International Journal of Wine MarketingEmerald Article: Wine tourism development and marketing strategies in Southwest MichiganAstrid Wargenau, Deborah Che

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International Journal of WineMarketing

Vol. 18 No. 1, 2006pp. 45-60

# Emerald Group Publishing Limited0954-7541

DOI 10.1108/09547540610657678

Wine tourism development andmarketing strategies inSouthwest Michigan

Astrid WargenauDepartment of Geography, Western Michigan University,

Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

Deborah CheDepartment of Geography, Western Michigan University,

Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

Abstract

Purpose – This research investigated wine tourism development and marketing in southwestMichigan, a longtime viticultural, but emerging wine tourism region. The aims involved discoveringthe motivations, expectations, and successes of Southwest Michigan Wine Trail member wineries indeveloping horizontal and vertical alliances.Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted withindividuals in charge of the wineries’ marketing activities (i.e. marketing directors and members ofthe marketing departments, winery owners). These interviews were recorded and transcribed.Activities fostered through the horizontal and vertical alliances were identified.Findings – Alliances along the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail have furthered the development andmarketing of wine tourism. The trail’s member wineries have formed strong horizontal relationships,which include joint advertising, promotion, and production. They have also built verticalrelationships with tour operators, lodging businesses, and restaurants that promote individualwineries as well as the wine region. Wine tourism has provided wineries with another sales outlet andestablished the wine region as a destination.Originality/valve – This study contributed to the limited literature on the development andmarketing of wine tourism in Michigan and in other emerging wine regions in the United States. Forthose working to further such rural/agri-tourism, this research indicated that there is considerablegrowth potential through an increased presence in restaurants and in packaging with accommodations.Adding new specialized wine tours, wine festivals,geographical target markets, and a focus on wineeducation on-site and at educational institutions can expand wine tourism and sales.

Keywords Wines, Tourism, Tourism development, Marketing strategy, United States of America

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionDue to climate and soil conditions, southwest Michigan has been a viticultural regionfor over 150 years. The ‘‘Lake Effect’’, extending 20 miles (30 kilometers) inland fromthe shore (Heidorn, 1998), which results from prevailing westerly winds and thewarming effect of Lake Michigan in winter, favors its fruit production. The lowvariation between day and night temperatures, a retarded spring with a slow rise inspring temperatures, a delayed fall frost until after the harvest, and an average annual177.8 centimeters (70 inches) snowfall protect vines and reduce frost damage (TheWineman International, 1999). The constancy of the actual dates limiting the growingseason, rather than length of the season, is the key to southwest Michigan viticulture(Westinghouse and Morrison, 1963). The high nutrient content in sandy loams with

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/0954-7541.htm

The authors thank Cathy Fielding and the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail for use of the mapfeatured in Figure 1.

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sandy or gravelly substrata, which are associated with topographic conditions havingsatisfactory air and water drainage also favor production (Baxevanis, 1992; Santer,1993; Schaetzl, 2002; Westinghouse and Morrison, 1963). Until recently, the indigenousVitis labrusca has dominated Michigan viticulture, but in the past 20 years productionof European Vitis vinifera varieties (i.e. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir) have grown. Vineyardareas in the state have increased 24 per cent since 1997 to about 13,500 acres, makingMichigan the fourth largest grape-growing state. Approximately 1,500 acres arededicated to winemaking grapes (State’s wine industry booming, 2004). Michigan,which produces about 200,000 cases of wine annually, ranks eighth nationwide(Michigan Grape andWine Industry Council, n.d.).

While conditions favor wine production, the possibilities of wine tourism have onlybeen recently recognized in southwest Michigan (Mahoney et al., 2002; Chang et al.,2003; Kim and Kim, 2003). Wine tourism, which includes visiting vineyards, wineries,wine festivals, and wine shows for recreational purposes, can serve as a distributionchannel. Visited wineries, with their ‘‘aesthetically pleasing’’ vineyards and oldbuildings, are venues to taste, learn about, and buy wines. In addition to helping thewineries, tourism can benefit destinations by attracting visitors in the pre- and post-peak travel season (Getz, 2000), and by providing steady incomes and jobs in ruralareas. Thus far, there has been limited research done on the co-evolution of Michigan’swine and tourism industries. This paper, which focuses on wine tourism developmentand marketing strategies in southwest Michigan, will briefly examine the wine tourismexperience in other more established regions, and then look at alliance marketingprinciples and their application in wine tourism. Then it will move to the case study ofthe development and marketing of southwest Michigan wine tourism. Lastly,conclusions and recommendations for furthering wine tourism in southwest Michiganwill be provided.

