The great Indiana State Fair is right around the corner and you will see the Indiana Wine industry proudly showcased in two locations this year.
Jeanette and her intern, Ashley, will be manning booths in the redesigned Ag/Hort building and in Grand Hall.
Guests to our booths can watch an informational video on the activities of the PWGT and our research vineyards and winemaking facilities. Guests will see information on Vintage Indiana and other marketings as well.
Visitors can engage in a fun game of Plinko for a chance to win prizes. And they can pick up an Indiana wine fan to help them keep cool on those hot State Fair days.
This year, the Indiana State Fair is the "Year of the Farmer!" Each day will feature a different farmer and commodity they grow. Through my contacts with Dow Agrosciences, I was able to secure one day of fair to be Wine Grape Day. I'm excited to have Jerry, Paige, Jason and Allison McClure of McClure's Orchard & Winery be our Farmers of the Day on August 12th. They'll be on the fairgrounds speaking about wine, grapes, apples and the other produce they raise. It's not only a great chance to educate the fairgoers about our industry, it also recognizes us as another valuable part of Indiana agriculture. Thanks to the McClure family for accepting the challenge and being featured!
New this year will be a fun promotion feature selfies! Everyone loves a good selfie and Farmer Selfies, aka "Felfies", are a big trending item in social media. I sent out a cry for help a few weeks ago, asking all of our wineries to considering participating. I had a great response and and had to do a "names drawn out of a hat" to narrow it down to just 2 winemakers.
Simmons Winery and Easley Winery will be our featured Farmer selfies at my two booths. Fair visitors will be encouraged to take their picture with the cardboard cutouts of David Simmons and Jeff Martin, then tweet, Instagram or Facebook their picture! All photos will be entered into a daily drawing for a gift card giveaway. And while this promotion will feature two winemakers, it is designed to bring recognition to the ENTIRE Indiana wine industry. I'll have special social media promotions designed to bring awareness to all 80 of our wineries and the nearly 700 acres of Hoosier vineyards.
It's not to late to enter the INDY International Wine Competition. For those attending the IWVA meeting on July 21, the PWGT would like to offer transportation of your wine back to Purdue. You can bring it to the meeting. Dr. Bruce Bordelon has volunteered to transport it back to our offices. That saves you shipping costs and shipping it in the heat. But be sure to either enter online or include the paperwork in your wine cases.
http://www.indyinternational.org/enter
I can't wait to see all of the results from this year's INDY and I hope to see many of you at the Indiana State Fair! I'll be there all 17 days!
Cheers,
Jeanette Merritt
