Paul Vigna has been hosting his Mid-Atlantic/East Coast Winemakers Summit for nine years now, and has attracted a number of the East Coast's elite winemakers in an effort to showcase the wines of the coast, and to help introduce winemakers, one to another, exploring styles, techniques, grapes, and the like. An eye-opening experience every time. Even Dave McIntyre wrote about it in the Washington Post before his retirement.
Paul is an incredibly accomplished newspaper man - both as an editor and as a writer. He's very educated about wine. We've known each other a long time. He's a dear friend. I was very excited he invited me to participate in my ninth Winemakers Summit.
A few years ago I wrote about the Craft Beverage Industry taking a step back due to a multitude of challenges. After 25 years of promoting east coast wines, beers, and spirits, I was called "Doctor Doom" by a local magazine.
But let me reiterate. I am bullish on East Coast adult craft beverages. I remain steadfastly so. But I am also just as adamant, that if you plan on being in the game in the next five to ten years, you need to be ready to change yours, because the market you thought you were getting into is long gone - as the world is showing.
Anyway, and more importantly, I think that Paul and the Summit, once again, has shown us that there is indeed spectacular wine being made up and down the east coast. Here's Paul's thoughtful article on the summit, and on the industry's current place.
THANK YOU for including me Paul, and including my remarks in your article. Hope I'm invited again next year!
What do those in the wine industry see as future challenges? There’s no one answer
Patriot News/PennLive
Updated: Jun. 22, 2025, 11:59 a.m.
Published: Jun. 21, 2025, 12:24 p.m.
East Coast Winemakers Summit
By Paul Vigna | pvigna@pennlive.com
The wine community, as one of my colleagues likes to term it, got some good news this week, based on
a report about the coming release of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines of the United States.
Where wine producers and drinkers were bracing (they are guidelines, not restrictions) for the government to say that alcohol is harmful and should be avoided, it appears, according to a Reuters story, that the guidelines will be far more hands-off.
That would remove at least one challenge that those who make and sell wine will have moving forward.
There are others, for sure, as participants in the ninth gathering of East Coast winemakers noted in a question about the future. That collection of 12 winemakers from wineries located in New York south to North Carolina met at Boordy Vineyards outside Baltimore on June 11 for what, except for the COVID years, has become an annual invitation-only tasting and networking session.
They were asked what the biggest challenges are and what makes them optimistic about the industry.
Here are the responses to the question about the challenges:
Jason Burrus, winemaker, Antietam Creek Vineyards, Sharpsburg, MD: There are two main challenges moving forward. This first is a shift in attitude from being a wine-themed hospitality industry to more of a wine-centric producer model. The hospitality should enhance the wine experience, not be the focus. The second challenge is creating more vineyard land so we can increase production. We have very little distribution as an industry and therefore almost no recognition outside the region. It’s difficult to make an impact on the industry if the only way customers can experience our wine is to visit the winery in person.
Katy Kidd, winemaker/partner, Dynamis Estate Wines, Jonesville, NC: The biggest challenge we face is not knowing what our brand will look and feel like for the next generation of wine drinkers. This demands the willingness to adapt to the times and be open to changing wine styles as we seek out the next core group of customers. The hope is that we will continue to see more and more wineries focusing on premium wine production as we experienced at the East Coast Winemakers Summit.
Connor Quilty, winemaker, Meadowbrook Winery, Oldwick, NJ: As a small estate grower, weather and its regional inconsistency stand out as the biggest challenge, but as a new business, I’m sure that larger challenges still await us.
Tom Caruso, Pray Tell Wines, winemaker and owner, Philadelphia: This is purely anecdotal and something I’m currently researching and exploring as a new member of the East Coast’s winemaking community, but one thing I thought stood out in the market here was a lack of a unified message. If you look to well-established regions, they’ve historically started with marketing that is rather simple, success. “What works best here?” I ask this question as both a consumer and producer, and I’m curious how we may even answer that query in our own cellar. I’ll use the Oregon Wine Board as a quick example, having worked in that community for the last decade. What they’ve managed to do is build word associations that simplify the message, inspire consumer trust, and open the doorway to further customer retention. Point in case: Oregon-Pinot Noir. That’s it. That’s the message. While some may consider it reductive to simplify an increasingly dynamic grape growing region to one varietal, what they’ve done is build trust that one type of wine is pretty consistently delicious. They host events in cities across the US each year called “Pinot in the City,” where they have producers sharing wines with local industry, consumers, and journalists. They host “Oregon Pinot Camp,” where sommeliers, retailers, and other industry members are invited out to the Willamette Valley each year for educational and fun events, driven to familiarize folks with their products. And most notably, while the region does offer so many other successful wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Gris to Gamay and even Syrah, those other wines manage to ride the coattails of an industry-unified effort to make exceptional wine in Pinot Noir.