Geographical applications of wine tourismThe different geographical applications of wine tourism can offer lessons for southwestMichigan. In Australia, many small wineries which opened in the 1960s have from theirinception depended heavily on tourism and cellar door sales as their main distributionchannels. The Australian government has facilitated tourism growth by supportingtourism training of vineyard staff, information transfer of new marketing strategies,and organization of joint events and festivals (Macionis and Cambourne, 1998; Hallet al., 2000). As a result, Australia functions as an example for many new wine regionsand ‘‘leads the world in development of wine tourism strategies and planneddestination incentives’’ (Getz, 2000, p. 25). In North America, California’s Napa Valley isthe most established wine tourism region (Bulman, 1991). To continue attractingvisitors, Napa offers wine tourism experiences that go beyond tastings. For instance,one can tour the region by limousine, plane or balloon over the vineyards, and by thehistoric Napa Valley Wine Train while dining, tasting wine, enjoying on-board concertsand purchasing local wines (Napa Valley Wine Train Inc., n.d.). One can also hike, bike,raft, visit a wildlife sanctuary, and attend the American Center for Wine, Food and theArts’ cooking seminars, lectures, and exhibitions on the history and art of wine-making(Napa Valley, n.d.).

European wine growing areas, which were founded by convents and closelyconnected to royal houses, date back many centuries. While the first wine route wasestablished in Germany in 1920 (Hall et al., 2000), most other European wine regionsfollowed Germany’s example within the next 50 years. Supermarkets and specialty

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stores, as well as food and agricultural fairs (i.e. the annual ‘‘Green Week’’ in Berlin)have been the main distribution channels for wine. Even though marketingassociations are being formed in wine producing areas to promote the wine tourismconcept (including uniform opening hours, advertising, customer referrals, trained andinformative staff), tourism has not been seen as central for the European wine industrycompared to newer wine producing areas. This difference may be due to the largenumber of small grape growers and the dominance of a few large wine estates (Getz,2000, p. 19), as well as the reliance on the wines’ established reputation to guaranteesteady sales and higher pricing. Centuries-old European vineyards restrict theirvisiting hours and seldom offer tours, in part to maintain an exclusive and elite statusthat differentiates them from other vineyards (Ulin, 1996). However, some Europeanwine producing countries such as Spain have linked wine tourism to ruraldevelopment/revitalization, and preservation of the natural and cultural heritage ofviticulture areas (Hall et al., 2000). To expand the wine tourism market, European aswell as Australian and North American wineries must adopt creative ways ofmarketing and develop new attractions. Horizontal and vertical strategic alliances offersuch possibilities for furthering wine tourism.

Alliance marketing and wine tourismBusinesses in diverse industries have formed strategic alliances in response totechnological advances, globalization, and intensified competition for customers, whohave expanded choices and shown declining brand loyalty (Doz and Hamel, 1998;Schatzel et al., 1998). These strategic partnerships have been formed betweencompanies within the same industry or in related ones (Ball and Payne, n.d.). They caninvolve horizontal and/or vertical relationships. Horizontal relationships are mutuallybeneficial collaborations with organizations (which may be competitors) at the samepoint in the channel of distribution. Horizontal alliances may be best known in theairline industry, where airlines such as Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Lufthansa,Singapore, United, Varig, etc. formed the Star Alliance to efficiently expand theirbusinesses and to reach a larger number of customers. Vertical relationships, whichoccur with partners backward or forward along the supply chain, can cover largermarket segments with better and more diverse services. Thus, alliances can enablepartners to expand in current or new markets, reach a wider customer market (Blackettand Boad, 1999), neutralize rivalries, combine different resources and skills, and learnnew aspects of the industry from alliance partners (Doz and Hamel, 1998).

Collective action and networks between wineries and related businesses areimportant in advancing wine tourism (Hall et al., 2000). Sign-posted, planned wineroutes can yield synergistic effects. Itineraries through a well-defined area (region,province, denomination area) which connect wineries, agritourist farms, restaurants,and other retail aim to foster the discovery of the wine product in the region and theactivities associated with it (Brunori and Rossi, 2000, p. 410). Horizontal linkagesbetween wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail such as referrals, joint advertising, specialevents, shared expertise, and pooled research funds have helped build the region’sreputation. To expand distribution, wineries have also collaborated with localbusinesses (i.e. lodging, restaurants, craft makers) frequented by tourists (Telfer, 2001).As the wine product gets differentiated, premium prices can be charged through on-site, direct selling rather than through the less profitable wholesale (Brunori and Rossi,2000).

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Wine production and tourism in southwest MichiganAlliance marketing can foster Michigan’s wine production and tourism whichcontribute $75 million a year to the state’s economy (State’s wine industry booming,2004). According to the Michigan Wine and Grape Council, Michigan had 39 wineriesin 2003, up from 17 in 1995 (Hoogterp, 2003). They have become popular touristdestinations, attracting more than 600,000 visitors annually (State’s wine industrybooming, 2004). While many of the wineries were established in the northern part ofthe state (i.e. around Grand Traverse Bay), southwest Michigan is growing as a winerydestination.

