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NYS Announces $59,000 to Improve Winery Websites Seven LI Vineyards among 60 NYS Wineries to Gain Grants |
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August 17, 2007 ALBANY, NY -- New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today announced nearly $59,000 to create or improve the websites of 60 New York State wineries. This is the second round of these grants, which are designed to increase the visibility of New York wines via the internet, which in turn will help attract more tourists to New York’s wine regions, and expand the sales of New York wines to customers throughout the country. “New York’s wineries experienced great success from the first round of website improvement grants that were issued last year, and we are pleased to offer another round to help continue this good work,” the Commissioner said. “The internet offers small businesses like our New York wineries to reach millions of consumers with the simple click of a button. I am pleased that we are able to help our wineries enhance their websites in order to take advantage of these endless opportunities the internet provides.” The wine web improvement grants provide New York wineries with a matching grant up to $1,000 to create or improve their website. Eligible projects included adding age verification software, foreign language translation, direct shipment capabilities, shopping cart functions, credit card purchase capabilities, adding or improving photographs or maps, and increasing accessibility for persons with disabilities. Since 2005, New York wineries have been able to direct ship wine in New York State and outside of the State if reciprocal shipping agreements are in place. This law allows for the shipment of up to 36 cases (9 liters) per year to a single individual. Safeguards in the law prevent the sale to individuals under 21 years of age. Since the law took effect, approximately one-quarter of New York’s wineries have begun selling their wines to out-of-state residents. New York State’s wine, grapes and grape juice industries have a $3.3 billion economic impact each year, and support 36,000 jobs. New York is the nation’s third largest grape and wine producer. There are five major wine producing regions in the State: the Finger Lakes, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Lake Erie and the Niagara Escarpment. There are more than 230 wineries in the State, including 148 established in the last 20 years, and 63 in the past five years alone. Wine production has increased more than 50 percent in the last 20 years to nearly 200 million bottles annually. New York winery sales account for $420 million a year and more than 4 million tourists visit wineries annually. The Long Island wine web improvement grant recipients, each of which received $1,000 in this round, include: Bridge Vineyards; Duck Walk Vineyards North; East End Vineyards, LLC; Paumanok Vineyards, Ltd; Roanoke Vineyards; Scarola Vineyards; and Shinn Estate Vineyards. -30- Click
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