wine

Fermentation Fest Converges Once Again

November 6, 2015

It’s been a full month, but I’m still sighing with warm reminiscings of our Octoberfest Brewery Tour. The culmination of this glorious trip was Fermentation Fest in Reedsburg, Wis. We couldn’t have had a more flavorful or beautiful encore to our week than this.

In case you’ve missed my incessant promotions—deservedly so—Fermentation Fest is an annual, 10-day blending of agriculture, arts, food and appreciation of the land. Initially one considers this a rather eclectic mix, but once you experience everything the festival has to offer it all melds together in the most appreciative of ways. I find it especially exciting because in designing the event guide, I have the honor of being part of the event’s promotional team.

Disregarding the well-worn travelers, check out this stunning entryway to the Fermentation Fest Headquarters. The building is a historic railway station and it otherwise serves as the Reedsburg Chamber of Commerce.

Yes, these are the details of the entryway. It’s a collage of wine corks, seeds and beans all converging to represent the delightful elements of Fermentation Fest. Imagine the work put into this!

This year our schedule didn’t allow us to participate in any of the food fermenting classes but we instead did the 50-mile Farm/Art DTour. The weather was glorious, the scenery stunning and the art installments were divine. Lucky 13: Elephant in the Room, by Erika Nelson, celebrates the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s announcement to discontinue using elephants in circus performances.

There’s something truly heartfelt about art displayed in the middle of such beautiful land. With her Monday is Wash Day, artist Brenda Baker pays kudos to the “historical and undervalued part of rural life.” I live in the country. I hang clothes to dry. So of course, I loved the story-telling thoughtfulness of this piece.

With meandering backroads, rolling hillsides and idyllic farm scenes, Sauk County is a magical place. When we came upon Amish children riding home from their one-room school, my heart simply melted.

Art comes in many forms: Music, architecture and storytelling. This story, Flood, by Molly Rideout, really hits home, given our fragile state of human relations. Must history always repeat itself? Can we ever learn to love one another?

You can’t celebrate agriculture without appreciating its heritage. Farmhenge, created by Harlan Ferstl and the McCluskey Brothers was an arrangement of new and old farm machinery pieces. The artistry of old iron is beautiful, isn’t it?

So there you have it—my favorites of the Farm/Art DTour. You can see more beautiful shots posted by some of the 20,000 festival-goers who made this year’s Fermentation Fest the biggest and best yet. Check them out here!

Our previous Octoberfest stop: Leinenkugel’s Brewing Company

Beautiful Bayfield

October 16, 2015

Early morning walks have their rewards, don’t you think? This was our view in Bayfield, Wisconsin as we meandered through the town. Admirably, the locals were also up and hard at work tidying up after the weekend’s invasion of Applefest tourists.

Located on Lake Superior, Bayfield is an artsy town of 500+ and is referred to as the Gateway to the Apostle Islands. We quickly realized that our 2-day stay wasn’t going to be enough. Mental note: Next time, 3-4 days, minimum.

Here’s the Grey Oak Guest House where we stayed. It was gorgeous! Historically preserved, beautifully decorated and immaculate, I tingled with excitement the minute we stepped in the door. And how about this: It’s on the corner of 7th and Manypenny. Mannypenny! With a street name like that how could it be anything but magical? Innkeepers Susan Larsen and Neil Howk made sure our stay was just that.

Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands and the only one open to commercialism and private ownership. Our 20-minute ferry rides there and back were accompanied by a semi hauling sand, several woman loading large tubs (maybe fish?) and school-age children toting lunch boxes. Once again, we couldn’t help noticing a way of life quite different from ours in the farmlands of Wisconsin.

Caveat: Madeline Island is not for everyone. If you’re into the Wisconsin Dells kind of vacationing, you’re on the wrong boat. Instead, the island offers a school of arts, a museum, yoga and beautiful hiking trails. Think of taking a glorious breath, slowing down and donning a pair of boots.

