Dear FWWS Members,
Based on feedback from members we have made the following changes to the format of the Enumclaw event:
- The requirement for donation of the first 400 pours was a bit too confusing and/or burdensome. This requirement has been dropped. Scrip (ticket) prices will be reduced to $1.00 each in order to provide more flexibility in pricing pours. The winery will receive half the price of the tickets they turn in ($0.50/ticket) and FWWS will retain the other half. Wineries will be able to price their pours at whatever number of scrip tickets they feel are appropriate to cover their bottle costs at $0.50/ticket. We will still be running a wine shop as noted in the original email.
- An additional volunteer is not required. However, staff available for hire through David is limited. So we encourage you to provide a volunteer if you can.
- The Chocolate Festival organizer is purchasing the tasting glasses and will handle all aspects of the glassware. The FWWS will not be purchasing or selling the tasting glasses.
No changes have been made to the Georgetown event.
Wineries are signing-up as we email you! Don't miss out on this great opportunity and reserve a space now.
Thanks and hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
The FWWS Board
Dear FWWS Members,
The FWWS Board has been busy working on some promotional opportunities to begin fulfilling the promise and opportunity that FWWS presents to be a promotional body as well as an advocacy organization. FWWS is well positioned as a winery association to be the beneficiary of these types of events (state law requires either a charitable or wine association beneficiary to allow such tastings).
Saturday January 9th
2nd Anniversary Party for Seattle Uncorked (6:00-9:00 pm)
Georgetown Studios
David LeClaire will be organizing this event as a fundraiser for FWWS. Seattle Uncorked wine club has decided to host this wine event at Georgetown Studios on Jan. 9th to be at the same time as the Art Attack. Many of you are familiar with David's events and know them to be extremely well run and well attended. This is the 2nd annual party for the largest wine club in the Northwest – they have over 8,000 members. The event will be limited to 200 attendees and will be only $20 since it is right after the holidays. Pictures from last year’s sold out event are at http://www.seattleuncorked.com/AnniversaryParty.html.
Participating Wineries
Attendance will be exclusive to FWWS member wineries. First paid, first in line. Please RSVP by paying the $50 ASAP to reserve your winery’s spot. We may have to limit the number of wineries that can participate due to space constraints, so get your payment in early to avoid disappointment.
Fees and Requirements
A promotional fee of $50.00 per winery will be charged. Wine sample pours will be donated. You may register to participate by paying your $50 sponsorship fee at http://www.vinolover.com/WineryPayments.html.
Wine Sales
There will be wine sales area run by Lysle Wilhelmi and manned by FWWS volunteer staff and David’s staff. Wineries will receive 70% (wholesale) of the revenue from sales of their wines. FWWS will receive the other 30%. (Please let us know if you have a wireless credit card reader.) Once you have signed up to participate we will have you send the wines you plan to pour and sell to lysle@wilridgewinery.com.
Food & Music
As the ticket price is so low, we will not be providing food. Instead there will be one or more “mobile” food vendors in the parking lot. Possibly “Skillet” or someone similar. We will also have a “live band” – most likely “Two Buck Chuck” to make it lovely. They are not loud and are a lot of fun.
Friday - Sunday January 29th-31st
Enumclaw Wine and Chocolate Festival
FWWS has agreed to be the beneficiary for the wine garden in the Enumclaw Wine and Chocolate Festival. While this event has the possibility of being a very successful fundraiser for FWWS, it will be a significant challenge due to the length of the event and the expected turnout of 3,000-5,000 attendees. David LeClaire will also be helping us organize the wine garden at the event.
Participating Wineries
Participation will be open to FWWS wineries first. First paid, first in line. Please RSVP by paying the $50 ASAP to reserve your winery’s spot. The venue is quite large and up to 6,000 square feet of wine garden space will be available, so we may be able to accommodate all interested FWWS member wineries.
Fees and Requirements
An entry fee of $50.00 per winery will be charged in advance – this fee will pay for part of David’s services managing the 3 day event for us. Each winery must agree to participate in all three days. If you cannot operate your pouring station all three days, David will provide staff to cover for you at a price of $50 a day. You will also be required to provide a volunteer in addition to your pouring representative to assist with sales and logistics. Please contact the FWWS board and Lysle Wilhelmi if you want to discuss staffing and attendance, we will help in any way we can. You may register to participate by paying your $50 sponsorship fee at http://www.vinolover.com/WineryPayments.html.
Wine Donations & Compensation
Wineries will donate the first 400 tasting tickets they receive (assuming at least 20 wineries participate). Admission to the Wine Garden is free - 5 tickets (scrip) will be sold for $10. The first 400 tickets you collect will be counted as your donation. From there wineries will be compensated for wine sample pours on a ticket basis. You may set the ticket price for your wine (e.g. one ticket for a taste of your inexpensive wine, more tickets for more expensive wines). Once the fixed costs of the event are covered (by the first 400 tickets per winery) the winery will split the income per ticket they receive 50-50 with FWWS.
Wine Sales
There will be wine sales area headed by Lysle Wilhelmi and manned by FWWS volunteer staff (including the volunteer you will bring). Wineries will receive 70% (wholesale) of the revenue from sales of their wines. FWWS will receive the other 30%. (Please let us know if you have a wireless credit card reader.) Wines under $30 retail will sell much better at this kind of event, so think about keeping the cost down on what you feature.
Misc.
The organizer of the Chocolate Festival has 300 glasses to sell from last year at $8 a piece. Once they have been sold, we will offer FWWS logo glasses for a similar price – we will order 500 of them. Participants will have the choice of buying a glass to drink their samples from, or to have free plastic cups to sip their wines from. While this is not optimal, with the possibility of 3-5,000 people attending, we can not commit to that level of wine glass purchases or rentals. Most participants will only buy one $10 worth of tickets and try 5 wines.
FWWS will get a special occasion license for both events and will apply for the licenses for both events. We hope these events will provide good exposure for member wineries and help spread the message of FWWS. Please respond to this email ASAP so we may gauge interest in either or both of these events (and send in your check to reserve a spot if you are sure you will participate).
Once again, don't hesitate to contact the FWWS board and Lysle Wilhelmi if you have questions or concerns about the requirements. We want to make sure we meet the needs of our members and we can work with you if you have specific concerns about the event.
We hope to see many of you at these events.
The FWWS Board
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