Category: Opinion

Drinking Midwest Wine is Good For You

One objection to buying regional wine is that regional wine costs more.  One would think that a local wine producer has a built in cost advantage in the form of  lower shipping costs.  But in...

Four Reasons Not to Drink Local Wine

Four Reasons Not to Drink Local Wine

The following opinion piece, replete with New York sarcasm, is from Carlo DeVito of Hudson Chatham Winery in the Hudson Valley. Hudson Chatham is in a beautiful spot between the Berkshires and the Catskills....

People Are What Make the Midwest

People Are What Make the Midwest

It has not been a good week for two big Midwestern cities.  Detroit is filing for bankruptcy.  Chicago could be the next major city to seek protection from creditors with Illinois not far behind....

Are Wineries Neglecting an Important Message?

Midwest wineries generate a lot of revenue through tasting room sales.  This business model serves the industry well.  Wineries earn a decent margin for their quality local wines and customers receive a genuine tasting...

The Spirit of Detroit

The Spirit of Detroit

Looking for a unique place to visit?   Consider Detroit. Recently, I had the opportunity to spend 24 hours in Detroit as a guest of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council. The city has...

Allow Direct Wine Shipping in South Dakota

Allow Direct Wine Shipping in South Dakota

Cornell Law School student and president of the Society of Wine and Jurisprudence, Bryon A. Crowe II, 25, of Rapid City, SD wrote a column in the Argus Leader that argues for wineries being able...

Pruning Anticipation

Pruning Anticipation

Harbingers of spring are arriving in the mail. Seed and plant catalogues arrive weekly and friends eagerly page through them circling flowers, tomatoes and vegetables – revisiting memories of spring days in their garden....