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October 2016 WINES&VINES 33 VIEWPOINT Promote your wines to leading Zinfandel enthusiasts and extend your winery's relationship in the market. Join Us! We are champions of Zinfandel— America's Heritage Wine Become part of our proud legacy zinfandel.org • 530-274-4900 Zinfandel Advocates & Producers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. ZAP is dedicated to advancing public knowledge of and appreciation for American Zinfandel and its unique place in our culture and history. You know how good your Zinfandel is... TTB LABEL APPROVALS Low per-label costs Gov't. Liaison Negotiations or Footwork Reasonable Hourly Rates TRADEMARK SEARCHES As Low as $185 Your trade names or designs are searched at the U.S. Patent Office to help establish valuable ownership or avoid costly legal liability. Over 100 years' total staff experience handling every government liaison need for industry. Phone or write for details. 200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 321 Arlington, Virginia 22203 Phone: (703) 524-8200 Fax: 525-8451 TOLL-FREE 1-800-642-6564 Major Credit Cards Accepted www.trademarkinfo.com Since 1957 GovtLiaison_Dir08 11/29/07 2:00 PM Pag overwhelms us all, many industry members' attitudes can be summarized thusly: There is so much to learn and most of it is not worth learning. As such, we attempt to put issues in very practical terms, discussing ways of increas- ing quality, lowering cost of production or both. The second canon is directly related to the first. We attempt to keep things as simple as possible, but not simpler. That is, we try to distill information down to the essence, but not further. We certainly do not want to go to the other extreme. If industry members ask what time it is, we do not attempt to explain how watches are made! All wine regions have their share of rock star winemakers who have read their own self-generated press clippings and presume to know the ultimate winegrowing truth. Some of these folks suffer from what can be de- scribed as hardening of the attitudes and see little need for either assistance or change. In our education efforts, we attempt to convey a sutra that may serve us all well: It's what you learn after you know it all that really counts. Most industry members are fully aware that we are not in a static environment; the market continues to be more and more competitive. Competing in the global marketplace may re- quire establishment of the integrated efforts of marketing, terroir differentiation and con- tinued progress in lowering the cost of produc- tion while increasing quality. Each of these suggests the need for careful review of new technologies, when appropriate. After all, what good is technology if it is not used? I remember reading a now-famous article about the hockey player Wayne Gretzky. He was asked the reasons for his success. Instead of listing the attributes of innate, intrinsic ath- letic ability or Malcolm Gladwell's suggestion of a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice to become proficient in anything, his team mem- bers, etc., he offered a very simple explanation that serves as an important analogy for all looking to advance. He said: "I skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been." The teleological goal or purpose of my programs at Virginia Tech from the beginning was to provide science-based information to supplement the artistry and to remind indus- try that luck is the residue of design. An un- derstanding of how we acquire and use knowledge is key to both education delivery and industry advancement. Dr. Bruce Zoecklein worked in the California wine industry and taught enology at California State University, Fresno, and California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. In 1985 he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech, where he is a professor emeritus. He conducted research, extension, education and created the Virginia Tech Enology Service Laboratory. He has co-authored books about wine analysis and production and has been a member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and trade publications.