Southwest Michigan’s wine country now contains nine vineyards and three tastingrooms. They are connected by the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail (Figure 1), whichwas formed in 2002. The region has three larger wineries: St. Julian, Tabor Hill andFenn Valley. St. Julian, the largest, oldest winery in the region (established in 1921),initiated the wine trail. All three wineries offer guided vineyard tours and on-site

Source: Southwest Michigan Wine Trail, 2001

Figure 1.The Southwest MichiganWine Trail

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banquet rooms. In addition to those at the wineries, Tabor Hill and St. Julian also haveoff-site tasting locations in southwest Michigan. These large wineries havepartnerships with supermarkets, restaurants, and accommodations and have thewidest retail distribution. Contessa, Domaine Berrien and Karma Vista wineries, whichopened just two years ago, are at the other end of the scale. These small wineries aremanaged and operated by the owners, with additional staff hired only for busyweekends, special events, and harvest season. In terms of scale, Heart of the Vineyardand Lemon Creek, the latter also a Michigan Centennial fruit farm that has been ownedby the same family for over 100 years, fall somewhere in between. Each southwestMichigan winery is unique, producing diverse wines from dozens of grape varieties aswell as from other locally-produced fruits (i.e. cherries, blueberries). They also havedistinctive identities. For instance, Karma Vista’s tasting room atop a 200-foot hill,offers a ‘‘New Age’’ feel and vista view of fields, orchards, and lakeshore dunes(Hoogterp, 2004). In contrast, the Heart of the Vineyard (since renamed the Round BarnWinery) has a circa 1911 Amish-built round barn (Stevenson, 2004). The individualwineries offer their own special activities (i.e. classes, jazz nights, etc.). Rather thancompeting, each winery has a niche which fosters working together to build theSouthwest Michigan Wine Trail and the wine region’s reputation. The next sectionexplains the methodology used to study how the wineries of southwest Michigan worktogether to further wine development and marketing.

MethodologyThus far, few studies have looked at the development and marketing of wine tourism inMichigan, or other emerging wine regions in the United States. Mirroring Telfer’s(2001) approach in his research on the Niagara Wine Trail, this study examined whathorizontal and vertical alliances have been developed along the new SouthwestMichigan Wine Trail and how they operate in such an emergent wine region. Wewanted to find the motivations for wineries to join strategic alliances, theirexpectations, and the success of these strategies. Specifically regarding horizontalalliances, why did wineries choose to join the wine trail and to what extent did theycollaborate? Regarding vertical alliances, we wanted to see if restaurants have beenincluded in the marketing effort and what other local businesses have been recognizedas outlet channels. Then in looking to the future, we wanted to assess the wineries’views on the possibilities and limitations for wine tourism in southwest Michigan,whether their expectations for the wine trail had been fulfilled, and what furtherdevelopment they would like to see. To find out answers to our questions, semi-structured, in-depth interviews of people in charge of the wineries’ marketing activities(i.e. marketing directors and members of the marketing departments, winery owners)were conducted in spring 2004. These interviews were recorded and transcribed. Giventhe relatively small number of wineries and employees, to maintain anonymity, onlythe interviewee’s position and a particular winery’s code number are indicated.

Results on the alliances furthering the development and marketing of southwestMichiganwine tourism follow.

Horizontal linkages in southwest Michigan wine tourism development andmarketingThe Southwest Michigan Wine Trail has fostered horizontal linkages among thewineries. The trail, which links like businesses (i.e. wineries), has two main purposes:to build the southwest Michigan wine region and to market it. By promoting all the

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vineyards collectively, the wine trail creates a larger draw for wine tourists. As theMarketing Official (MO) of Winery 5 explained, ‘‘. . . they may not think to be cominginto this area to see Tabor Hill is enough to do, but to come in and have 10 wineries tovisit that brings more people in.’’ To further the image of the southwest Michigan wineregion, the wineries jointly hold three yearly wine trail events: Cupid’s Arrow inFebruary, Spring into Summer in April, and Holiday Spice in November. During theseoccasions which are designed during the slower months, guests receive wine, horsd’oeuvres, and a souvenir wine glass with the trail logo engraved (Plate 1). Sinceestablishing a recognized region akin to Napa or Sonoma is key to success, southwestMichigan winemakers have chosen ‘‘The Other West Coast (only a little cooler)’’ as thetrail’s advertising slogan. The West Coast alludes both to the west coast of LakeMichigan and to California’s reputation for wine. Referrals also build the region. ‘‘Weall help point people to each other,’’ said the MO of Winery 7. Promoting the wine trail’sdiversity can increase customer satisfaction as well as winery sales. ‘‘If we do not havea product the customer is looking for, we send them to where we think they will find it,’’explainedWinery 5’s MO.

As in the case of the Niagara Wine Trail, signage also is a key tool in cementing theLake Michigan Shore wine region for visitors and wine consumers. While southwestMichigan’s vineyards post individual signs to direct visitors from highways to theirlocation, 23 wine trail signs been erected since the summer of 2004 along the RedArrow Highway (US 12 in southwest Michigan) and throughout the wine country.General Manager (GM) of Winery 2, who is in charge of putting up these signs,underlined the importance of uniform signage: ‘‘. . . you can just stay on this road and itwill take you all around the wineries.’’

