Geneva, NY- The Northeast’s leading researchers in viticulture, enology, and the business of grapes and wine will teach at B.E.V. NY 2015, held February 26-28 at the R.I.T. Conference Center in Henrietta. In its 2014 inaugural, the symposium drew more than 500 attendees from New York and surrounding wine regions.
The 2015 program features speakers from regional institutions (Cornell, Penn State, Finger Lakes Community College, and Tompkins County Community College, among others) covering topics from barrel sanitation and spray programs to business planning and tasting room sales.
True to its cooperative extension roots, B.E.V. NY differs from other grape and wine events in its focus on continuing education. Presentations are designed to give an introduction or review of familiar material, then move on to recent research and practical applications- providing attendees and speakers an opportunity for interactive dialogue rather than narrowly-focused research results. By all accounts, the new structure is a success.
“I thought the format for B.E.V. NY was excellent,” said Bruce Murray, co-owner of Boundary Breaks Vineyard in Lodi. “The separation of the tracks into Business, Enology and Viticulture makes so much sense. I got to hear most of the program content, and there were many, many very good sessions.”
“The great thing about B.E.V. NY is that our format suits people in all sectors of the industry and at all experience levels,” says Chris Gerling, enology extension associate. “Regardless of what part of the business you’re in or how long you’ve been doing it, everyone should find something new and relevant.”
In response to industry evaluations, the Business program will be broken into two parallel tracks, one aimed at winery owners and managers, and the second at tasting room and marketing personnel. The focus on tasting room tactics is relatively new to the extension program, and draws on a variety of faculty expertise in Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the School of Hotel Management.
For Associate Professor of Services Marketing Kathy LaTour, B.E.V. NY represents a way to focus her work to better serve the NY grape and wine industry.
“I found speaking at B.E.V. NY was a great opportunity to think about my academic research on wine expertise and consumer learning, and frame it toward the industry,” she said. “I enjoyed hearing about actions the industry is embarking on to make their tasting rooms more consumer experience-oriented and educational.”
B.E.V. NY was born when the Finger Lakes Grape Program, the Cornell Enology Extension Lab, and members of Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and School of Hotel Management joined forces to provide a workshop covering all aspects of the grape and wine industry in New York.
Jim Trezise, President of the NYWGF and 2014 speaker, encourages everyone in the industry to attend.
“Cornell’s B.E.V. NY conference is an absolute must for any grower or winery in New York or the northeast who wants to get the latest and most valuable information about business, enology, and viticulture,” he said. “The Cornell researchers are world-renowned, and Cornell Cooperative Extension does a fabulous job disseminating the information to the people who need it to enhance their businesses.”
For more information, visit http://events.cals.cornell.edu/bevny2015