More money means more marketing, research for Pennsylvania wines

(PennLive) - Pennsylvania wineries could decide early this year whether to take some more money out of their own pockets to subsidize research and marketing.

Limited wineries in the state will vote soon on a referendum to increase their annual dues by a nickel for every gallon of wine they sell. That annual assessment has been 15 cents per gallon from the beginning, explained Bob Mazza, of Mazza Vineyards, near Lake Erie. Potentially that could raise another $30,000 to $40,000 per year for the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Program. That funds, among other things, the Pennsylvania Winery Association, which is responsible for marketing Pennsylvania wines. The extra money would supplement the approximately $140,000 the annual assessment already provides.

Helping to promote the state's wines is only one of the things the marketing and research program does. Indeed, it first and foremost provides money for research, or in the case of the announcement made in December, researchers. It recently celebrated the hiring of Dr. Michela Centinari as a research viticulturist. She was scheduled to join Penn State's Department of Plant Science, which is based in Tyson Hall at University Park, in mid-January.

"[That potential extra money] doesn't sound like a lot, but that amount of money is sufficient to create, let's say, that viticultural position," Mazza said. "It doesn't sound like a lot, but look at what we can accomplish with it."

Admittedly, reading about research viticulturists is inside baseball for those who buy and drink Pennsylvania wines. But Dr. Centinari's entrance to join a group that includes state enologist Denise Gardner (she oversees the quality of the state wines) and viticulturist and extension educator Mark Chien (he offers years of experience to those in the state growing grapes) gives Pennsylvania's wine industry a brighter future than just a couple years ago.