Photo Credit: Long Island Wine Council

Last week marked the official start of summer.  The vines are soaking up the sun and growing like weeds, with fruit set (the emergence of baby grape clusters) only a few days off and harvest only 3 months away.  Wholesale sales to wine shops and restaurants are on a steady incline and will likely peak next month during summer’s high season. Rosé continues to drive our wholesale growth and in truth, I worry about sales dropping off once the season ends.  But, our wholesale team is poised and ready to backfill those sales with a planned shift in focus to non-rosé wines over the next few months.  With our full team, distributor relationships and tasting room upgrades all firmly in place, 2016 will be a benchmark year for Lieb Cellars and for me as our General Manager.  All of the pieces are in place and we’re operating as efficiently as possible.  I’m excited to see what we can do in terms of sales and profitability this year and to set a baseline for future growth.  Half of the year down, half to go!  Eek!

In the wine business, summer also means festival season.  Some of the biggest wine & food festivals in the US, including the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, take place during the summer season.  On Long Island, our festival “trifecta” as we refer to it at Lieb – North Fork Crush, Dan’s Taste of Two Forks and Harvest East End – kicks off this weekend.  And the start of festival season has me thinking – what makes for a good one?  How do wineries decide which to participate in and which to decline?  How do consumers determine which to attend and which to skip?  This month, let’s explore all things wine & food festivals.

As a consumer, I admit to not being the most experienced wine & food festival goer.  Aspen is on my bucket list and I also hear South Beach F&W Fest is a top 5.  I have, however, attended literally all our local Long Island fests and frequented quite a number of the festivals held annually in NYC.  For the most part, the format is uniform – a large open space lined with tables (or “booths”) occupied by restaurants and wine brands serving unlimited bites and tastes for a set period of time.  Tried and true.  But, I can identify a few differentiating factors that vary from festival to festival and allow one fest to stand out from the rest.

Ticket price for sure, since events can range from $25 per ticket on the low end to $500+ on the high end.  Caliber and range of restaurants also varies dramatically, with some fests clearly setting higher standards than others when it comes to restaurant partners.  Caliber and range of wines obviously as well, with some employing a “big brand” wine sponsor like an importer or distributor that will serve only wines within their portfolio (i.e. Southern sponsoring the Food Network’s NYC Wine & Food Festival) and others inviting a well-curated group of smaller, independent, local producers to participate (like our region’s Harvest East End).

The type of VIP experience they offer, “demos” (or extra events within the event) and benefiting charities can also differ.  Location as well, since I’ve been to wine & food fests in every type of venue, from stark warehouse spaces in sketchy areas of the city to a luxury mega yacht cruising NY Harbor to big sprawling farm fields.  And finally, theme.  From La Nuit En Rosé’s rosé-only theme to Wine Riot’s millennial party theme to oyster fests to burger bashes, they can run the gamut.

So how do I personally decide?  My husband and I are big foodies, so restaurant selection is #1 on our list.  What’s most appealing to us is the opportunity to taste dishes from restaurants that we’d otherwise not be able to afford to dine at, especially with a bunch of them all being in one place.  NY Magazine’s NY Taste event, for example, is held every year in November in NYC and consistently boasts an epic line-up of THE hottest, most high profile NYC restaurants.  It’s like a one stop shop for every restaurant on “wish list” that year.  Last year was American Cut, Betony, Buddakan, Quality Italian, Red Farm, Upland and on and on and on.  Foodie paradise.  And at $100/ticket for unlimited bites and wine for 2 hours, we definitely got our money’s worth and then some.  (Full disclosure: Lieb Cellars is a sponsor of NY Taste.)

Maybe it’s the ex-sorority girl coming out in me, but I’m also a sucker for a good theme.  I love a festival that decides it wants to focus on one thing and do it right.  Taste freshly shucked oysters from 40 different local farmers for 3 hours?  YES.  Unlimited samples of rosé from 50 different producers from around the world?  SIGN ME UP.  These are activities I can get excited about.

With food and theme topping my personal criteria, how then do my team and I evaluate which fests we’ll participate in as an exhibitor or sponsor?

Because our wines are now distributed in 7 states, we receive invites literally every week requesting our participation in the most obscure food & wine fests all over the Northeast.  They’re non-stop.  This country club, that aquarium, this booster club, that catering hall.  These days it seems like EVERY venue out there hosts some type of wine & food festival.  And while we’d love to support them all, especially those with charitable beneficiaries, that’s obviously not realistic for us from a business perspective.

In 2014, when I started as GM, we said “yes” a lot.  Building awareness for our wines through sampling opportunities at events made sense because 1) we had just rebranded and needed to “relaunch” ourselves and 2) we had a TON of wine in inventory that would be better off being poured at events than sitting in our warehouse taking up space.  We probably participated in close to 50 festivals that year and successfully accomplished our goals of reintroducing our brands to a wide consumer audience and depleting excess inventory.  It worked.

This year, we’re in a different position.  We’re current on inventory (woo hoo!) and don’t need to push quite as hard to reach the masses because we’ve spent the past 2 years going all out in that regard.  Now, we can be selective.  And more strategic.  We can pick and choose wisely.

At this point, we have it down to a science, a formula.  A request for participation comes in and our seasoned marketing manager, Dana, can almost always answer the question for herself prior to consulting with me.  There are a number of deal breakers.  Is there a monetary cost to participate (above the cost of the wine samples we’d need to bring)?  Then, no, we’ll pass.  There are enough high quality events out there that don’t require a fee.  Have we participated in the past and found that the event was not worthwhile (for any number of reasons including being poorly run, low attendance and/or attendees not fitting our target demographic)?  No, thanks.  And finally, do we have something else going on that day either at the winery or otherwise that would be a smarter use of our resources?  Then, unfortunately, pass.  We can’t be everywhere at once.

On the flip side, there are several factors that illicit a “yes” from us whenever possible.  Have we participated in the past and found the event to be a solid fit in terms of ease of execution, image and attendance?  Then, yes, let’s do North Fork Crush again.  Does the event serve a purpose in terms of fulfilling our role as a contributing member of our region and industry?  Then, of course, sign us up for Harvest East End.  Has the request come through a trade partner of ours who is involved in hosting or organizing the event?  Then yes, let’s do Martha’s Vineyard Food & Wine since our distributor in MA is on the host committee and it’s important to them.  Will the event expose us to and give us opportunity to establish connections with chefs and buyers from restaurants that we’ve been targeting for wholesale?  No brainer, NY Taste.  And finally – is the event just plain and simple off-the-charts cool, high-profile or press-worthy??  We’re in, Billion Oyster Party!

A bunch of reasons to say no, a bunch to say yes.  For us, it comes down to what makes sense for our business and given our limited resources.  So the next time you see us at an event, know that said event met our aforementioned set of criteria and garnered a shiny Lieb Cellars stamp of approval.

Or, if you happen to run into me personally, I hope you’ll say hi but not take it too personally if I cut you off on my way to the next food booth.  This foodie will be on a mission!

Happy summer, and see you out there!

Ami Opisso

General Manager & Certified Sommelier, Lieb Cellars