• December 19 2025
• Category: eNews

The wine and grape industry is at a pivotal moment. With shifting consumer behavior, market pressures, rising costs, and growing climate uncertainty, the path forward is complex, but full of opportunity. The 2026 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium is designed to meet this moment head on.

This year’s theme, Reframing the Narrative, reflects a collective sincere commitment to investigate where the industry is today while exploring new perspectives, tools, and strategies for what comes next. Over three days in Sacramento, the Unified brings growers, vintners, suppliers, researchers and business leaders together to share insights, challenge assumptions and shape a stronger future together.

The Unified is designed to connect learning with action. After attending educational sessions, participants can move directly to the trade show floor to see ideas come to life. With more than 200,000 square feet of exhibits, the Unified trade show features the latest products, services and technologies supporting grapegrowing, winemaking, business operations and marketing. It is a hands-on opportunity to ask questions, compare solutions and build relationships that help turn insight into impact.

Below is a snapshot of the sessions you can expect arranged by focus area. Each track offers practical takeaways, fresh thinking and real-world relevance, all in one place.

General Sessions: Big picture conversations for a changing industry

• Wednesday – State of the Industry
• Thursday – The Path Forward: Rebuilding Demand and Rethinking Wine’s Future

Why attend:
Join these sessions to gain perspective on the forces shaping the industry and take part in conversations that connect every sector of wine and grapes. This year, these sessions will be in the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Ballroom B, making it a shorter walk from registration and the trade show floor.

Keynote: Inspiration grounded in experience

• Keynote Speaker Luncheon with Dr. Laura Catena and Felicity Carter

Why attend:
Step back from the day-to-day and gain a fresh perspective from leaders who understand the industry’s challenges and opportunities. Join this session for a straight-talk session on wine, health and the dietary guidelines, separating science from spin and offering real-world messaging guidance.

Workshop Presented in Spanish: Accessible education for a vital workforce

Participate in a session designed to provide Spanish-language information for vineyard and winery teams to stay current on the latest technologies and best practices. This session will conclude with a food-and-wine pairing.

Winemaking Sessions: Practical solutions from crush to bottle

Walk away with practical ideas and technical takeaways you can apply in the winery right away. Sessions include:

• Breathing New Life into Wine: Redox Potential Management During Fermentation (includes tasting)
• Cabernet – The King of Grapes (tasting session)
• Bridging Tradition with Innovation: Flavored Wines and the Evolving Wine Landscape (tasting session)
• Clarity In the Smoke: Integrating Wine Sensory to Chemical Analysis and Predictive Modeling for Wildfire Smoke Events

Grapegrowing Sessions: Adapting in the vineyard

Learn from research and real-world experience to help you make informed decisions in the vineyard. Sessions include:

• Pause or Proceed – Evaluating the Future of Your Vineyard
• Technology in Vineyard Operations: Practical Use and Real-World Challenges
• Back to the Vineyard: Weed Management
• New Benchmarking for Vineyard Budget Success: Insights and Practical Applications (Joint Session with Business/Operations)

Business Operations Sessions: Running a stronger, more resilient businesses

Gain tools and innovations to help your business operate more efficiently and adapt to ongoing change. Sessions include:

• How to Sell More Wine
• Love It or List It? Wine Edition: Mergers, Acquisitions and Exit
• New Benchmarking for Vineyard Budget Success: Insights and Practical Applications (Joint Session with Grapegrowing)
• Uncorking Zero Waste: How Wine Industry Leaders Turned Waste Into Revenue

Marketing and Public Relations Sessions: Connecting with today’s wine consumer

Discover strategies to strengthen your messaging, reach new audiences and respond to shifting consumer behavior. Sessions include:

• Rooted in Story: The Need for a New Generation of Agricultural Storytellers
• Wine AND? Niche Festivals & Experiences in Wine – Why They Work and How They Appeal to New Consumers
• The New Rules of Attraction: Using Design to Seduce, Sway, and Snare the Right Wine Customers
• 2026 State of Marketing: Bridging the Gap to Consumers
• Pitch Perfectly: Building Better Bridges Between Public Relations and Wine Media

Join the Conversation

Unified is more than a symposium. It is a place to reconnect, learn from one another and collectively reframe how we talk about challenges and opportunities in the wine and grape industry.

Explore the full program and register today to be part of the conversation in Sacramento, January 27–29, 2026. Early bird registration ends on Tuesday, January 21!