As much as we enjoy our hops, we’re certainly not opposed to sampling fermentation of the “other vine.” Back on the mainland and just up the hill from Bayfield, we found All Sisters Winery. It’s a mother-daughter owned and operated winery in this cute house out in the country. They’ve only been open a few years but their lineup is pretty impressive, all crafted from Wisconsin-grown varietal grapes. We came away with a smooth, dry red and two stemless wine glasses that just may become my favorite sippers.

Bayfield’s peninsula is scattered with CSAs, orchards and berry farms like this Good Earth Gardens. We indulged in Cortland apples, apple juice and charcuterie sausages that only hands-on, local food artisans can produce.

So do I want to head back to Bayfield and it’s surrounding communities? You bet. Maybe this winter for the ice caves? Or next summer for the Big Top Chautauqua.

Our previous stop: South Shore Brewery, Ashland. Our next stop: Fitgers Brewhouse, Duluth, MN.

Labors of Love Preserve Historic Cemetery

February 28, 2015

When it comes to doing business with family, the rule of thumb is don’t. But here is a design and copywriting project for which I was not only happy to throw rules to the wind, I was downright proud doing so. Along with this comes a story, so sit yourselves down and pour up a glass of wine.

Back in the early 1970s, my mother-in-law telephoned her township chairman about the poor state of affairs at the Watertown Township Union Cemetery. Her concern was for an overgrown acre of land a mile up the road from their farm. With gravestones dating back to the mid-1800s, it was a historical memorial of the surrounding community.

As a result of that phone call, my father-in-law became the cemetery’s official curator. He passed along an ever-so-slight compensation to his 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son (my husband) for diligently pushing their lawnmowers up to the cemetery, mowing, trimming, and then pushing them back home again.

Little did my in-laws know this would become a perpetual labor of love. In fact, here it is forty years later and they still manage the cemetery. Together with their children and grandchildren, they mow, maintain, arrange burials, do the occasional fill-in-the-grave-by-hand and host an annual Friends of Union Cemetery meeting. They do all this with great care and dedication.

Each year my now 82-year-old father-in-law talks of turning the position over to his children. We’ll happily oblige. But when asked if he’s really ready to retire, he always decides to keep at it another year. There’s some hardy Wisconsin farm blood for ya.

That’s the personal side of this story.

Here’s the civic side: Throughout the U.S., rural cemeteries are falling by the wayside. They’re abandoned, vandalized and forgotten. Most no longer have formal organizations that share an interest in their care. Those that do are non-profits limping along with treasuries barely covering the gas to mow.

The Friends of Union Cemetery don’t want this to happen. Nope, not to our little sanctuary up on the hill. Thankfully we have pro-active energy and connoisseurs of wine within our midst!

Are you in the Watertown area? Stop by on March 8 for some flavorful wine and hors d’oeuvres!

Crabapples and Emotions: Marketing Like You Never Knew

September 12, 2014

Folklore says that fruit- and nut-bearing trees in their mast year are predictions of a hard winter. If that’s true and my crabapple trees are to be considered, then, yep, a strong winter is on its way. My trees are loaded. Apparently our tried-and-true Farmers’ Almanac agrees because last week it came out with its Winter Outlook 2015: More Shivery and Shovelry! As if all this isn’t enough, today I was in a hardware store that was running a special on snowblowers.

Snowblowers! Really?!

Actually that store isn’t unreasonable. Considering we all love to talk about our weather (better yet, dramatize), the store owner is simply employing smart marketing tactics to get a head start on selling his product. He’s using fear, the number one of 10 emotional triggers that commonly affect our buying and selling. Retailers, bloggers, radio talk shows—they all use fear to rile us up and motivate us to action.

Fear is okay. But it can usually be filed under “not quite all the facts,” right along with many old-time folklores. In truth, those crabapples of mine are rather pretty and will feed lots of birds this winter. I like to think of them as preparation for the months ahead (maybe even a batch of crabapple wine or cider—how’s that for putting the cold in order :-).

If I’m going to use emotional triggers to sell my services or my clients’ products, I prefer “trust,” “value” and “belonging.” I like “trendsetting,” in terms of innovative, or ahead of the game. I really like “time,” because when you let me help you with your marketing, I give you more time to do the things you’re best at doing: running your business.

