The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page D1

Time: 04-20-2007 22:37 User: kspurrier PubDate: 04-22-2007 Zone: KY Edition: 1 Page Name: D1 Color: Bftapbnta Business GET THE LATEST Get local business headlines by e-mail every weekday afternoon. Sign up at newsletters LOUISVILLE-AREA STOCKS Check how companies with Louisville ties are performing at business Dan Blake, editor dblakecourier-journal 582-4651, phone 582-4360, fax SUNDAY APRIL 22, 2007 1040 it Louisville auto event starting up Global conference to hear Fletcher Fetzer uses earth-friendly practices to fight vineyard pests such as wasps. Courtesy of Fetzer Vineyards Think green environmentally friendly practices in i i 1 i i Fetzer promotes a i By Alex Davis marketing wine ut-T. nn a "Green Tour" with stops already claims to have the largest array will kick off of solar panels in the industry. Its administration building is made of rammed earth and recycled wood, and its tractors run on vegetable oil.

The winemaker started its sustainability kick in the 1980s, but with soaring gasoline prices and global warming at the forefront of consumers' minds, Tiche-nor said the timing is finally right to publicize the brand's earth-friendly reputation. "We've never gone out to the consumer and talked about what we were doing," said Tichenor, who is based at Brown-Forman's headquarters at 850 Dixie Highway. The green marketing campaign began earlier this year when Fetzer started putting hangtags on its bottles with the phrase "Do What Comes Naturally" and a description of its commitment to the environment. Next week, it in 30 cities at garden shows and food and wine festivals. Fetzer will make a $1 donation to the National Arbor Day Foundation for every consumer who visits its booth during the tour, and the company will give away a hybrid version of the Toyota Highlander as part of a sweepstakes.

Fetzer isn't the only company looking to emphasize its green connections. In a story last week, USA Today reported that retailer Home Depot planned to roll out a labeling program called Eco Options for hundreds of products such as all-natural insect repellent and front-load washing machines. A competitor, Lowe's, started offering organic gardening supplies in February. Office Depot is pushing the use of recycled paper products and re-See GREEN, D2, col. 1 The Courier-Journal The next time you're shopping for a bottle of red or white, Brown-Forman Corp.

hopes you'll think of its Fetzer wine as green. Fetzer is launching a $1 million marketing campaign emphasizing the vineyard's commitment to the environment. Fetzer Vineyards has struggled in recent years to maintain market share, with volume slipping under 3 million cases annually. But sales for the fiscal year ending this month are expected to be up 6 percent. Fetzer's brand director, John Ti-chenor, is aiming for the environmental campaign to deliver an even higher growth rate.

Fetzer's winery in Hopland, Calif, By David Goetz The Courier-Journal Executives from Kentucky's three major automakers will join other top managers and Gov. Ernie Fletcher as featured speakers at the eighth annual Global Automotive Conference, which starts today at the Seel-bach Hilton. It's the first time in Louisville for the conference, which began at the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University and spun off in 2005 into the not-for-profit Global Advance Leadership Center in Bowling Green. Organizers say about 300 people have signed up for the conference, which runs through Wednesday. Registration starts at noon today at the hotel.

"Walk-ups are welcome," said Raja Bhattacharya, program director for the leadership center. The cost is $549, or $175 a day. Workshops and speeches are free to college students and faculty, but they must pay for lunches and dinners. Activities tee off this morning with an outing at Quail Chase Golf Club. It's down to business in the afternoon, though, at workshops with titles such as "Entering Emerging Asian Markets" and "Extending Supply Chain Technologies via the Web." The agenda also includes plant tours, presentations and panel discussions.

The content is geared toward the conference's target au-dience middle managers who struggle with day-to-day issues of globalization, downsizing and productivity, said See AUTO, D4, col. 1 GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE CONFERENCE When: Today through Wednesday. Where: The Seelbach Hilton hotel, 500 S. Fourth St. in downtown Louisville.

Cost: $549, or $175 a day. Walk-up registrations welcome. Featured presenters: Monday: 10:30 a.m., Timothy D. Leuliette, chairman and CEO, Metal-dyne; MO, Joseph R. Hinrichs, vice president, North American manufacturing, Ford; 12:15 p.m., Robert Lutz, vice chairman, General Motors (keynote).

Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. Philip Martens, president, light vehicle systems, ArvinMeritor; noon, Gov. Ernie Fletcher (Governor's Lunch); 2 p.m. Rebecca Vest, general manager parts and materials purchasing, Toyota North America (panelist). Fetzer plants cover crops among its rows of vines.

Questions about taxes? Watch this spot Tuesday through Sunday for answers. Submit questions and read previous answers at www.courier-journal.com What does the Internal Revenue Service look for when deciding to audit someone? According to the Ernst Young Tax Guide, items that frequently get the IRS' attention: Reported income conflicts with W-2s and 1099s. Married filing separately. Returns with significant deductions that may trigger the Alternative Minimum Tax. Taxpayers whose occupation may involve cash transactions.

Deductions that are large compared to your income. Business income of $100,000 or more. WATER COOLER THE OVERHEARD Kroger's semantics: Strike was a 'job action' When roughly 700 union workers at a Kroger warehouse walked off the job on Wednesday, the president of Teamsters Local 89 called it a strike. So did the president of one of the companies that operates the facility in eastern Jefferson County. The grocery company, however, had a perhaps gentler way to describe it.

In a statement, Kroger said it had been informed that certain employees "have initiated a job action." Whatever it's called, it was settled Friday. Brown-Forman blushes in Fetzer wine campaign Brown-Forman new marketing campaign for its Fetzer wines will stress the label's commitment to the environment. As part of the effort, the company said in a recent press release that it planned to use a "hybrid Honda Highlander" equipped with solar panels in a series of local promotions. One problem: The vehicle is made by Toyota. From staff reports YOUR MONEY D5 Deeanna Barrett and daughter Ava played in their hotel room.

A Take family along Business trips sometimes are flexible enough to allow spouses and children to come along. TECHNOLOGY D7 Leonard Kleinrock helped start building the Internet in 1969. A Starting over There's an ongoing debate over how to rebuild the Internet to meet the needs of the 21st century. Ford's Edge ads are getting the Mamet touch Filmmaker directs crossover spots From Wire Dispatches DETROIT In an effort to get more people to notice its new vehicles, Ford Motor Co. has enlisted the help of filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet to direct some of its commercials.

The television spots, which made their debut last week during Fox's "American Idol," compare the company's Edge crossover vehicle to the BMW X-5 and the Lexus RX-350, Ford officials said. The idea of calling in Mamet, known for writing sparse, choppy dialogue, Mamet came from Ford's advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson said Barry Engle, general manager of Ford Division marketing. The spots feature two men sitting in Edges, talking out the window about how their vehicles compare with the BMW and Lexus. Agency copywriters drew up the dialogue in an effort to mimic Mamet's work, and he didn't change any of the words, Engle said.

But Mamet was in charge of camera angles, lighting and the actors' expressions. Mamet won a Pulitzer prize for "Glengarry Glen Ross," a work that catapulted him into the ranks of America's elite playwrights with its gritty portrayal of the cutthroat world of a Chicago real estate office during the greed-driven 1980s. The ads are part of Ford's effort to tell people that its new products are competitive even See FORD, D2, col. 4 All Paul SancyaAssociated Press The Ford's Edge ranks third in midsize-crossover sales, behind the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander. Locations Local Pickup Confidential DERBY OAKS Tickets For Less 1 502-426-6555 Since 1985.