In response to customers asking why more restaurants do not carry Long Island wine, the Long Island Wine Council developed a creative low-cost, high-impact campaign to encourage restaurant owners and sommeliers to consider serving Long Island wine. It is a special kind of calling card for people to carry with them when dining out, which politely says: The meal was great! We`d love to see Long Island wines on your menu. The cards are a handy business card-size. They are available in winery tasting rooms, at events, used by politicians in their constituencies, and mailed to people requesting them. Wine retailers have also been encouraged to promote the cards to their patrons. The first print order was for 1,000 cards, the second for 75,000 and a third order has just been placed for a further 50,000 cards.

The idea is for diners to leave the card behind at restaurants that do not have Long Island wine on the menu, said Long Island Wine Council President Marco Borghese. In any world-class wine region, it would be almost unheard of for the local restaurants not to serve the local wine. Although many Long Island and New York City restaurants do support us, there is still a way to go before they all recognise the value of promoting `local` and, more importantly, appreciate the quality of our wine. This is a grassroots campaign designed to get our message across.