Remembering Why We Can

May 27, 2013

Every time I travel, I become more and more enamored by this fascinating country. There’s the diverse geography, unique cultures, warm people, and cherished histories. And then there’s the food! And the architecture! Plus the art, linguistics, local customs, and all-around ways of life. My list goes on and on!

My husband and I just returned from vacationing out east. Our first stop was Philadelphia for our son’s graduation (so very proud of him!). Visiting a large city always means lots of walking, but that’s the best way to immerse in its essence. It also helps work off the volumes of delectable food we consume!

Are you a Bloody Mary fan? National Mechanics Bar & Restaurant is located in the Old City district and has this outrageous make-your-own Bloody Mary bar. Very fun! That’s the grad there, setting the pace. He educated us on a few cultural differences between Wisconsin and Philly—like how Wisconsinites tend to add a whole salad to their Bloody Marys (pickles, eggs, beef stick, whatever fits in the glass) and Philadelphians go with a simple celery stalk and this mega selection of spices. This restaurant didn’t serve a beer chaser either, which obviously is very Wisconsin. No problem, the Bloody Mary was a perfect toast to a delicious brunch.

Originally, we had planned to see the New Jersey shore last fall but Hurricane Sandy put a halt to that. Visiting this spring instead turned out to be perfect timing. The weather was a bit blustery, which I much prefer over hot and humid, and the crowd was minimal. Here’s one of the glitzy casinos along the Atlantic City Boardwalk. We’re not much into the gambling scene, but we strolled the whole boardwalk and it was fun just to see it all.

We then headed down to the southern tip of the peninsula to Cape May and a much quieter style of vacationing. A walk through this quaint town is like a time warp back to Victorian gentility. It’s filled with historic hotels and homes, all colorful and inviting like those you see in the top photo. Most of them are now B&Bs, restaurants or shops (stay tuned for when I write of our hotel later this week). I’d love to tour them all!

And being on the ocean? Well, for us Midwesterners, it was awesome!

You can’t visit a lighthouse without climbing the tower. So, of course, we hiked the 199 cast iron steps to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse and looked down on the town below. We also checked out the Cape May Winery & Vineyard, one of several wineries in the area, and toured the Cape May Brewing Company. Both were super friendly, fun and tasty!

Our last leg of the trip was a ferry ride across the Delaware Bay and road trip down to the Chincoteague and Assateague Islands in Virginia. Does anyone remember reading Misty of Chincoteague when you were young? I loved this book and the rest of Marguerite Henry’s series. Chincoteague. Assateague. The names themselves evoked intrigue in the heart of a horse-loving, adventure-dreaming girl!

As for pronouncing Chincoteague, have fun with that. We asked every local we came upon and each said it differently. Certainly none of their pronunciations were like the word appears or as this source suggests. If I recall, some said “SHIN-o-tay,” others said “Shin-co-TEE,” and locals referred to themselves as “tiggers.”

No matter how you say it, the Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve is truly a treasure. Located on Assateague Island, its 14,000 acres of beach, dunes, and marshland are a natural habitat for waterfowl and an adapted haven for these special ponies. We walked for miles and miles.

So there you have it: An abbreviated rundown of our 2-week vacation. As I think of our travels and the thrill of seeing worlds different than our own, I’m once again reminded how enamored I am by the United States. And this Memorial Day, I’m thankful to those who’ve made living here possible.

God bless America!

Wednesday Webs: Happy Easter!

March 27, 2013

This year we’re hosting the family Easter gathering, complete with dinner, egg hunt and piñata. So, of course I’ve been perusing food blogs for the perfect recipes. Here are some that capture my eye and taste buds:

Everyone’s talking about making their hard-cooked eggs in the oven. Here’s the how-to.
We’ve been buying pasture-raised Willow Creek Farm ham from Willy Street Co-op. It’s superb!
What wine to pair with ham? Here are suggestions.
I love mascarpone cheese so naturally this strawberry cream cake caught my eye. It’s so pretty.
This carrot cake cheesecake looks good too!

