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Does Your Pennsylvania Wine, Winery, Restaurant Or Hospitality Business Have A Winning Name?

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Does your Pennsylvania wine, winery, restaurant or hospitality business have a winning name? In my earlier post, Can A Rose By Any Other Name Still Be A Rose we consideredintellectual_property_250x251 some of the challenges associated with naming your new winery, wine, restaurant or hospitality business. By now, many of you newer entrepreneurs have surely discovered that naming your business indeed requires significant thought, imagination, and creativity.

But once you’ve come up with that one memorable business name that perfectly reflects your brand, you should now give consideration to taking those steps necessary to protect your business identity. Register your new business name as a trademark.

A trademark is a distinctive word, slogan, phrase, logo, graphic, symbol or other mechanism used to identify the product source and to distinguish your product from everyone else. If you’re starting out as a new winery, restaurant, or hospitality based business, having the exclusive right to use your selected name without interference and confusion by use of others can be greatly beneficial.

A good example is Black Boxed Wine. Its a wine that is sold in a square black box. Its very hard not to miss the identity and source of that wine and its brand. Its a product that is well distinguished from other wine brands. Just like Black Boxed Wines, if you’re the first to use and register your trademarked name you can prevent other businesses from using the same or similar marks.

How can you can achieve comprehensive protection of your brand’s identity? You can accomplish this by registering your mark under state, county and federal trademark laws.

To do so, you’ll need to conduct a full search to ensure no one else is utilizing the name or mark you have in mind. You can conduct your search by checking with both your Secretary of State’s trademark registers and the Federal trademark register at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These are ways you can determine if the name you have selected is available for your business.

You may also consider the use of a professional trademark search service. While the latter can be quite expensive, such services have a high degree of reliability. A well conducted search will help you to avoid the possibility of paying damages to a first user in a trademark infringement suit who has challenged your use of their name.

Once you have checked the availability of your new business name, register your name with the Secretary of State in your jurisdiction and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. By doing so, you will have established the legal presumption that you are the trademark owner of your business name. You can more likely substantiate ownership if a dispute over your mark ends up challenged in a court of law or whether other marks exists that conflict with your own. If someone infringes your mark, you can hire legal counsel to pursue and protect your interests.

Does your Pennsylvania wine, winery, restaurant or hospitality business have a winning name? If so, protect your brand. Trademark your name.

Are Pennsylvania Wineries and Restaurants Contributing to Food Borne Illnesses?

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Is your restaurant or winery contributing to food borne illnesses? Let’s hope not. But kitchenglovessummertime is as good a time as any to discuss ways to avoid food liability claims against your winery, restaurant, or hospitality based business. Ingesting foods that have been contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemicals can indeed cause food borne illnesses.

If your establishment engages in the preparation, service or sale of food items, safe food handling helps to avoid legal liability from customers that are imbibing and dining at your establishment. Mitigating such claims is of major importance to the success of your business and brand.

As often evidenced by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), incidents of food borne disease often emerges as a result of improper food handling.

To prevent these hazards, you will want to exercise appropriate food safety procedures for your winery, restaurant, or hospitality based business. Employing these tips will help you and your employees avoid complex food liability litigation while maintaining best practices for food safety as advocated by your state and local public health departments.

Top Food Safety Tips To Remember:
Handwashing: Wash hands frequently and practice good hygiene.
Food Storage and Temperature Control: Properly cook and store all foods at proper temperatures. Cold foods should be refrigerated at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping foods cold slows bacterial growth. Hot foods should be cooked at or above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep cooked food hot until serving. Bacteria growth increases with food remaining at room temperature longer than two hours. Do not re-freeze food.
Sanitation: Use sanitary food and water sources. Replace/wash dish towels and sponges to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria.
Avoid Cross Contamination: Practice proper personal hygiene to safeguard against the transfer of harmful bacteria. Avoid smoking, eating, drinking, coughing and sneezing in the food preparation areas. Keep your ill employees at home.
Equipment: Keep all equipment clean, assigning food and equipment sink protections.
Vermin: Protect against flies, rodents and roaches.

