| Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | |
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| 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm Location: Mission Square | Bottle Bash Central Coast |
| Join WineBusiness Monthly for the Central Coast edition of Bottle Bash—a night of networking, collaboration and celebration. WineBusiness Monthly is bringing Bottle Bash, the party that kicks off each year’s Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, to Paso Robles as part of the Central Coast Insights and WiVi Central Coast events. Hundreds of local winemakers, growers, speakers and sponsors will gather following the Central Coast Insights conference. | |
| Thursday, March 13, 2025 | |
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| 8:30 am - 10:00 am Location: Ponderosa | General Session: Generations on Tap: Understanding Wine Buying from Boomers to Gen Z |
| Wine buying habits and viewpoints vary greatly from Boomers to Gen Z. With younger consumers gravitating towards alternative beverages, the moderation trend and preference for lower alcohol offerings, it is imperative that wine marketers and producers understand the changing buying preferences of today’s wine consumers and maximize growth opportunities. Moderator: Erica Duecy, Founder and Podcast Host, Business of Drinks Speakers: Jon Berg, VP of Thought Leadership, NIQ Beverage Alcohol Vertical Karen Daenen, Director of Research & Consumer Insights, Jackson Family Wines Kaleigh Theriault, Director of Thought Leadership, NIQ Beverage Alcohol Vertical |
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| 10:15 am - 11:15 am Location: Ponderosa | 2024 Harvest Review of Viticulture and Enology |
| How do today’s winemaking leaders cope with the twists and turns delivered by mother nature? Let’s recap the 2024 vintage from viticulture to enology with a panel of industry experts who will lead a lively discussion about best practices in the vineyard and the cellar to maximize wine quality. Moderator: Fintan du Fresne, Founder & CEO, WineMech Speakers: Eric Hervé, PhD, R&D Scientist, ETS Labs Anthony Bozzano, Principal & Sales Director, Bozzano & Co. Kip Lorenzetti, Winemaker, Chronic Cellars Jim McGarry, Vineyard Manager, Pacific Coast Farming |
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| 10:30 am - 11:30 am Location: Frontier | Optimizing your Wine Club and DTC Channels |
| How are wineries evolving to maximize profitability via direct-to-consumer sales channels? Hear success stories from producers who have reduced shipping costs, strengthened customer relationships, and created innovative offerings that resonate with today’s consumer. Speaker: Nathan Westfall, Founder, Vine Valley Analytics & Strategy Daniel Kushnir, Director of Sales and Marketing, Ironhorse Vineyards |
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| 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Location: Ponderosa | Winemaking & Viticulture Session: Acid Management in Red Wines |
| Join Dr. Federico Casassa, enology professor at Cal Poly, for an in-depth review of the basics and theory of acid chemistry and biochemistry in red wines, with a practical focus at managing acidity, pH, and metals in red wines. Methods to be discussed include blocking malolactic fermentation; ion exchange; microbial solutions (Lachancea thermotolerans). Session includes two consecutive wine tastings of all three trials alongside a control conducted on both Tempranillo and Nebbiolo. Speaker: Federico Casassa, PhD, Associate Professor, Cal Poly |
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| 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Location: Frontier | DTC Interactions in the Tasting Room and Beyond |
| Capturing customer data has never been more important than it is now, but what is the next interaction and is your team thinking about it? Growing DTC sales alongside a loss of traffic isn’t impossible! Learn to meet customers where they are with a multi-pronged strategy inclusive of roadshows, in-market events, text/SMS campaigns, outbound phone calls, and more. Applicable to wineries of all sizes and budgets. Moderator: Liz Mercer, Winery Coach, Content Developer and Instructor, WISE Academy Speakers: Jason Haas, Partner & General Manager, Tablas Creek |
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| 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Location: Ponderosa | Wine Tasting Session: Alternative Varietals on the Central Coast |
| Compare and contrast a selection of up to eight alternative varietals produced along the Central Coast regions including Monterey, Paso Robles, SLO Coast AVA and Santa Barbara. Moderator: Erica Duecy, Founder and Podcast Host, Business of Drinks Speakers: Drew Nenow, Nenow Wines Steve Dooley, Stephen Ross Cellars Coby Parker-Garcia, El Lugar Wines Sonja Magdevski, Clementine Carter Scott Shapley, Winemaker, ROAR Wines Dan Smith, Winemaker, Villa San Juliette |
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