Source: Photo by Deborah Che

Plate 1.Establishing southwestMichigan as a winetourism destination

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This wine route through southwest Michigan’s wine country taps into motivations forwine tourism. Schatzel et al. (1998, p. 118) note, ‘‘Often, he [the visitor] connects anadventurous and informational trip to the wine growing area, including a visit to thevineyard, with the purchase itself[1].’’ Viewing beautiful rural landscapes is animportant factor in visitor satisfaction with the wine tourism experience (Carmichael,2005). The Southwest Michigan Wine Trail takes visitors through such landscapes,which are connected to Lake Michigan. As the GM of Winery 3 explained, ‘‘The biggestattraction we have is the big lake and it’s a phenomenal attraction for people [. . .]everything kind of feeds off the lake.’’ The wine trail’s convenient connections alongI-94 and I-196 make it easily accessible for travelers, especially those from Chicago andits metro area’s eight million residents who are just 90 miles away. Wineries would liketo attract a percentage of the nearly 37,000 people who travel daily on I-94 betweenKalamazoo and the Indiana border through wine country (Michigan Department ofTransportation, 2003).

Joint marketingJoint marketing by the wineries promotes the region and a unified experience. ‘‘[. . .] wedecided it would be better to market southwest Michigan as a whole, rather than eachwinery trying to go out there and market themselves,’’ explained Winery 4’s MO. Themain medium of advertising is the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail brochure/map,according to the GM of Winery 2, ‘‘Probably the number one way to market andadvertise is the Wine Trail map itself [. . .]’’ (Figure 1). The map is available at theparticipating wineries, convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs), tourist informationcenters, and accommodations. The map indicates tasting locations with a grapesymbol. Each vineyard’s opening times and contact information is provided too. Beforevisitors leave, every winery makes sure that visitors have both the trail map andanother winery as a destination in mind. Winery 3’s GM explained the idea behind thisconcept, ‘‘All you got to do is get them through the door, you know. Most of the people,once they come through the door they’re gonna buy something and they’re gonna besurprised (by the wines and number of wineries).’’ Thus, Winery 1’s GM concluded,‘‘Marketing the wine trail as a whole really brings in a larger number of people.’’ Thewine trail has attracted free publicity that helps the region attract new visitors. Thenumber of Ohio visitors increased following a Cincinnati Inquirer article on the area.Within Michigan, the Detroit News has two wine columns per week, which lists winerelated events and provides news on the state’s wine makers. The magazine MidwestLiving also listed the wine trail as one of Michigan’s premier attractions, which helpedraise awareness of southwest Michigan as a wine tourism destination.

In addition to marketing through the wine trail map, participating wineries poolresources. The larger budget enables them to place joint ads. According to the GM ofWinery 6, ‘‘We can all go together and get a bigger ad rather than each of us havingsmall ads [. . .] it will be a banner ad for southwest Michigan.’’ The wineries can alsoafford to advertise in publications such as the upscale, glossy Lake Magazine whichfocuses on Lake Michigan resort communities. Such joint advertising can show peoplethat southwest Michigan is a destination with multiple wineries.

Joint productionAs part of creating a region, the wineries also cooperate in wine production. Largerwineries assist smaller ones, as the GM of Winery 3 noted, ‘‘[. . .] they [St. Julian winery]do my bottling for me when I need to. You know, I do a lot of my testing up there and

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lab work.’’ Others lend loading equipment to wineries situated close by. To reducecosts, wineries also share bottle purchases. The GM of Winery 2 summarized thecentral idea of working hand in hand saying, ‘‘I’m having a problem, there’s a goodchance someone else either had or has the same problem and we work together forsolutions.’’ Wineries also buy grapes from other wineries. ‘‘[. . .] we use about 20 percent of the production for ourselves and sell the remainder of it to other wineries,mostly in Michigan [. . .],’’ said Winery 8’s MO. The interviewed wineries indicated thatworking together has increased the visibility and popularity of the southwest Michiganwine region. As MO of Winery 6 explained, ‘‘And that’s part of working with the winetrail, to actually say we’re a region in the world [. . .] there’s more awareness.’’

Vertical alliances in southwest Michigan wine tourism developmentand marketingTo continue building the region in a competitive environment where tourists havealternative destinations in which to spend their time and disposable income, thewineries have also developed vertical alliances in order to increase their outletchannels. Wine offers many possibilities for the wineries to form alliances with tourismoperators, accommodation providers, restaurants, etc. This section details linkagesthat southwest Michigan’s vineyards have formed with organizations that touristsfrequent.

Tourism councilsSince tourists look for guidance and information at tourist information centers andCVBs, southwest Michigan wineries work with these organizations. The SouthwestMichigan Wine Trail map is available at these places. All of the southwest Michiganwineries are also members of local/regional tourism councils since, ‘‘You want them[tourism councils] to point people your way [. . .],’’ explained the GM of Winery 3.Tourism councils, such as the West Michigan Tourist Association, mention thewineries in their promotional material. According to Winery 2’s GM, ‘‘They do a lot ofcollaborate (sic) marketing, and that is again directed towards the tourists, which isreally our target market.’’ As wineries find sales increasingly dependent on tourismrather than onwholesaling, it is important for them to work with southwest Michigan’stourism associations so they can reach this important customer segment.

