Agenda

Below is the draft agenda for the 2012 Wine Tourism Conference, which will take place November 14-15 at the Flamingo Resort in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California. We are in the process of identifying speakers now. To suggest a topic or speaker, please email Allan Wright at allan@winetourismconference.org with the name of the speaker (if not yourself), suggested topic, and where it would fit into the schedule below.

Wednesday, November 14

8:00 – 9:15 AM            Conference Registration & Trade Show

9:15 – 9:30 AM             Welcome

9:30 – 10:15 AM          Keynote Speech

10:25 – 11:15 AM          Panel of Key Wine Industry Figures

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM   Organized Meet & Greet

12:15 – 1:45 PM            Trade Show and Lunch with Sonoma County Tourism

1:45 – 4:15 PM              Industry Track Sessions: We will break into four groups (Wineries, Wine & Tourism Associations, Tour Operators, and Hotels & Other Related Businesses), which will allow you to meet others in your industry and get specific information relative to you. Each group will do introductions, have a panel presentation, and have a session where members share best practices.

4:15 – 6:15 PM              Regional Wine Reception Sponsored by Touring & Tasting: The first 40 winery associations who send a representative to the conference will receive a table to pour their wines.

7:00 PM                         Optional Dinner (details to come soon – extra cost)

Thursday, November 15

8:00 – 9:15 AM            No-Host Breakfast Meeting of wine tour operators
8:00 – 9:15 AM            No-Host Breakfast Meeting of wine and tourism associations

9:30 – 10:20 AM          Panel of Key Travel Industry Figures

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM Breakout Sessions (three topics presented per hour)

• 10:30 AM           First Breakout Sessions (50 minutes each)
• 11:30 AM            Second Breakout Sessions (50 minutes each)

12:30 – 2:00 PM           Lunch On Your Own

2:00 – 2:50 PM             Panel of Key Media Figures

3:00 – 3:50 PM             Cross-Industry Panel: Hear from one panelist each from the winery, wine & tourism association, tour operator, and hotel niches about what they do and how they would like to work together.

4:00 – 4:45 PM             Final Keynote Speech

4:45 – 5:00 PM             Conference Close

Friday, November 16

We will have optional events for you to participate in, including Flavor Napa Valley, a food and wine festival benefiting the Culinary Institute of America’s scholarship fund. Events are ticketed and you must provide your own transportation.