<b>By SARAH B. AUBREY<br>
Indiana Correspondent</b></p><p>

WILMINGTON, Ohio — Since 1999, organizers in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky have produced a conference geared toward education and marketing for producers of value-added farm goods; the Ohio River Valley Farm Marketing Conference (ORVFMC) returned to Ohio Feb. 19-20 in at the Roberts Convention Center in Wilmington.<br>
The University of Kentucky’s Dr. Tim Woods moderated a panel discussion with Ohio producers covering the topic of the buyer-producer equation. And, during the opening reception, Ohio’s bounty was showcased in a walk-around tasting and reception. Locally-produced foods included jams and jellies, cheeses, wine and even barbecue sauce.<br>
“We couldn’t find a sauce we liked and we needed to come up with something for our cookouts every Friday and Saturday night,” said Debbie Diley, former restaurant owner and CEO of D.B Yummers Barbeque Sauce, of the origins of the company she founded with her husband, Bill, in 1999.<br>
Bill, previously a vo-ag teacher for 36 years, is now the company’s primary salesman, while Debbie runs operations, deals with suppliers and manages the accounting. The duo sell a lot of product through school fundraisers, but enjoyed the conference as a place to network.<br>
“Through Ohio Proud, we had the chance to come here tonight,” Debbie said.<br>
Nancy Kinkead, owner and managing partner of Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery in Ripley, Ohio, showed of one of her best wines at last Tuesday’s tasting event. She poured the 2005 Cabernet Franc.
“We never pick the fruit until it’s dead ripe,” she explained, proudly. “That’s why our wines are so good.”<br>
Kinkead loves growing wine in her part of Ohio because of the long season the climate affords.<br>
“There are lots of ways to tell if a grape is ripe, but when the seeds turn brown, it’s ready,” she said, adding her harvest begins around Sept. 15 and can extend into the end of October. The 2005 Cabernet Franc was picked on Oct. 12, but she’s harvested as last as Oct. 29.<br>
Wines represent one of the state’s oldest agricultural products. According to www.tasteohiowines.com online, the first commercial wine maker in the United States was Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati. Today, a partnership exists between The Ohio State University enologists and grape growers to produce the best wines possible.<br>
“The program is voluntary, but growers can participate in the Ohio Valley Wine Assurance Sensory Evaluation Process,” said Todd Steiner an enologist at OSU.<br>
Steiner explained that wines are rated on several qualities and given points up to 20. A wine that earns at least 15 points can use the quality assurance seal on its labeling. Steiner is a proponent of outreach and marketing for Ohio’s products at events like the ORVFMC.<br>
“The seal is a way for consumers of wine to see a wine and know that since it meets certain criteria, it should be good wine to try,” he said.<br>
The conference finished last Wednesday with a three-tract segment geared toward local food trends, marketing products and marketing meats. The ORVFMC will return in 2009 to Indiana.<br>