A SPECIAL INVITATION IS GOING OUT TO BOTH THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY GROUP AND THE CAPITAL CITY WINERIES, as both areas have participated in the VINTAGE OHIO SOUTH EVENTS IN RECENT YEARS.

The major topic of discussion is how to build a stronger Vintage South.  We are scheduling it after the VINO event in Bowling Green on November 2nd to see how the format works using a high-traffic existing event. The ticket price will be $10, which includes 5 samples, a wineglass, and more.  [For those of you who cannot attend the meeting, and have participated in VOS in the past. We will follow up with the group’s recommendations so you can make plans for 2026 accordingly.

The new concept is to find a large crowd of NEW faces who would ‘discover’ your wines and bring our ‘regulars’ to the event without the large cash outlay to plan a stand-alone event. Wineries will pour samples, for which they will receive a stipend, glasses will be available for sale, and there will bottles to go under the F-4.  It will also mitigate our overhead, and we can keep the table fees down. 

Chrissy and I met with several potential CVB partners at the just completed Ohio Travel Conference, and Chrissy has been exploring a couple of other regional festivals that might like a wine component and the demographics we bring..  And we will ask you to think about medium to large events [2000 ppl plus] who might be interested in having us join their festival. We will have some options to discuss.  We are considering both indoor and outdoor venues.

We are working on a couple of professional development presentations – and perhaps about some USDA “R and D” grants if we have the info in hand by then, as well as a project to introduce our industry to the incoming elected officials as 2026 is an election year and there will be lots of changes and new faces. .

Registration to cover lunch and materials will be $35 a person.