Sabin Wine Journeys

January 4, 2024.   Hello Gentle Readers and Welcome to 2024!   We are beginning the year with our third annual interview with Annette Boyd, Director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office in Richmond.   Our discussion took place on January 4, 2024.   As with last year, this post paraphrases our discussion and does not directly quote Annette.   I hope that I have captured the discussion accurately. Question #1 .   In July 2022, Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced that it would limit its reviews of U.S. wines to wines from California, Washington State, Oregon, New York, and Virginia.*   In November of 2023, Wine Enthusiast named the Charlottesville area as “the 2023 Wine Region of the Year Wine Star Award.”**   I imagine that the Virginia Wine Marketing Office played a role in the magazine’s decision in favor of Virginia over other states that it could have included (like Texas), and more recently in favor of the Charlottesville region.   How d...

  Interview with Annette Ringwood Boyd, Director, Virginia Wine Marketing Office January 28, 2022 For our January post, we are featuring an interview with Annette Ringwood Boyd, Director, Virginia Wine Marketing Office.   Ms. Boyd has been involved with marketing Virginia since 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, she was awarded the contract to manage the Virginia Wine Marketing Office as its Director. We held this conversation in the middle of Annette's planning for the Virginia Governor's Cup competition in March, which will be a  combined trade and consumer event this year.  Consumers are invited to have parties through YouTube and Facebook as the Cup selections are revealed.  The ticketed trade party w...