National Winegrape Conference Taking Shape

By David Eddy|October 22, 2012

Will the economy improve significantly in 2013 or continue to struggle? Will consumers buy more “value wines” or will they choose to trade up? Will the hot selling varietals stay hot or be overrun by something else? These are just some of the issues the 2013 Unified Symposium Program Development Committee is considering while developing the program for January’s event. And while much work is still to be done, many aspects, like the general sessions and Spanish sessions, are taking shape.

Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and chair of the 2013 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Program Development Committee, said the goal of the Program Development Committee is to ensure the program delivers valuable information to the industry that can be directly translated to business.

The Program Development Committee established a theme for each daily general session, with the afternoon breakout sessions expanding on these themes:
• Tuesday, Jan. 29, will examine how the global wine business affects U.S. growers and wineries, including a focus on fluctuating currency values, grape/bulk sourcing options, export opportunities, and tariffs and duties.
• Wednesday, Jan. 30, the State of the Industry will look at U.S. production and sales trends. This session will also provide an overall economic perspective of the wine industry and economy at large, vineyard acreage/crush numbers, a broker overview on the bulk wine markets, wine inventories, and international bulk wine supplies.
• Thursday, Jan. 31, will focus on leading consumer trends and issues affecting wineries and growers, including building brands and how consumers respond to change.

“Tuesday’s session is important because we want to help U.S. growers and wineries fully understand how the global wine business affects them,” said Frey “This includes foreign investment in U.S. properties and brands; bulk or bottled wine imports from international producers with lower production costs competing with domestic production; or currency fluctuations that affect imports and U.S. exports. All of these factors need to be considered as growers and wineries consider investments, grape/bulk wine sourcing options, and export opportunities as part of their growth strategies.”

Built with the joint input of growers, vintners and allied industry members, the Unified Symposium serves as a clearinghouse of information important to wine and grape industry professionals. The Unified Symposium also hosts the industry’s largest trade show of its kind, with more than 600 suppliers displaying their products and services. For additional information, call 530-753-1342 or visit www.unifiedsymposium.org.