WineAmerica Annual “Fly-In”: May 5-6

Federal public policy advocacy

That’s what WineAmerica does on behalf of the American wine industry. Most of the time that means Michael Kaiser, our Washington presence, monitors and communicates with Congress, federal agencies, and beverage coalition partners. Michael is our Executive Vice President and Director of Government Affairs.

He also coordinates an annual “Fly-In”, which is shorthand for lots of people coming from around the country to meet with their Senators and Representatives, plus TTB and USDA, in their respective offices. In a typical year, Michael will schedule about 100 meetings over just 2 days.

They’re magic. Legislators love when their constituents travel all the way to DC to meet with them. And the same messages are being conveyed in 100 different offices, thanks to the pre-meeting briefings of our members and the “leave-behind” materials we prepare for them.

We also coordinate with other grape and wine organizations from California, Washington State and elsewhere who hold their own Fly-Ins, to make sure our messaging is consistent—meaning that Congress hears the same thing several times from several sources. 

For the vast majority of American wineries, which are small family farms, Washington DC might as well be on another planet (and some people think it is!). These small business owners have too much to do without worrying about public policy, which is why WineAmerica does it for them.

One WineAmerica member said he considers his “dues” as an “insurance premium”, but instead of home, auto, or health, it’s for public policy 

WineAmerica protects wineries from potential disasters.