American Wine Society

AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS "AWS- OR THE "ORGANIZATION- OR THE "SOCIETY") IS A MEMBER BASED, NON-GOVERNMENTAL, NOT- FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION INCORPORATED IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ON NOVEMBER 13, 1973. THE MISSION OF THE SOCIETY IS TO PROMOTE THE APPRECIATION OF WINE THROUGH EDUCATION. THE ORGANIZATION IS PRIMARILY FUNDED BY ITS MEMBERS AS AN EDUCATIONAL, CONSUMER-ORIENTED ORGANIZATION FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF WINE. AWS IS THE LARGEST CONSUMER ORGANIZATION IN THE U.S. DEDICATED TO THE MISSION OF SPREADING THE AWARENESS OF WINE. MEMBERS EXPLORE WINE TOGETHER THROUGH RELAXED TASTING EVENTS ORGANIZED BY VARIOUS LOCAL CHAPTERS (INDEPENDENT AFFILIATES) THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE, AND BY PARTICIPATING IN VARIOUS WINE TASTING COMPETITIONS AND EVENTS ORGANIZED BY THE ORGANIZATION. THROUGH VARIOUS PROGRAMS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE INDUSTRY, WE PROMOTE WINE CULTURE IN THE US WITH A FOCUS ON PERSO

CONFERENCE AND EVENTS : EVERY YEAR AWS ORGANIZES WINE CONFERENCE WHERE THE MEMBERS GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT WINE, WINE REGIONS, ENOLOGY AND VITICULTURE THROUGH VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS. PARTICIPANTS TO THE WINE CONFERENCE INCLUDES MEMBERS, INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND SPONSORS'. LIKE MANY ORGANIZATIONS IN 2020, WE WERE UNABLE TO HAVE AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE. HOWEVER, WE RELAUNCHED OUR CONFERENCE AS A VIRTUAL EVENT WHICH OFFERED PARTICIPANTS THE SAME EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND INTERACTION WITH LEADING WINE INDUSTRY FIGURES IN THE COMFORT AND SAFETY OF THEIR HOMES. WE OFFERED PARTICIPATION IN THIS VIRTUAL EVENT AT NO COST TO OUR MEMBERS.

TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION : AWS IS AN APPROVED PROGRAM PROVIDER FOR THE LONDON-BASED WINE & SPIRITS EDUCATIONAL TRUST, A LEADING GLOBAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF PANDEMIC SHUTDOWNS, THE ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO DELIVER TRAINING DIGITALLY AND TEST IN-PERSON SAFELY. TO ALLOW OUR CHAPTER/AFFILIATES TO CONTINUE PROGRAMMING REMOTELY, THE AWS PROVIDED SMALL SPECIMEN BOTTLES AND ZOOM LICENSED THAT THAT ALLOWED OUR LOCAL CHAPTER/ AFFILIATES. COLLABORATING WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS AND EDUCATORS, WE PROVIDED OR COLLABORATED ON MORE THAN A DOZEN NATIONAL VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND TASTING OPPORTUNITIES FREE OF CHARGE TO THOUSANDS OF OUR MEMBERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. LOCAL CHAPTERS AND MEMBERS' SERVICES : AWS MAINTAIN LOCAL CHAPTERS AND MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT

PUBLICATIONS : THE AWS FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION, "THE WINE JOURNAL", WAS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES DURING THE YEAR AND DISTRIBUTED TO NEARLY 7,000 AWS MEMBERS AS WELL AS LIBRARIES AND WINE INDUSTRY RECIPIENTS. THE JOURNAL CONTAINS ARTICLES ON VITICULTURE, ENOLOGY, INDUSTRY TRENDS AND RESEARCH NEWS. THE BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS DISTRIBUTED TO ALL AWS MEMBERS AND IS PRIMARILY USED AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL WITH THE MEMBERS ON AWS BUSINESSES.: THE JOURNAL IS AVAILABLE IN PRINT AND ELECTRONIC FORMAT. THE AWS NEWSLETTER IS AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY.

WINE COMPETITION : THE AWS CONDUCTS ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING NATIONAL WINE COMPETITIONS IN THE US. OUR AMATEUR WINE COMPETITION, OPEN TO MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS, PROVIDES ENCOURAGEMENT AND GUIDANCE TO HOME WINEMAKERS. OUR NATIONAL WINE COMPETITION REWARDS EXCELLENCE IN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE WINES. THE COMPETITION PROVIDES JUDGING EXPERIENCE AND OPPORTUNITIES TO THE AWS-CERTIFIED WINE JUDGES.OUR TEAM DEVELOPED A PROCESS TO CONDUCT THE COMPETITION SAFELY DESPITE COVID, AND ALLOWED THIS PROGRAM TO CONTINUE