By utilizing best practices in food sanitation and workplace safety, you’ll be assuring your customers that your winery, restaurant, and/or hospitality based business takes food safety seriously.

Now, that you have these tips under your belt, do have a great summer and get your food and drink on safely!

This Is How We Get Our Wine Toast On In Pennsylvania!

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If you’re the life of the party and the great “toaster”, you may be interested in joining white-wine-toastPennsylvania Wine Association’s toast competition. If you can write a toast of a 100 words or less, this is a party you surely will not want to miss.

Sixty-two wineries state wide are participating in the Great Pennsylvania Wine Toast. Pennsylvanian’s are setting out to achieve a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people raising a toast on August 14 at various wineries simultaneously. Do get your pen, paper and wine out and join The Great Pennsylvania Wine Toast celebration.

For more information on the competition and how to apply read here: Pennsylvania Wine Association

How Can Your Winery Or Hospitality Business Save Some Dough?

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Unless you plan to spend a ton of money on legal fees defending your business nashville_predators_wine_tasting_2006bagainst liquor liability claims this summer this is a good time as any, to pause and take note of a few useful tips.

As the summer approaches and the volume of customers at your establishment increases, its a good time to be vigilant and put a few best practices in place that are designed to limit your winery or restaurant’s potential liability related to the sale of alcohol at your facility.

Whether you’re serving alcohol in a tasting room, restaurant, wedding, catered event, bed and breakfast or bar, its important to remember that the person who serves the liquor is on the front line to limit your establishment’s liability and help your guests from over indulging.

Let’s review some useful tips that will help your establishment limit its potential liability as a result of alcohol service:

Check ID’s for all customers
Train your staff to recognize “visibly intoxicated persons”
Ensure that your employees do not drink on the job
Do not over-pour
Do not price alcohol too low so as to encourage heavy drinking
Do not allow self service at your event
Provide non-alcoholic beverages
Do not allow pets in the tasting room or catered event.
Purchase liquor liability insurance

As you entertain and educate your customers about your wines or your brand, you can also use these valuable customer contact opportunities to encourage your guests to drink responsibly. Your customers will appreciate the fact that when they leave your establishment, they are left with a sense of having been well cared for during their outing.

At the end of the day, you’ve kept them safe…and you’ve saved yourself some dough!

New Jersey Implements New Tasting Law Effective May 1, 2010

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The State of New Jersey’s Division of Alcohol Bureau Control has recently announced new legislation to take effect on May 1, 2010 that in effect changes its existing law related to wine tastings. The new legislation modifies existing law regarding size, sampling, events and media advertising related to tastings. To learn more on this new statutory ruling read here: NJ Special Ruling Regarding 2010 Statutory Change To Tasting Law.

Does Liberalizing Wine Distribution Laws Yield A Better Outcome?

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While many state activists and legislators are engaged in long-standing legislative dog fights to privatize wine distribution, I found this article to pose an interesting question as to whether or not privatization of the liquor industry will necessarily yield better outcomes. For a different perspective, read after the jump Tyler Colman’s: Will the Recession Liberalize Wine Laws?

Do You Know About HR 5034?

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Do you know about HR 5034? Learn more on how to “Free The Grapes”.

Are Pennsylvania Lawmakers Ready To Privatize Its Sale of Wine and Spirits?

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Pennsylvania lawmaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, introduced legislation designed to create privitization of the wholesale and retail operations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Turzai said “Government should not be in the business of selling alcohol”. He believes Pennsylvania’s current system results in higher prices and less selection for consumers. For more information read: Turzai Introduces Legislation to Privatize Sale of Wine and Spirits.

Is There A Wine Or Hospitality Business Franchise In Your Future?

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A couple of friends of mine have recently gone into business by purchasing a franchise-agreement-signingfranchise. One friend purchased a pizza franchise while the other purchased a computer repair franchise. Each is reaping the benefit of investing in an existing business model and brand for which the corporate name, logo, products, services, business and marketing processes are already in existence.

Perhaps you too are considering opening a wine or hospitality business by purchasing a “franchise”. Maybe you already own a successful wine or hospitality business model that you would like now to franchise. If so, franchising may be your path to business.

When purchasing a franchise, while you don’t own the business, you own the rights to do business under the existing brand of the original business owner. Alternatively, as an owner of a franchise, you have an opportunity to grow your existing brand as other franchisees pay fees and grow their businesses. Whether or not you have the chops to enter the world of franchising, you’ll need to consider the many advantages and disadvantages of the franchise relationship.

When purchasing a franchise, the original business owner is known as the “franchisor”. The buyer of the franchise is known as the “franchisee”. Typically the franchisor will furnish the franchisee the operational plans to get the business underway . The franchisor will assist the franchisee in the daily operations and support of its business. In exchange for the franchisor’s expertise, the franchisee, can expect to invest thousands of dollars for this support through franchise fees, royalties, equipment costs, training, marketing fees and other costs.

The franchisor will license its way of doing business to the franchisee by executing a complex legal contract known as a Franchise Agreement. The Franchise Agreement will identify both parties commitments, restrictions, specifications, obligations, income and fee payments, warranties, customer service requirements, and terms of the business relationship. The Franchise Agreement eliminates a lot of the guess work that comes with the daily decision making processes of the business.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that disclosure documents be given to franchisees before purchasing a franchise. Franchisors are required to provide buyers with a copy of the Uniform Franchisor Offering Circular 10 days prior to executing the Franchise Agreement. This franchise disclosure document provides prospective franchisees with basic information on the franchisor’s business, background, initial investment, fees, terms, and dispute resolution processes. The more you know about the franchisor, the better informed you’ll be to make a sound business decision.

Before entering a franchise relationship, determine what kind of franchise opportunity best suits your needs and interests. If you are concerned about the numerous risks involved in going it alone in opening your wine or hospitality business than franchising may just be the right vehicle for you.

For additional resources on how to start and grow your wine or hospitality franchise the U.S. Small Business Administration offers some useful guidance to assist you in buying a franchise.

Now, is there a wine or hospitality franchise in your future?

What Flags For Safety Does Your Wine Trail Association Wave?

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A couple of months ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Liz Stamp, cmsimg_1218058036bustourowner of Lakewood Vineyards, located in the Finger Lake Region of New York. Liz shared how the wineries in her area had joined together to safely handle guests participating in bus and limousine wine tours. Their goal was to minimize inebriation and inappropriate conduct amongst the tour groups. The Association’s wineries established a Safe Group Wine Tours Program wherein sponsors of the local bus and limousine wine tours are handed a Yellow Card (warning) or Red Card (access denied for the day ) if the winery believes the tour group leader is transporting unruly guests that may have had too much to drink. A Code of Conduct for Group Wine Tasting was created, identifying behaviors that would cause winery staff to raise a flag and refuse service to individuals or groups. These identified behaviors include drunkenness, damage to winery property, theft, rude language, exposure, threatening or aggressive behavior.

The wineries distribute the cards to the tour sponsor and document by way of an incident report, detailed information on the group’s behavior. The winery owner then calls ahead to the next winery on the trail to notify the tasting room staff that the flagged group may be headed their way. This allows the next winery owner on the trail the opportunity to decide whether or not to serve the group.

The Wine Trail Association has found the program to be well received by the local tour group leaders, Too, they have discovered that the practice has been found to be effective in curtailing poor behavior.

With numerous weddings, bachelorette parties and other local events planned throughout the year, this program has been found to be a useful tool in encouraging safe and responsible alcohol consumption.

If your winery participates in a wine trail association, perhaps your association may also want to consider safe measures to protect its establishments and minimize liability as your guests proceed down the wine trail. For more information, on the Wine Trails of the Finger Lakes Region, visit www.groupwinetours.com