God’s blessings to you on this glorious day! Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Does the Experience Make the Product?

June 22, 2012

My husband and I regularly travel to Michigan, which means we somehow have to get around Lake Michigan. Sometimes we drive down through Chicago and around. Other times we drive up through the U.P. and around. Last weekend we ferried our way across on the S.S. Badger and it was loads of fun.

Big ship, more fun!

The S.S. Badger’s been in the news lately and sailing on this old boat brings marketing waves rolling through my head. And because the Specialty Coffee Association of America just put out this cool sales trend poster, which, in my opinion erred by not including atmosphere as something consumers value in a coffeehouse, I’m wondering just how important the experience of using a product is in comparison to the actual quality of a product?

But back to the Badger—big ship, more fun!

The S.S. Badger began sailing in 1952 and has been ferrying people and wheeled-vehicles across the lake for more than 50 years. Compared to her sexier competition, the Lake Express, the Badger is bigger, slower and much, much older. She’s also the last of the coal-fired steamships, which doesn’t sit well with environmental agencies.

But the Badger’s not sinking to the role of a dowdy, outdated spinster. Instead she embraces her historical image and uses it to market herself with great sales promotions, an interesting online presence and a very fun sailing experience. Hey, my husband and I even played bingo, which I normally hate.

Big ship, more fun! That’s what the bingo caller had us all repeating after him. With enthusiasm, no less.

This brings me back to my question. Is the experience as important as the product? Is a winery’s setting as much an attraction as its wine? Does a coffee shop’s friendliness keep its regulars returning as much as the brew?

And what is this experience we speak of?

Wikipedia defines customer experience (CX) as the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services. It’s the physical and emotional response a customer feels when patronizing a business.

Let’s use my husband and me as typical examples. After we disembarked from the Badger (when sailing, you don’t just get off the boat, you disembark…we have to get the language right, right?)—anyway, we then hit the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail.

Both of us enjoy wine but we’re certainly not connoisseurs. Just as important to us is the experience of visiting the winery—viewing its vineyards, walking though an intriguing building (you know me, the old ones are my favorite) and talking with the host. I love seeing a winery embrace it’s character, whether that of its surroundings, its history or its owners.

What about you?

Do you think the experience is as important as the product? Does the experience then make the product? And how do you convey this in the product’s brand?

Why You Need a Contract to Work With a Designer

March 30, 2012

Yesterday my husband and I took a day off and headed to Wollersheim Winery for the WGGA Spring Vineyard School. We’re new at growing grapes so pruning, budding, harvesting—they’re all viticulture things we’re looking to learn. Interestingly, we also learned a little something about contracts.

Or lack thereof.

According to those in the know, spring is the time of year grape growers network with wineries they hope to sell their grapes to in autumn. The growers estimate their crop, the winery agrees to a price per pound, and they shake hands.

Wow, no contract?

Not in Wisconsin, according to WGGA speakers. But also according to them, this long held tradition is changing. I hope so. While I’d love if we could live in a world of honorable handshakes, reality says this just isn’t possible. Besides, for all practical purposes, a contract offers so many benefits to both parties.

This brings me back to my work as a designer and copywriter.

Every once in a while clients will balk at signing a contract. In their minds, it’s insulting that we should be so formal in our dealings together. My response? It’s Adunate’s policy to always work under a contract. In fact, you’ll find it’s every professional graphic designer, web designer or copywriter’s policy to work under a contract.

Here’s why:

A good contract defines the project a client and professional will work on together. It itemizes each element and who is responsible for what in order to successfully complete that project. A good contract provides both parties a clear understanding of what to expect from one another. It eliminates the possibility of misunderstanding.

If a client isn’t willing to discuss an agreeable contract, I won’t work with them. Similarly, if your designer doesn’t work with a contract, you should consider whether he or she truly is a professional.

It’s for your own good.

By the way, congratulations to Wollersheim Winery. They were named 2012 Winery of the Year by the San Diego International Wine Competition!

Are you a professional, looking to be treated like a professional? Let’s talk!