Tour operatorsOrganized motorcoach tours may offer wineries new possibilities to reach customers.Interest in motorcoaches varied by the wineries’ size/scale of operations. Because thesmall wineries cannot host larger groups of people, they prefer not to welcomemotorcoaches. Additionally their personalized service and family-friendly atmosphere,which could form the basis of their appeal, could be impacted. As Carmichael (2005)found that service is key in wine tourist satisfaction, service gaps betweenexpectations and experiences due to overcrowding and congestion at some Niagararegion wineries are problematic. Tasting rooms form a main part of a winery, with theambience of the setting and the helpful attitude of staff contributing to the success ofthe visit (Getz, 2000). Thus the GM of small Winery 1 noted, ‘‘We do not encourage that[tour buses], because we are usually not staffed more than two people on weekends,and if 50 people showed up at my door at one time it would be very hard to servicethem in the way I prefer to service people.’’

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More notably, the smaller wineries do not consider the motorcoaches a good source ofpatrons, as the GM of Winery 2 explained, ‘‘The clientele that are gonna be on tour, [. . .]are usually older people, looking to kill a day and they drink all your wines and use allyour toilet paper and they do not buy nothing.’’ The clientele of these large tour buseswere viewed as lacking interest in wine and as increasing costs for the vineyardswithout buying much. Thus according to Winery 3’s GM, ‘‘Unless it’s a bus group thatis specifically interested in wine and wine touring, we do not want [to do this]. You endup having to hire extra people.’’ Consequently, none of the smaller wineries havecontracted with tour bus operators. The MO of Winery 7, once active with tour buseswithdrew from this business, explaining the situation as, ‘‘It was kind of like ‘oh this isfantastic, I cannot believe you guys built this and moved this, but oh, thanks, bye’. Andso, we spend an awful lot of time and effort on that and really for no benefit.’’

In contrast, all three of southwest Michigan’s larger wineries work with touroperators. ‘‘We are big enough to accommodate them, so if they come in and they do notspend a lot, that’s OK,’’ noted the MO of Winery 5. Since these wineries take buses on areservation, per-bus charge for tastings, the limited purchases are not as problematic.The MO of Winery 4 explained: ‘‘[. . .] there is a charge per bus. They [tour buses] haveto pay that and put that up in advance and then they can come in for tour and tasting.’’On occasion, the smaller wineries benefit from tour buses visiting their largerneighbors. ‘‘Occasionally we do get some buses in, basically . . . and that’s all fromTabor Hill. [Tabor Hill] usually only sends these better groups over, so I haven’t had aproblem with it,’’ noted the MO of Winery 8. Here ‘‘better’’ alludes to the groups’ actualinterest in tasting and purchasing wines rather than the wineries being a time-filler orbathroom stop. While the smaller wineries are limited in capacity to serving smallgroups (i.e. those that could be ‘‘bussed up into those mini vans that would hold 15-20people [. . .]’’), both small and large wineries would welcome organized wine tours.

Accommodation providersSince wine tourists to Michigan frequently stay overnight (Mahoney et al., 2002), thelinkage of wineries with accommodations is mutually beneficial. The larger winerieshave thus started to develop cooperative linkages with different area accommodations,both formally (i.e. through contracts, packages, events), as well as informally (i.e.through referrals). As wineries do not have regularly rented rooms on-site, suchpackages make sense for the wineries and the hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts(B&Bs). Wineries that are listed as area adventures or attractions in their lodgingbrochures can extend regional stays. Wineries ‘‘. . . do events that help them(accommodations) attract people . . . we are a marketing tool that they can use to cometo the area,’’ said the GM of Winery 3. Lodging businesses offer ‘‘. . . special weekendrates for those people who are coming over for that (wine trail events).’’ Winery 4 noted,‘‘We do work with the Quality Inn and Suites here in Paw Paw. They do packages for usand they have wine dinners.’’ Similarly, the Grand Escape Inns of Saugatuck offerswinery weekend packages or individual dinners in collaboration with Tabor Hill andFenn Valley wineries. Packaging encourages visitors to come to the tasting location,buy wine, and visit other area wineries. Winery 5, which is in the process of starting apartnership with local hotels, expects to see a resulting increase in visitors and sales.

Southwest Michigan’s smaller vineyards tend to operate more on a word of mouthbasis, rather than packaging with local accommodation providers. The GM ofWinery 1explained, ‘‘For the most part, we are just basically exchanging information. We handout flyers for them (accommodations), they hand out flyers for us and make it available

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for their guests . . ..’’ Other wineries point visitors to lodging they are personallyfamiliar with, but do not contract with them. But increasingly the small vineyards suchas Winery 2 have become more involved with local accommodations, as its GM noted,‘‘We are starting a new program where they are able to give their guests acomplimentary coupon that will say for two free wine tasting glasses.’’ This linkage isan inexpensive way for the wineries to attract visitors and the accommodationproviders to provide their guests with something special.

Out of all the lodging options, the wineries target the B&Bmarket since these visitorsare ‘‘taking a longer more leisurely weekend.’’ Most area B&B visitors are retired, whichallows them to take longer vacations. Furthermore, as these tourists look for smaller,less crowded places and unique experiences, the wineries consider this demographicgroup most likely to visit. Not surprisingly, inns/B&Bs are the most prominent type ofaccommodations advertising in the Southwest MichiganWine Trail map.

