Tom Payette presenting the award on behalf of the ASWA.
The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Announces 2022 Award Recipients
The Board of Directors of the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of its Monteith Wine Bowl Trophy, Wine Grape Productivity Tray, and Birchenall Award. These awards are presented annually for excellence in increasing the quality of wine produced on the East Coast and throughout the nation.
The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association promotes American wine produced in the seventeen eastern states: all those that touch the Atlantic Ocean plus West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Vermont. This trade organization was founded in 1973 as the Vinifera Wine Growers Association, and renamed in 2008 to reflect an expanded regional focus. ASWA’s mission is to increase awareness of the fine wines of the Atlantic seaboard through trade and consumer education. Members liaise with national, state, and regional wine organizations to identify opportunities to highlight the wines and winemakers working here.
The 2022 Birchenall Award, which is presented by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association to members of the wine media, is hereby awarded to Carlo DeVito. DeVito is a lifelong publishing executive with over 20 years of experience in writing and editing. He was also the co-founder of Hudson-Chatham Winery, the Hudson Berkshire Beverage Trail, and is currently the interim winemaker at Unionville Vineyards. He is the editor of East Coast Wineries blog which has more than 1.3 million individual page views.
DeVito was the editor/publisher of three important books about east coast wine: Summer in a Glass by Evan Dawson, Jefferson’s Vines by Richard Leahy, and Behind the Bottle by Eileen Duffy. He wrote The Spirit of Rye which was just released in November 2021 and his book Drink New England will be released in March of 2022.
From 2020 into 2021, DeVito was the producer and host of, The Great American Stroopwaffle, a video blog of adventures up and down the east coast and out west seeking small, authentic, artisanal, and quality wineries with unique stories. His Stroopwaffle journey came amid the COVID crisis when publicity for small businesses was much welcomed.
For his contributions to promoting knowledge of the East Coast Wine Industry through his own writings, editing/publication of written works covering that industry, and his own video log covering wineries during the pandemic, the ASWA presents the 2022 Birchenell Award to Carlo DeVito.
Previous winners include:
2020 Julia Coney - Washington DC Wine Writer
2019 Nancy Bauer - Virginia Wine Writer
2018 Lenn Thompson - Miller Place, NY
2017 Paul Vigna - Harrisburg, PA
Michael Birchenall, editor and publisher of Foodservice Monthly, dies at 68
By Becky KrystalJanuary 10, 2017
Michael Birchenall, the editor and publisher of restaurant industry publication Foodservice Monthly and an advocate for the Washington dining scene, died Jan. 9 at a hospital in Fairfax County, Va. He was 68.
Mr. Birchenall, a resident of Bowie, Md., had developed liver failure and other complications as a result of a lung transplant he underwent following a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, said his wife, Acquaetta Williams.
Mr. Birchenall spent much of his early career in hotel and restaurant management and, while based in Columbus, Ohio, in the early 1990s, he created what the Columbus Dispatch called “the best restaurant newsletter in town.” Not long after, he settled in the Washington area, wrote restaurant and theater reviews for the Times Community Newspapers chain in Northern Virginia and worked for a publication run by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Mr. Birchenall, instantly recognizable in the local restaurant scene for his gray ponytail and the camera around his neck, founded Foodservice Monthly in 2002. The publication, which covers dining trends and legislative news affecting restaurant operators and their suppliers, became an influential voice in the restaurant industry throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
Foodservice Monthly has a circulation of 20,000, including paid subscriptions and copies sent to restaurants, food vendors, hotels and other industry members. Soon after Mr. Birchenall started Foodservice Monthly, he sold it to Silver Communications but remained its driving force as editor and publisher.
Williams said Mr. Birchenall enjoyed making connections with chefs, farmers and wine makers, as well as mentoring many in the food and media industries. He was a frequent participant in food industry roundtables and competitions in which he served as a judge. Mr. Birchenall also served on the board of the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association, which promotes East Coast wines and wineries.
Michael Birchenall was born in New York City’s Bronx borough on May 17, 1948, and grew up in Macon, Ga. He graduated from Georgia State University in 1972 with a major in English but took a job in the hotel industry out of college to support his young daughter. He continued his career in food and beverage management, at one point taking the helm at Christophers restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
Williams said Mr. Birchenall eventually burned out on working in hotels and restaurants and seized the opportunity to begin writing. Foodservice Monthly was his ultimate passion project: Longtime friend and colleague Linda Roth, a hospitality industry publicist, said she was working with Mr. Birchenall on the February issue of the magazine while he was hospitalized just days before he died. Lisa Silber, Foodservice Monthly’s sales manager, called the publication “his legacy.”
His marriages to Beryl Thomas and Carolyn Hirzel ended in divorce. Besides Williams, his wife of 20 years, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Sasha Birchenall of Asheville, N.C.; two sons from his second marriage, Neill Birchenall of Sheffield, England, and Eric Birchenall of Berkhamsted, England; two sisters; a brother; nine grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Washington Post