General Description

This workshop will transport the audience from the vineyards to the glass of wine: Starting with grape growing techniques and trends, including organic, biodynamic, crossings, emerging varieties, understanding the consumer’s demand of less impacting farming techniques, and also looking for novelty products that are healthier and away from the mainstream. The industry acknowledges this pressure and needs to find the way to respond to it by showing that it can provide the consumer with new products, while adopting viticultural practices that address consumer’s concerns. In this session we will try to tackle this subject by presenting the main farming challenges of the different path to sustainability and novelty products.

In the past decade, Natural winemaking, low alcohol wines and minimal intervention have become the “new Trend” due to the need to make wines that express a sense of place, to appeal to consumers that demand “clean” and “healthier” wines but also as a response to climate change, by creating less waste and save energy in the cellar. But what it really means? In this session, we are going to try to define Natural, Low alcohol and Minimal intervention Wines.

And finally, we will explore a variety of consumer trends for non-marketing with real example trends from wine consumption among different consumer ages, ethnicity, social demographics, etc. The current trends in consumer attitudes towards wine, organic/biodynamic farming, natural wines, vegan, health, new varietals/blends, low alcohol, and alternative packaging (cans, tetras). 

*Approved for 1 CEU: Professional Development – Leadership skills, meeting facilitation   
*Approved for 1 CEU: Crop – Integrated soil, climate, and crop data in crop management systems    

Grapegrowing

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Moderator:
Enrique Herrero, Inglenook, California 

Speakers:
Alfredo Koch, Allan Hancock College, California 
Rolando Sanchez, Walsh Vineyards Management, California 

Winemaking (includes wine tasting)

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Moderator:
Luciana Moreno Turkovich, Turkovich Family Wines, California

Speakers:
Gustavo Sotelo, Scribe Winery, California
Alaina Velasquez, Opus One, California

Consumer Trends

11:00 AM – Noon

Moderator:
Eva Bertran, Eva Bertran Business Consulting LLC, California

Speakers:
Gloria Collell, Grupo Freixenet, Spain
Cristina Pino Villar, Bodegas Santo Tomas, Mexico 

Lunch with Keynote Speaker

Noon – 1:00 PM

Welcome & Introduction:
Leticia Chacón-Rodríguez, University of California, Davis

Keynote Speaker:
Arnulfo Solorio, Silverado Farming Company, California

Exhibits (Self-Guided Tour)

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

Every January, the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium trade show is home to over 650 suppliers to the wine and grape industry. The exhibit hall encompasses a wide range of products related to the wine and grape industry and includes international representation in both sessions and exhibits. With nearly 14,000 industry professionals attending and over 750 booths, the Symposium is the largest wine & grape industry conference and trade show of its kind in North America. We encourage you to visit the tradeshow after the Keynote Speaker Luncheon.