Linking wine with the consumption of foodWine can be vertically linked to food channels - backwards to orchards and forward torestaurants. As travelers frequently enjoy dinners with wine as an accompaniment(Fattorini, 1997), pairing wine and regional food can boost wine sales and helpestablish a region’s culinary reputation (Hall et al., 2000; Telfer, 2001). For example inthe Niagara region, the Tastes of Niagara alliance connects wineries, food producers,hotels, restaurants, chefs, and food distributors. The alliance’s aim is to promote theuse of local agricultural products in the tourism industry, regional cuisine, and highstandards of quality so that Niagara is recognized as a world-class food tourismdestination, not just for Niagara Falls (Telfer, 2000). Food and wine also can be pairedvia on-site educational seminars and catered events. Consumption is thus linked withexperience. Connecting local foods and tourism can benefit local, agriculture-basedeconomies and further regional cuisines (Telfer andWall, 1996; Torres, 2002).

OrchardsSouthwest Michigan wineries work with nearby orchards, which taps into the appealof rural, agricultural landscapes. The GM of Winery 2 explained this linkage bypointing out how he would like the region to be promoted to the Chicago metro area,‘‘You know you can get from asparagus right through to apples, peaches, wine, winegrapes, everything, 90 miles from you. [. . .] you can drink Cab Sauvignon, buy applesand pick fruit, 90 miles away from you.’’ Wineries ‘‘[. . .] sometimes sample [orchards’]fresh fruits throughout the year with wine tasting,’’ said the GM of Winery 1.Additionally some wineries also use the orchards’ fresh fruit in their wine production.Winery 6 makes blueberry and apple wines, for which they ‘‘try to source productslocally.’’ These orchard–winery linkages make sense, since at least two of the wineriesstarted out as fruit farms. Winery 8 still operates its own U-pick business during thesummer. Its MO indicated, ‘‘People come here and they taste wine, drink wine and theypick fruits off the trees in the orchards with their family.’’ Marketing linkages exist asvineyards distribute flyers for area orchards and in the case of Contessa Winery, sharea billboard on I-94 with the nearby Jollay Orchards. Such winery–orchard linkages helpstrengthen southwest Michigan as an agritourism destination.

On-site culinary eventsWine also can be linked to food consumption through on-site culinary events. As partof special events, guest chefs and caterers allow the wineries to offer fine dining at their

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premises. This experience educates visitors about wine–food pairings. The smallervineyards are interested in providing food on-site, as the GM of Winery 1 noted,‘‘Eventually I would like to get it to the point where we have a chef that would come inand do the presentation of the food as well [. . .].’’ As in the Niagara region, specialevents can attract more visitors and further the creation of a culinary region withrecognized wines and dishes.

RestaurantsGiven the natural linkage of food and wine, restaurants can be an excellent outlet ordistribution channel for wineries. Properly trained staff and/or suggestion cards on thetable direct guests’ attention to specific local wines. Some restaurants underestimatethe selling potential for properly marketed local wines, or overprice them, seeing wineas an easy source of additional revenue (Macionis and Cambourne, 1998).

After consuming Michigan wines at a restaurant, people may be more interested invisiting tasting rooms and purchasing wines. The smaller wineries are linked to a fewrestaurants they have some kind of personal connection with as the GM of Winery 3explained, ‘‘You know, there’s a really nice pizza place outside of town that serves ourwine . . . we know the owners and developed a really nice relationship.’’ Yet, manysmaller wineries face barriers such as getting on wine lists and being recommended byrestaurant staff. The same GM pointed out the limitations, saying, ‘‘I’m not interestedin being on a (restaurant’s) wine list . . . and nobody knows who you are and the peopleworking there do not know you.’’

Southwest Michigan wineries however feel the linkage to restaurants isunderutilized. Winery 1’s GM explained, ‘‘. . . you’re hard pressed to find a Michiganwine on it (the menu), . . . but restaurants have to do their part too to promote the newlocal wines. I would like to see an improvement of working with restaurants.’’Restaurants seem to underestimate the appeal of local wines, so they do not offer them,or they list them last on their menus. Winery 7’s MO noted, ‘‘I always see on theirmenus it says ‘‘fresh Michigan grown produce’’, but the Michigan wines are in the backof the list . . . it’s basically like we’re looked upon like they’re almost doing us a favor forsome of that (listing), and you know, what they do not understand is that we’re nodifferent than they are’’ (in trying to get greater recognition, build clientele). Smallervineyards in southwest Michigan perceive a lack of interest and support amongrestaurants, which will take time and education to overcome.

The smaller wineries may in part be responsible for their absence from restaurantmenus. They sell most of their wine on-site as the profit margins are higher. One evenmentioned selling out of stock without wholesaling at all. When asked if localrestaurants served their wine, the GM of Winery 2 explained, ‘‘They would like to servethe wine, but I promised them as soon as I have enough, they’ll get the first shot to haveit on the wine list.’’ Limited production precludes restaurants from offering wine. Givenan increase in production, as all of the vineyards hope to do within the next five years,restaurants that recognize the potential of local wines may add them to their wine lists.

