EWE Conference Manager Richard Leahy is featured in two interviews, both available in the following link from The Patriot-News/PennLive. The primary interview is from Paul Vigna with an embedded link to a video interview from Tassie Pippert and Un-Wine’d.

pennlive.com/food/2023/06/highly-successful-wine-expo-only-part-of-what-has-made-richard-leahy-so-important-to-the-industry.html

Richard  has organized major wine industry conference seminar programs from Pennsylvania to Minnesota since 1997, and has been writing about wines of Virginia and the East since 1986. In 2007 he organized the Virginia Wine Experience in London which brought the top 64 Virginia wines there for leading British wine media and trade to taste. He was a regional editor for Kevin Zraly’s American Wine Guide, and was Mid-Atlantic and Southern Editor for the Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America. He was East Coast Editor of Vineyard & Winery Management for over ten years. He is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and the Circle of Wine Writers. Richard’s book on Virginia wine, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, now in a third edition, was first published in 2012 by Sterling Publishing. He also has a website and blog focused on wines of the East at www.richardleahy.com.

Eastern Winery Exposition
The Eastern Winery Exposition is the largest trade show and conference in North America east of the Pacific Coast. The 3-day event features in-depth workshops and conference sessions focused on viticulture, enology and marketing/management, a trade show with 200+ exhibiting companies; License to Steal, a national wine marketing conference; Meet the Experts; and multiple networking and social events. Details are available at EasternWineryExposition.com. The next EWE will be held at the Oncenter in Syracuse, March 12-14, 2024. 

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Contact:
Richard Leahy at richard@easternwineryexposition.com 
Paul Vigna at pvigna@pennlive.com

The Eastern Winery Exposition + Conference, the largest production wine conference and trade show east of the Pacific states, has sold out its trade show floor.

EWE will take place March 14-16 at the Lancaster County Convention Center and Marriott in Lancaster, PA. The trade show features nearly 200 exhibitor booths, with a floor size over 46,500 ft. The trade show will open on 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15th, and will close at 2:30 on Thursday, March 16th. On Thursday, lunch will be served in the Freedom Hall that houses the trade show, from 11:45 a.m. until 1:15. Exhibitor information, including the list of participating exhibitors and floor map, may be found at EasternWineryExposition.com/exhibitor-info-2023. 

Now in its eleventh year, the Eastern Winery Exposition has become the premier Eastern production wine and grape industry event. In addition to the trade show, there is a day of three concurrent, single-topic workshops on Tuesday March 14, two days of conference sessions on multiple enology, viticulture and money/management topics on March 15-16, and many opportunities for socializing and networking.

“Now that we’re moving out of the pandemic era of COVID-19, exhibitors are excited to get back to the Lancaster location,” says Laura Lemos, of EWE sponsorship and exhibit sales. “Building meaningful and measurable relationships with new and existing customers is top of mind for our exhibitors. For many, targeting Eastern wineries is a time-tested strategy while for others, they are just breaking into the market and we are excited to welcome them in March!”

In 2024, EWE will be held at the Oncenter in Syracuse, March 12-14. Industry vendors interested in exhibiting or sponsorships, who did not exhibit in 2023, may inquire after May 13 with Laura Lemos at laura@boja.com, or 973-668-2449.

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Contact:
Laura Lemos at 973-668-2449
laura@boja.com

The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Presents the prestigious Birchenall Award 2023 to Richard Leahy. Conference Manager of the Eastern Winery Exposition, author of Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, member of the Circle of Wine Writers – Richard Leahy has been a distinctive presence on the eastern wine scene for close to forty years. The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association is pleased to name Mr. Leahy the Birchenall Award winner 2023.

An acknowledged expert on eastern wines, Richard was tasked with editing the Mid-Atlantic and Southern components for the ground-breaking Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America (2000). He also was tapped to be a regional editor for Kevin Zraly’s American Wine Guide. His own Beyond Jefferson’s Vines: The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia, an encyclopedic compilation of the wineries of Virginia, is now in its third edition.

Based in Charlottesville, the heart of Virginia wine country, Richard travels frequently to explore both established and emerging American wine regions. His extensive contacts in the industry positioned him perfectly to act as Conference Manager of the Eastern Winery Exposition, of which he was one of the founders. Next year’s conference in Pennsylvania in March features such notable personalities as Lucie Morton, Tom Payette, and Joyce Rigby of Boxwood Vineyards among others.

The Birchenall Award is given to members of the wine media for providing insight into the wines of the East Coast wine industry. The late Michael Birchenall founded the trade publication Foodservice Monthly in 2002, just as the restaurant scene was beginning to take off in the Mid-Atlantic region. “The local wine industry was growing at the same time, and Birchenall’s publication helped foster a sense of community among the various parts of the food and wine industries,” according to Dave McIntyre, noted wine columnist at The Washington Post.

Past winners of the award include Virginia wine writer Nancy Bauer, creator of the Virginia Wine in My Pocket app; well-known wine curmudgeon Lenn Thompson of The Cork Report, whose current battle with Wine Enthusiast is always interesting reading; and Paul Vigna of PA Media Group, which includes PennLive.com and The Patriot-News.

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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.

Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association
P.O. Box 11332 Burke, VA 22009
(703) 280-4411 Email: info@aswawines.org

Contact:
Mary Ann Dancisin (917) 783-9890
mdancisin@studioecs.com

The Eastern Winery Exposition and Conference (EWE), is pleased to announce the Rhone Rangers, a national association of growers and producers of traditional Rhone wine grapes, as the newest wine association to sponsor the event.
As a sponsor of EWE, Rhone Rangers winery members will receive discounted pricing on conference and workshop sessions at EWE.
The Rhone Rangers will also be a featured association during the Welcome Reception & Wine Showcase and will pour their member wines at the official start to EWE on the opening Tuesday evening event.
“I am pleased to welcome Kim Murphy-Rodrigues of the Rhone Rangers and her member wineries across the U.S.,” says Richard Leahy, Conference Manager of EWE. “Dennis Horton of Horton Vineyards put Viognier on the map for Virginia exactly 30 years ago. Horton Vineyards remains a Rhone Ranger member winery, and next March his granddaughter, Caitlin, who is now the winemaker, will speak during the EWE conference program.”
“The Rhone Rangers are excited for the opportunity to highlight our national membership organization at the largest wine industry event on the East Coast, while engaging with American Rhone producers in Virginia, Michigan, New York, and beyond,” stated Rodrigues. “The American Rhone category continues to grow in recognition for its versatility and complexity in blends, as well as the uniqueness of obscure Rhone varietals, such as the crisp, aromatic Picpoul Blanc and the very limited production Vaccarèse.”
Members of the Rhone Rangers are invited to attend EWE, including those on the West Coast. With over 200 exhibitors in the exhibit hall, the event also offers 35 sessions covering a variety of topics including sustainable viticulture, new wine analysis technology and new disease-resistant mostly vinifera hybrids.
The Rhone Rangers are America’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American Rhone varietal wines. American Rhone-style wines are made from the same grapes that have flourished for centuries in France’s Rhone River Valley, and their growing popularity in the United States speaks to their versatility with food, wide range of rich flavors, and to the skills of American winemakers.
Their mission is to educate the public on Rhone varietal wine grapes grown in America and to promote the production and enjoyment of these wines, with emphasis on integration into our daily lives.
The Eastern Winery Exposition and Conference is the largest production wine industry conference and trade show east of the Pacific states. Now in its 11th year, EWE will take place March 14-16, 2023 at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster PA.
Contact:
Richard Leahy, Easter Winery Exposition Conference Manager: richard@easternwineryexposition.com
Kim Murphy-Rodrigues, Executive Director – The Rhone Rangers:
kim@rhonerangers.org

Syracuse NY – The tenth Eastern Winery Exposition (EWE) celebrated a return to live events in Syracuse, NY at the Oncenter from March 22-24th, drawing total attendance of nearly 1,300 over three days of workshops and conference sessions, and two days of a grape and wine production trade show.

There was a festive mood everywhere, as EWE had not taken place since 2020 due to the pandemic. Speakers, attendees and exhibitors were visibly glad to see one another and reconnect, socialize, learn, and do business. There were 470 exhibitor staff and nearly 800 attendees, including 38 speakers.

Workshops included day-long tracks on Fruit Wine and Mead, Fortified Wine, and Fining and Filtration. Enology and Viticulture sessions focused on cool climate cultivars like Riesling, Pinot Noir, Austrian grapes Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch, and newly-introduced hybrids of vinifera that are cold-hardy and disease-resistant. New vineyard technology demonstrated how high-tech is being applied to improve viticulture in the East, such as using special ultra-violet radiation at night to damage downy mildew and other vine pests.

The National Wine Marketing conference, License to Steal, also took place as a co-located event with EWE.

The annual Lifetime Achievement Award was presented at the Celebration Dinner on March 23rd, to longtime Finger Lakes Winemaker Steve DiFrancesco, now retired from Glenora Cellars and a freelance consultant.

The dinner was immediately followed by the annual ASEV-ES auction. Suppliers donated items to be auctioned, and as usual all the proceeds ($10,000!) will be donated to the Eastern Section Scholarship Fund for those considering careers in viticulture and enology in Eastern universities.

EWE was acquired by longtime sponsor, Wine Business Monthly, in 2019 and outgoing Show Manager Bob Mignarri announced he will continue working with exhibitors in 2023 to secure booth space in Lancaster, while Operations Director Marcia Gulino and Conference Manager Richard Leahy will also continue in their roles.

For a more in-depth review of the 2022 EWE, see Linda McKee’s article in Wine Business Monthly at https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/257290. The 2023 Eastern Winery Exposition will take place at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, PA. March 14-16.

Contact: Mary Jorgensen, Public Relations, mary@winebusiness.com.

December 6, 2021

Such a loss for the East. Tom Cosentino, head of the Garden State Wine Growers Association and tireless advocate for New Jersey’s wine industry, passed away on November 30. His passion and public relations background was a potent force which brought both regional and national attention to the award-winning work of the industry.

by Richard Leahy
November 12, 2021

In late October, I attended a celebration for Virginia Wine Month at the Executive Mansion in Richmond; photo of me with Governor Ralph Northam above.

The 2021 vintage just concluding at that time was said to be possibly as good as the great 2019 vintage, still being released. There were just a few incidents of frost damage this year instead of widespread damage last year. We had a long, dry, hot summer, and despite having to dodge some rains in September and October, by and large the harvest was very good for both whites and reds. Luca Paschina at Barboursville Vineyards thought the ’21 vintage was one of the best he has seen in 30 years. 

Best of all, the Richmond celebration felt like a return to normal life after 18 months of pandemic-enforced social isolation. No masks were required at the event, since all participants had to send scans of their proof of vaccination status in advance. What a treat, to see people’s whole faces, especially their smiles! 

For more information on Virginia wine, visit Wine & Country Life and Virginia Vineyards Association.