A Conversation with Annette Boyd

January 3, 2025.  Hello Gentle Readers and Welcome to 2025!  We are beginning the year with our fourth annual interview with Annette Ring Boyd, Director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office in Richmond.  Our discussion took place on December 23, 2024. 

Annette has been involved with marketing Virginia wine since June 1987 when she became the wine marketing specialist for the Virginia Department of Agriculture.  She was instrumental in creating October as “Virginia Wine Month,” establishing the Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition and recently the Governor’s Cup Wine Trail.  In 2007, was awarded the contract to manage the Virginia Wine Marketing Office as its Director.

As with last year, this post paraphrases our discussion and does not directly quote Annette.  I hope that I have captured the discussion accurately.

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Looking back on 2024, what are some events or news that you and the Marketing Office are especially proud of? 

We had a great year PR-wise with a lot of nice articles on Virginia wine in the media.  This was in spite of slump in wine sales that was consistent with national trends, although we had less of a slump compared to California and other states.  Overall for fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) wine sales were down nationally 3%.  Sales at winery tasting rooms, where 72% of Virginia sales take place, were only down 2.4%.  So, we fared reasonably well. 

Another development was that we hired a trade specialist onto the staff at the Marketing Office.  Her name is Desiree Harrison-Brown, and we’re looking forward to her help in our outreach to restaurants and wine retailers in Virginia. 

This Fall, I took a course at George Mason University called “Wine and Food Tourism” which covered the development of a tourism product around sustainable farming and viticulture.  I was pleased to see the FY 2025 Marketing Plan noting its “largest shift” is in trade relations with the new staff position.  I also see mention of the “Wine Library” and the plan to “continue availability of wine samples as media interest remains steady.  This is a simple and effective way to engage interested media about Virginia Wine.”  Tell me about this “Wine Library.”

One of the good things about how Virginia government is structured for the wine industry is that 100% of the excise tax goes to support the growth and promotion of the wine industry.  That includes research and marketing. 

The Marketing Office has a part of its budget allocated to pay Virginia wineries promotional prices for wine samples that may be sent to media to promote the Commonwealth.  Suppose a wine writer in Chicago is doing a story that covers Virginia wine, and the writer asks us to send samples to inform the piece.  We can get samples through the Library.  Recently a writer for Decanter magazine asked for a number of samples of red and white Virginia wine.  We viewed supporting the article as an opportunity to promote our brand in mainstream media.  [See, Lauren Mowrey, Virginia White Wines: Time to Shine, Decanter September 3, 2024, reviewing 20 white wines.  This was impressive considering the hugely Euro-centric focus of the magazine. RS]

The Wine Library also makes wines available to the Governor as part of official gifts to dignitaries or on formal occasions.  Also, we have used the budget to fund Virginia wines being served at receptions connected to UNCORKED – the Chicago wine festival. 

Finally, let me say that if someone like James Suckling comes to us for samples for rating or scoring, we can assist in getting samples, but we will not spend our budget for them as we see this kind of request to benefit the winery directly.  In those cases, we expect the winery to fund samples itself. 

A recent series of articles in the Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville pointed to a lack of branding and lack of name recognition as part of the problem with breaking into restaurants.  Do you agree that lack of branding is the main concern?  What else?  [lack of volume – wineries that sell virtually all of their production on-site leaving little to distribute to restaurants and wholesalers.]

I don’t necessarily agree that lack of branding is our problem.  We do need to do more work in this area.

Recently, we stayed in an inn in Washington Virginia.  When the inn keeper asked whether we wanted any complementary wine in our room, we asked for a Virginia Chardonnay.  The inn did not stock Virginia wine, even though there were more than six wineries within a 10-minute drive of the inn.  We also try to get Virginia wine in the few restaurants that offer it by the glass.  That’s not many.

Yes, we need to work on that outreach.

What feedback have you had from wineries using your Storytelling Tool Kit?  I sent that kit to my GMU professor so that she can share it with future classes.

We released that tool kit two years ago.  It was designed to be a step-by-step process wineries could use to identify who they are, who their customers are, and how to create a message and story that resonates with the customers.  If wineries follow the steps, we think the end reslt will be better branding for thewinery.

What role do you play in the Virginia Wine Expo in February and March?

None at all.  The Virginia Wine Expo is a 10-day indoor wine drinking event organized for-profit.  If someone drops and breaks a wine glass at the Expo, there is applause.  It’s that clientele.  Our office has nothing to do with it.  The Expo is not exclusively Virginia wine, in fact, it may not even be mostly Virginia wine.  The Expo is primarily a public event while around 70% of the attendance at the Governor’s Cup is by industry.  The fact that it ends in March and the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition Gala is in mid-March in the same venue in Richmond may be somewhat confusing. 

The Governor’s Cup awards Gold Medals for wines that score 90 points or more from 30 judges.  There were 850 wines entered in 2024 and 78 medals awarded.  In 2024, 350 people attended the Gala in March when the competition winners are announced.  It is like the Oscars for the Virginia wine industry.  (Some in the industry call it “Wine Prom.”)  Gourmet food at the Gala is prepared by 13 chefs. 

You’re usually hard at work organizing the Governor’s Cup at this time of year.  Any changes in the competition or the gala that are noteworthy this year?

We found that our judges were encountering “palate fatigue” from having to sample 850 wines.  So, for 2025, wineries could only enter six of their wines.  As a result of the wineries self-editing what they would enter, the total number of wines entered for 2025 is down to 580.  This helps each wine get tasting from judges with fresher palates. 

The other big change is to award for “Best in Category.”  Using the same 100-point scale, there will be awards by varietal (“Best Albariño,” for example) in addition to the usual medals, the Governor’s Case, and overall Cup winner recognition.  Having category winners will expand our opportunities to promote those wines.  

Are there some other initiatives you are anticipating for 2025?

We are excited about returning to Expo Paris in February, 2025.  For many years, Virginia sent wines to the London International Wine Fair but when an export distributor relationship ended we stopped going there.  Our friend, Michael Shaps, who has a home in Burgundy, suggested going to Paris.  February of 2024 was our first time at the Expo.  We were in the part of the exhibit hall for American wines and fortunate to be across the hall from the Wine Institute (California, Oregon, Washington State, and New York wines).  We had a lot of media interest in Virginia.  Many big buyers were in attendance.  We were able to do a dinner at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence that featured Virginia wines.  Still more exposure there. 

We are highlighting six Virginia wines for the 2025 Paris Expo: Michael Shaps, Hark, Chateau Morrisette, Barboursville, King Family, and Rosemont.

[Side Note: When I told Annette that we planned to visit Southern Virginia wineries in 2025, she immediately said to visit Rosemont Vineyard and Winery located near Interstate 85 and the North Carolina line.  Sounds like the start of a plan!] 

I’m also happy to report that the Virginia Winery Guide is at the printers.  Our last print was in 2023. 

The Daily Progress series also pointed to the increased use of hybrids that not only might be resistant to disease and mildew but have a higher yield – lowering prices.  Back in October, I interviewed Joy Ting and we talked about the Virginia Winemakers Research Exchange work on developing a mildew-resistant hybrid.  One of the aspects this development is how the new grape will be marketed to customers.  Lee Campbell is on their team for that purpose.  How would you go about doing that.

I think it’s premature to discuss how to market a product, or a grape, that doesn’t yet exist.  I understand that the seedlings are still at the stage of DNA analysis.  Marketing is accentuating the benefits of the product.  Here, we don’t know if the grape the researchers deliver will be red or white, acidic or tannic.  Each variable plays into how it is marketed.  We’ll be happy to assist at the appropriate time.

In past discussions, you have mentioned targeting restaurants and reviving the Virginia Wine Summits.  Where are you on that?

We are still considering reviving Wine Summits.  But those events take a year of planning.  Since the pandemic, we have ramped up the wine app, national advertising and digital media and could not work on those channels and plan a wine summit at the same time.  Now that we have another set of hands (Desiree Harrison-Brown), we may turn our attention to the Wine Summit format.  Maybe in the Spring of 2026?

Thanks as always for your time.  I look forward to speaking to you again next year and throughout the year.