Larger wineries, on the other hand, can be found on menus of southwest Michiganfine dining, family, and chain restaurants (i.e. Pizza Hut). However they too facechallenges in selling wine to restaurants due to the uneven wine knowledge ofrestaurant staff. On one hand, the staff of Schu’s Grill and Bar in St. Joseph, whichcarries local wines and beers, is very knowledgeable. The restaurant’s managementholds classes for its employees at the beginning of every wine season. As a result, itsstaff points out local wines when making recommendations. However, other

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restaurants’ staff simply do not know much about wine. Given this problem, all of thewineries indicated they were willing to train restaurant staff, but restaurants did notdemand this service. Winery 5’s MO noted, ‘‘. . . if they would like us to come in and doawine seminar we are happy to do that, but I have only done that three times.’’

The wineries hope for future collaborations with restaurants. With the growingacclaim and popularity of Michigan wines, more restaurants are adding them to theirlists. The MO of Winery 7 explained, ‘‘[. . .] in the last 10 or 15 years they’re(restaurants) becoming much more supportive about what we are doing here’’. Thewineries also feel that additional restaurants, particularly high-end ones, can drawmore visitors to the region.

Conclusions and recommendationsThrough the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail, the region’s wineries have established astrong network. They have begun to create a wine region and tourism destination in theUS Midwest. The GM of Winery 6 noted, ‘‘I think that’s one of the real benefits of thewine trail because people are starting to learn about the wines in southwest Michigan.’’The wine trail map and billboards reach potential customers. To enable each trailmember to perform at its optimum, wineries share equipment, research, and mostimportantly, customers. Each winery has a niche, allowing customers to choose from avariety of wines, programs, and ambience. The vineyards understand that in this earlydevelopment stage of the wine trail that it is vital to assist one another as well as to formalliances with businesses in related industries. Currently, all members of the wine trailare not equally involved in vertical alliances. The larger vineyards (in particularSt. Julian) have vertical alliances with restaurants, supermarkets, and lodging businessesthrough which they not only promote their own wines, but also the region and otherwineries. This study showed that there is a lot of potential for southwest Michigan togrow as a wine region. The following section provides recommendations on how thewineries could additionally promote southwest Michigan as awine tourism destination.

Developing wine festivalsWine festivals can increase the awareness of the area as a wine tourism destination,showcase the award winning wines, and bring people to the vineyards and tastinglocations. While southwest Michigan’s wineries participate in art shows, concerts, orfestivals such as the Paw PawWine and Harvest Festival and St. Julian Film Fest, localwines are not the main attraction. What the region needs is a wine featured event ‘‘thatwould really, really highlight what our product is,’’ explained the GM of Winery 3.Likewise, the GM of Winery 1 said, ‘‘I would like to see other wine and food events inthe area getting established throughout the year.’’ Such events could benefit wineriesand local businesses as they would attract numerous locals and tourists.

Developing new markets

I mean, look at all the huge abundance of wineries in California, and how they are based three tofour hours from L.A., you know the [. . .] second largest population center in the United States.[. . .] That being as close, so close to Chicago and so close to Grand Rapids that with the rightmarketing that this could be, I mean, a scaled down version, but we should be able to draw inthat kind of people andmoney and numbers that the wineries out there can do (MO ofWinery 8).

Southwest Michigan’s wineries should target new markets, particularly as new Illinoisvineyards north and south of Chicago are targeting the same Chicago metropolitan

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area that southwest Michigan does. Southwest Michigan’s wineries have openedtasting rooms on southeast Michigan’s recently established pioneer wine trail. Theyhope its metro Detroit and even its Ohio visitors will be prompted to travel to the mainsouthwest Michiganwinery locations.

In addition to focusing on metro Chicago and Detroit, southwest Michigan’swineries should also target the overlooked regional market. The MO of Winery 6 notedthe potential, saying, ‘‘The wineries here produce wine that if we could get a realawareness just in southwest Michigan, I mean, that’s a big market.’’ However, the vastmajority of vineyards overlook this market, as the GM of Winery 3 noted, ‘‘The targetmarket is the Chicago, Indiana tourist, you know, it’s 90 per cent of your audienceprobably.’’ When asked why locals have been overlooked, the MO of Winery 8explained, ‘‘. . . there’s just not enough interest in it . . . I found the local people is notwho’s buying the wine.’’ While this may be the case now, it does not mean that interestdoes not exist in west Michigan. The local market just has to be created, for instancethrough wine education.

