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NEWSMAKERS Faces& Forums Aiming for No. 1 in Wine Country Sonoma County keeps up aggressive marketing SCV board member Stan Fridstein sets up with director of member development Kelley Perez. S Oded Shakked of Longboard Vineyards catches up with Lisa Mattson of Jordan Vineyards. anta Rosa, Calif.—Sonoma County's unified marketing strategy aims to place the region at the top of the list for consumers, trade and wine media. At the Sonoma County Vintners' annual meeting Jan. 10, executive director Honore Comfort described an effort to present a unified front of Sonoma County's diverse AVAs. She also summarized the events and marketing efforts planned for 2013 with the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and Sonoma County Tourism Bureau. The group will continue its advertising push in major wine publications such as Wine Spectator, Food & Wine Regina Martinelli and Peter Habicht greet SCV executive director Honore Comfort. J Winery's Lindsey Auchter, Stacy Bennett and Taylor Eason grab seats for the presentation. and other publications. Other initiatives include bringing in groups of sommeliers to tour Sonoma County, "Sonoma in the City" tastings in Dallas and San Francisco, participating in national and international wine shows and hosting a Chinese trade delegation as well as 20 of the top foreign wine writers. To gauge how much the press junkets, all tastings and advertising pays off, the county contracted with John Gillespie's photos: G eorge R ose Writer James Knight (left) listens to Boheme Wines winemaker and owner Kurt Beitler. Marketing professionals (from left) Michelle Hogan of Anaba Wines, Tony Lombardi of Kosta Browne Winery and Melanie Dougherty of Calhoun & Co. Communications compare notes. Wine Opinions group to conduct a survey of consumers to gauge their awareness of Sonoma County and its wines. Initial survey numbers will be compared to results of later surveys to determine the effectiveness of the marketing effort. —Andrew Adams Win es & Vin es F EB RUA RY 20 13 29