Wine group seeks to grow partnership with the City of Lodi

The Lodi Winegrape Commission made a pitch to form a partnership with the city during a presentation at Tuesday’s Lodi City Council shirtsleeve session.

Lodi wine has grown into a billion-dollar industry that employs thousands of workers and draws thousands of tourists to the city, and the commission feels that a partnership with the city would provide economic benefits to both parties.

“That’s what we’re here for is continuing to create that partnership for you guys to help promote us and you to help promote Lodi,” Lodi Wine Grape Commission member and local grower Craig Ledbetter said. “We’re here to develop that partnership and continue to move forward with it so when we have events in the future and bring people to town everyone can walk away with a smile on their face.”

Recent successes have brought great acclaim to the Lodi wine region, and the commission would like to see the city promote the industry’s accomplishments. For example, Ledbetter said the commission has asked the city to display the Lodi wine region’s achievement of being named the 2015 Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine

“We need something within the Downtown. We need something from City Hall. We need something that touts what and who we are and what this region stands for,” Ledbetter said.

Councilman Doug Khuene suggested that a great way to foster a partnership with city is for local wineries to adopt a portion of the Highway 99 corridor coming into the city and cleaning it up.

“It would look so much better as people come into our city,” Khuene said. “I think if every winery stepped up and adopted a little bit of Highway 99 north and south bound coming to our city, that would help with the presentation of the city, but it would help you as well with the marketing.”

During the presentation, Ledbetter noted that the winegrape commission was established in 1991 and has grown from six to nearly 90 wineries. Lodi wine grape vineyards now top 110,000 acres with a crop value of over $400 million.

Ledbetter said there are now thousands of bottles with Lodi labels on them, adding that an economic study performed seven years ago found that the Lodi wine industry had a $5 billion impact. A new study is being conducted, and Ledbetter estimates that the number has doubled since the last study.

Ledbetter said the commission works with a $2.5 to $3 million budget annually to promote Lodi, and wineries are spending millions more individually. According Ledbetter, $1 million is invested annually into the commission’s annual advertising campaign. He stressed that the commission not only seeks to promote wine, but the Lodi region as well.

This year, the commission invested $125,000 to host a wine bloggers conference that included 300 attendees from across the country and internationally.

Ledbetter said the 2016 Wine and Chocolate Weekend was a success with over 6,500 attendees from 15 states, booking up hotels and filling up restaurants.

Over the years, Zinfest has become a great promoting tool for Lodi, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from across the country.

The wine and chocolate event generates enough money to support Lodi road shows where the wineries take the Lodi wine experience on the road to festivals and wine shows.

Ledbetter said the commission is investing more in public relations and finding more ways to attract visitors to the Lodi region.