship).  We can even loosely determine the strength of the friendship by evaluating the value each party places on the benefit they derive from their association.  The higher the value, the stronger the bond.  When there is a strong bond, we can be sure that both parties will instigate unsolicited actions to the benefit of the other.  Each interaction builds trust and heightens the perceived value of the opposite party, increasing the likelihood that beneficial actions will continue to be performed.  It’s a bit of a cyclical process, really.

Now researchers are applying that same line of thinking to the analysis of the relationship between tourists and organizations which provide destination experiences… like wineries.

The International Journal of Strategic Communication published a study in 2012 entitled ‘Destination Loyalty and Communication – A Relationship-based Tourist Behavioral Model’ which states that relationship building between destinations and visitors leads to active supporting behavior on the part of the visitor towards the destination.

Of course, when I first read this I wasn’t at all surprised – isn’t this exactly what marketers and savvy business-people have been trying for since… well, since forever?  But then again, we live in an age where everything must be quantitatively proven in order for it to be believed, so the need for this study is understandable.

In this study, relationship building is approached much the same way as our earlier ideas on friendship.  In the healthy relationship visitors wish to continue their association with the destination because more benefits are expected the longer they continue the relationship.  The same goes for the destination.  Both parties expect to benefit in different ways (ex. the destination hopes to make sales) but they both value the benefits of the relationship enough to keep it up.  And the stronger the bond, the more likely visitors will be to engage in active support such as sharing the experience with friends or acquaintances.

If we think about what this means for wineries, we begin to understand the importance of relationship-building as a part of the destination experience.

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been to a few tasting rooms where I’ve felt ignored or treated in a manner I can only express as being cold.  The wine may not have been bad, but given the lack of effort on the part of the staff to engage in interpersonal dialogue I felt no desire to return or even purchase their wine.  The quality of product wasn’t enough to get my business.  On the other hand, I’ve been to a couple of places where the wine wasn’t quite up to par but the staff treated me so well I bought the wine nonetheless – and in some cases even returned for another visit!  In the case of the former, I was unable to recognize the benefit of a continued relationship with the destination (despite having a decent product) specifically because they put no effort into relationship-building.  But in the case of the latter, I made an effort to support the destination because the interpersonal skills of the staff were of such great value to me that I felt obligated to help them out!  Maybe you’ve had a similar experiences.

The study from the International Journal of Strategic Communication provides evidence that efforts made in relationship building during the destination experience result in destination loyalty and favorable voluntary behavior taken by visitors.  Encouraging for wineries?  Yes.  Commonplace among wineries?  Maybe not so much.

I’d like to share the following suggestions to wineries in light of this:

1.  Put your best face forward.

The tasting room is where you make or break the relationship with your visitors.  Do you really want the growly minimum-wage local as your front man (or woman)?  I don’t think so.  When visitors walk in your door they should be greeted by the friendliest and most personable individual on your staff.  This person should be bursting with a passion for customer service – and it wouldn’t hurt if they knew the ins-and-outs of your operation and all about your wine (If they don’t know the answer to something, fine, but the first thing they should say is ‘I don’t know, but let me find out for you!’)  This person should understand the fine art of conversation (you don’t want a chatterbox hogging the limelight and you don’t want a timid mouse shrinking into the shadows) and they shouldn’t be as concerned with the sale as much as they are about building a healthy relationship with the visitor.  The ideal person will make it easy for the visitor to relax and trust that they are in good hands.  The ideal person will make visitors feel like they’ve made a new friend.  The ideal person may take some time to find.  This is a hard job.  It takes effort and a ton of energy.  Don’t believe that just anybody can do it.

2.  Distribute content designed to build relationships with visitors.

Social media, web content, mailings, and commercials are all potential carriers of the destination experience.  Think about ways you can make it easy for potential visitors to see the value and benefit of coming to visit you – and by value I’m not referring to monetary value.  Although this can be a good incentive to bring people in the door, it’s probably not going to be the best way to create destination loyalty.

Remember: friendship.

How do you normally make friends?  Do you offer them discounts to incentivize them to go out on the town with you?  Do you hound them with one-line announcements about special events at your house and fill their inbox with pleas to come visit?  Probably not.

Friendships begin with a dialogue.  Listen.  Respond.  Make an effort to understand the other party.  Don’t hog the conversation – It isn’t one-sided, it is a mutual experience.

Social media is, of course, a perfect platform for engaging in this type of relationship building (more traditional types of media can be creatively employed in a similar fashion with a bit of thought, however).  While it’s easy to fall into the trap of a one-sided conversation, posts and tweets and whatever else should really be designed to encourage a dialogue.  Campaigns should be responsive and agile, ready to truly engage with potential visitors.  Content such as this will encourage destination loyalty and voluntary favorable actions – and this is what wineries want, right?

Food for thought.

Until next time.  Cheers!

Filed Under: Wine Geek Blog