New York Wine & Culinary Center

摘要

ON JUNE 16 OF THIS YEAR, THE New York Wine & Culinary Center, newly built in Canandaigua, New York, opened its doors to invited guests. The following day, it opened to the public with an enthusiastic 2,000 visitors. Executive Director Alexa Gifford and her staff had set a goal of 70,000 visitors for the first year, but it may well exceed that number. For 20 years, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) has partnered with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, to promote agriculture, wine and tourism for the state. The partnership has now grown in ways not originally conceived of with the birth of the New York Wine & Culinary Center (NYWCC). This concept was first inspired by Richard and Rob Sands, Jim Finkle, Bert Silk, andGinny Clark, all of Constellation Brands, the world's largest wine company. Visits to California's Copia Center in Napa and the Lodi Visitors Center by both Jim Trezise, president of NYWGF, and the Sands brothers of Constellation Brands, gave birth to the idea that New York State's wine and agricultural industries would profit from such a center.