You see this with Napa-Cab. You see this with Finger Lakes-Riesling. Even AOCs and DOCs in the old world offer examples of this by using regional names as the sole indicator of the wine type or variety. And while there are so many other grapes and wine styles thriving and becoming increasingly popular in each of those regions, the consistent messaging for consumers makes it easier to process and open doors. I sometimes wonder if the mid-Atlantic’s diversity might at times be its [problem]. I don’t quite know what the answer is here. I’m entirely enamored with the feeling of throwing a bunch of pasta at the wall and seeing what sticks. The fun for all of us winemakers and growers should exist in the region’s pursuit of excellence. But I do wonder if this may be our greatest crossroads and challenge as we progress forward as an industry. This is certainly not a suggestion to homogenize our vineyards across the mid-Atlantic but merely an observation to see where others have found success. In many ways, I hope that we may find our own voice as a region that is capable of celebrating and honoring the diversity of success from Virginia Viognier to Maryland Malbec to Pennsylvania Chardonnay. I’m just as excited and curious to see how that unfolds.
Vinny Aliperti, co-owner/winemaker, Billsboro Winery, Geneva, NY: My concern is that the Finger Lakes region’s agri-tourism brand will continue to be vulnerable to environmental harms caused by mega landfills, Bitcoin mining, PFAS pollution, and industrial farming.
Mark Ward, winemaker for Pearmund Cellars, Vint Hill Craft Winery and Effingham Manor, VA: As far as the biggest challenge I see ... I think it is engaging with the generations to come as we continue to see a decline in alcohol sales overall and not just in the wine industry. Whether it be how we market or develop new products to appeal to them, we need to continue to increase sales to new customers.
Adam Fizyta, owner and vigneron, Catoctin Breeze Vineyard, Thurmont, MD: Easy answer – climate change. I thought cold winters were over, but we got one in 2024-25, and it killed over 1,000 baby vines. On top of that, back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 were difficult to manage. 7” of rain in May was … welcomed due to the drought, but still concerning given the amount. Add the spotted lanternfly as another hurdle as well — but less worried about that in the long run. Navigating these new weather extremes will be our biggest challenge.
BJ Vinton, co-owner, White Horse Winery, Hammonton, NJ, and Chaddsford Winery (PA): Biggest headwinds are changes in consumer behavior, and the challenge is in successfully meeting their new needs.
JW Ray, co-owner and winemaker, JOLO Winery and Vineyards, Pilot Mountain, NC; co-owner, Rayson Winery & Vineyards, Mocksville, NC: Consistent quality! When you have many factors in very capricious winegrowing and weather areas like we have in the mid-Atlantic, we have to work three or four times harder to bring high-quality grapes into the winery every year, and every year has a different challenge. And we all know you have to start with a quality product to shepherd that along and finish with a quality product. So, being innovative and planting the right varieties to thrive in your local environment are key. You certainly don’t want to bring a Chihuahua lion hunting, so being very specific on what you plant and where you plant them. Considering your individual microclimate and macroclimate around you will be some of the biggest challenges.
Shai Van Gelder, head winemaker, (soon-to-open) Petit Domaine Sparkling Winery & Estate, VA: I think that the biggest challenges that we face are that of perception shift. Wine has been around for millennia, and popularity has waxed and waned, but now, instead of prohibition, there has been a culture shift. Millennials & Gen Z drinkers have many alcoholic options to choose from (not including recreational legalized/decriminalized marijuana use) and are being exposed to surgeon generals who want to slap cancer warning labels on wine bottles. Baby boomers who drove national wine sales to their heights are starting to die, and so are case sales. The change needs to come from a perception shift of a wine bottle being “tasty and romantic alcohol” to an investment in happiness. Making wine an experience to be had, instead of an object, will take many wine lobbyists thousands of conversations to overcome and correct the mentality that wine is a luxury item.
Dave Breeden, winemaker, Sheldrake Point Winery, Ovid, NY: The challenge is the same it’s always been, both for Sheldrake and the industry as a whole: finding a consumer. And I’m hoping there’s more than just 1, but anyway, you get the idea.
Michael Zollo, winemaker, Crow Vineyard and Winery, MD: The weather is always a challenge when it comes to grape-growing and farming as a whole. However, unpredictable weather often sets the stage for unique vintages and challenges us in the vineyard and in the winery. It is during the most difficult seasons that we develop the skills and techniques that take our wines to the next level.
Jose Real, winemaker, Boordy Vineyards, MD: The weather is the biggest challenge we have, in my opinion.
Carlo DeVito, former winery owner, winemaker, author of East Coast Wineries blog and books on wine, spirits and beer: This is a great time to pull back. Reorganize your list. Re-evaluate your label program. Make better, not more. It’s about recalibrating for the next five to 10 years. The market is adjusting. If you don’t recalibrate now [as a winery or any craft beverage producer], you will get left behind. Now is a time to redouble your efforts to make better products, focus on “best practices,” learn new techniques, and grow new grapes. It’s time to start talking up how you make the wine, what your aim for that wine is, the investment you made in the wine itself. Writers have literally seen thousands of barrels and tanks. Tell your customers what you do that’s special about your wine. Why did you pick the yeast? Why did you or did you not do a cold soak? Explain three or four of the thousands of decisions you make as a winemaker to make this wine. Does the story of the vineyard or vineyard block have significance? Your oak program? How long did you store it? Why 1/2 stainless, 1/2 barrel? Bottom line: Stop talking about your personal story. Start talking about your wine.
Read the original article at:
Dave McIntyre article: