Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tim Martinson (315-787-2448, tem2@cornell.edu)Vineyard and Winery Management Publishers
Receive ASEV Eastern Section Distinguished Service Award
Painesville, Ohio (August 7, 2009) -- The American Society for Enology and Viticulture – Eastern Section presented its Distinguished Service Award to the publishers of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine at the 34th Annual ASEV-ES Conference and Symposium on July 21. The award was accepted by founding publishers Bill Moffett and Hope Merletti and current co-publisher Robert Merletti. “It has been an honor to receive this recognition,” said Robert Merletti. “The eastern wine industry and ASEV-ES can continue to count on our family and Vineyard & Winery Management for our continued support.”
In making the presentation, ASEV-ES Chairman Tim Martinson of Cornell University cited the family's pivotal role in promoting the Eastern wine and grape industry through journalism, the Wineries Unlimited conference and trade show, and by helping to fund scholarships through the ASEV-ES over the past 30 years.
"Bill and Hope launched Eastern Grape Grower magazine in 1976, and ASEV-ES was started the following year," said Martinson. "Our two organizations have shared a unique and beneficial association since their inception."
With the establishment of the Eastern Wine Competition in 1977, Bill Moffett and Hope Merletti dedicated a portion of the proceeds to fund the first ASEV-ES scholarship. Rob and Jennifer Merletti, current publishers of Vineyard and Winery Management, continue that support at Wineries Unlimited where a silent auction on the trade show floor and a live auction at the Best of the East Grand Tasting and Gala have raised over $48,000 the past three years. Eight graduate students of viticulture and enology from five universities in the East and Midwest received scholarship awards this year.
Longtime ASEV-ES member, officer and board member Ellen Butz said the Distinguished Service Award recognizes ASEV-ES members or nonmembers who have demonstrated outstanding service to the wine and grape industry through teaching, research, extension, administration, industry leadership, entrepreneurship or volunteerism.
Bill Moffett and Hope Merletti were also instrumental in forming the American Association of Vintners in 1979, which was the predecessor of WineAmerica, the Washington, DC-based national advocacy organization representing grape growers and vintners.
About ASEV–ES
The American Society for Enology and Viticulture – Eastern Section was established in 1977 to provide a forum for sharing research and technology developments of specific interest to the enology and viticulture of grapes grown in the Eastern United States and Canada. Its 120 members from industry and academia meet annually in July to present research information, a themed seminar, and student and industry awards focused on eastern grape and wine production.
About the producer
Vineyard & Winery Services Inc. publishes Vineyard & Winery Management magazine (www.vwm-online.com), the Wine Industry Index and Wineries of the Index on compact disc. Based in Santa Rosa, California, the multimedia corporation produces seminars, conferences and trade shows (Wineries Unlimited, Wine Club Summit, Wine Country Water Summit, Tasting Room Profitability, Managing the Winery Laboratory) as well as three wine competitions (Grand Harvest Awards, International Eastern Wine Competition, and West Coast Wine Competition).