On-site wine educationOn-site wine education can tap Americans’ growing interest inwine, some of which canbe traced to frequent reports on red wine’s health benefits. Gaiter and Brecher (2004),wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, write, ‘‘Americans are getting past thesnobbery – and discovering wine’s simple pleasures.’’ But concerns about ‘‘which wineis good, how to serve wine, and with what foods’’ hamper wine consumption. Rai (2004)noted, ‘‘[T]he average person in America regards the enjoyment of wine to be the realmof the Frenchman or the sophisticate.’’ Rai finds people serve and consume wine moreto portray a certain image than to enjoy its taste and varieties. Many people have heardthat certain wines should be served with certain foods (i.e. red wines with meat, whitewines with fish). But few know or understand food–wine pairing principles. The GM ofWinery 2 described such a case saying, ‘‘People do not realize, they associate beer withspicy food and man, wine goes good with it.’’ This food–wine pairing informationtherefore needs to be given to the customers to make them feel more knowledgeableand comfortable with purchasing wine. Wineries can do this by giving foodsuggestions for wines on their lists, as one southwest Michigan winery does (i.e.’02Pinot Noir: ‘‘This French oak aged wine is wonderful to drink, and will go well withsteak or chicken.’’). But even on this winery’s list, suggestions appear only sporadically,leaving the potential customer to figure out what a ‘‘nice meld of red hybrid and redvinefera grape’’ means in terms of taste. To gain new customers, wineries need toaddress misconceptions and inhibitions.

Educating consumers about food–wine pairings may also take place during specialvineyard events. Currently these pairings are done on a small scale during the threeannual joint wine trail events where hors d’oeuvres accompany wine. The winerieslater post recipes for these hors d’oeuvres online. Additionally some of southwestMichigan’s vineyards also offer food–wine pairing seminars. On-site dinners withguest chefs and caterers can provide ideal educational opportunities for the vineyards.While participants see wine paired with particular foods, gourmet dishes served suchas pumpkin tortellini with gorgonzola cream sauce and venison sausage will rarely beprepared at home or consumed frequently. People may feel wine only accompanieshigh-end food or is to be enjoyed only on special occasions or when eating out. Whendiscussing American drinking habits, the MO of Winery 7 noted, ‘‘You know, wine isevery man’s drink in Europe and Budweiser is every man’s drink here.’’ Through

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education, the wineries would like to change people’s perception so that wine also isconsumed on an everyday basis.

Wine geography classesEducating people about local wines may also take place at colleges and universitieslooking for ways to link their programs and lectures to current issues and real-lifeexamples. Wine geography classes could be an excellent way to capitalize on thegrowing interest in wine. In 2004, the Wine specialty group of the Association ofAmerican Geographers (AAG) was established to encourage geographic research andknowledge about the geography of wine. This specialty group sponsored a sessionentitled ‘‘Geography of Wine I: Wine and Regional Geography,’’ which featured a paperpresentation by Brown and Czerniak, geography professors at New Mexico StateUniversity. They shared their experience leading a wine geography class, whichteaches physical and cultural geography, map making, and marketing through a focuson wine. Students learn about different wine growing regions/specific wines produced,how to serve wine, and pair food and wine. As part of the class, students sampledifferent wines and tour the only recognized vineyard in NewMexico. This course linksthe different sub-fields of geography with the local economy, as well as increasesawareness of the restructuring of North American agriculture (Brown and Czerniak,2004). A wine geography class focusing on southwest Michigan could increaseknowledge and awareness of regional agriculture, which may be limited as manypeople from Michigan are surprised to find that the state produces wine. Such analliance with local universities and colleges can help build a wine region.

These recommendations can further the alliances and activities that have alreadyincreased awareness and interest in southwest Michigan’s wineries. The vineyardshave observed what has proven successful in California’s established wine growingregions and what strategies could be applied along the Southwest Michigan WineTrail. Southwest Michigan’s vineyards understand that they are just beginning tocreate a recognized wine region, but that their location, existing attractions, andalliance activities provide a good base:

You go out to Napa and Sonoma and it took them 20 years to get the restaurants andeverything going out there. We’ve already got, all the infrastructure here waiting, thepopulation is here . . . I always say, we’re theWest Coast, we’re just a little cooler . . .we’re a lotlike Napa Valley expect we’re 48 hours closer by car . . . 17 million people within 180 miles ofus, that’s what the Chamber of Commerce said. You know that’s a population base most wineregions would love to have. So the population base is certainly there, it’s just a matter ofpeople realizing what a wine, B&B, beach vacation/weekend is like. And once they find thatout it’s gonna become pretty nice for them (GM ofWinery 3).

Note

1. ‘‘Oft verbindet er mit dem Einkauf eine Erlebnis-und Informationsfahrt insWeinbaugebiet und eine Besichtigung des Weingutes’’ (Wargenau’s translation).

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Corresponding authorDeborah Che can be contacted at: deborah.che@wmich.edu

About the authorsAstrid Wargenau received a MA in geography from Western Michigan University. She hasconducted research on wine tourism and German-themed tourism in the United States. Herprofessional interests include tourism marketing, conference management, and meetingcoordination.

Deborah Che is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Western Michigan University, aposition she has held since obtaining her PhD in geography in 2000 from Clark University. She isthe immediate past Chair of the Recreation, Tourism, and Sport specialty group of theAssociation of American Geographers. She has worked extensively on rural community tourismand economic development in resource-dependent areas. Her research interests include nature-based tourism (agritourism and ecotourism in particular); the linkages among festivals andevents, place marketing, and destination branding; and race/ethnicity issues in tourism andrecreation.

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