Most conferences use the traditional method of education in which an expert or experts at the front of the room provide their wisdom to the audience. We, too, do this at the Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

However, this method ignores the collected wisdom of everyone else in the room. So historically at the WMTC we have had lengthy Industry Breakout sessions in which our attendees gather by industry group (wineries, tour operators, etc) to discuss issues of importance to them. These are often rated the best sessions of the conference.

This year we are taking these industry breakout sessions and making them even more cutting edge. We will break into two groups, focused on Marketing and Tourism, and share Best Practices on each subject. The sessions will be 360 degree participation with you and your peers providing the advice.

We will start by having each person in attendance take one minute to relate a success story in the subject of wine marketing or wine tourism. You can choose anything you want, on any subject, with large results or small. We will use the remaining time to delve deeper into any of the success stories or, as a group, walk through a series of topics related to wine marketing or wine tourism. With each group consisting of various types of attendee (winery, association, DMO, tour operator, marketing agency, hotel, etc), there should be plenty of great ideas flowing.

Please come prepared with at least one gem your organization has done in marketing or tourism that has worked great for you and be ready to share. And to take notes.

Our Moderators

For Marketing:

Anne Hallock
Director, Marketing & Strategic Partnerships, FessParker Winery & Vineyard

Anne Hallock is Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships at FessParker Winery in Los Olivos, California, which focuses on small lot, vineyard designated and clonal selection Rhône and Burgundian varietals. Before that she established and scaled global strategic marketing for The Trade Desk, a programmatic demand-side platform. Anne previously executed public relations and digital marketing assignments across multiple brands as a group manager at the Clorox Company.

Jeremy Schubert
President, Lunabean Media

With over 18 years of digital marketing and web development experience in the wine industry, Jeremy brings full-spectrum knowledge of the digital tools available to wineries from SEO to websites to email marketing to social media. His practical and whole-picture approach to implementing these highly effective tools help his clients grow their brand, reach new customers, increase tasting room traffic and DTC sales, and ultimately, deliver exemplary customer service and retention rates. Jeremy has a B.A. in English from Boston College and co-founded Lunabean Media in 2009 to merge his wine experience with his digital marketing acumen.

For Tourism:

Natalie Inouye
Vice President of Destination Marketing, Visit Lane County

Natalie oversees comprehensive destination marketing for the leisure tourism, convention & sports markets for the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region of Oregon. She manages sales, PR/marketing and services in each of the core external markets. Natalie’s over three decades of service in the visitor industry, combined with her extensive community outreach and connections, makes her a key leader in countywide destination promotions.

Heather Jordan
Senior Director of Marketing & Sales, Biltmore Wines

Heather Jordan is Senior Director of Marketing & Sales for Biltmore Wines, where she has worked for the last 13 years. Located on George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate outside Asheville, North Carolina, the Biltmore Winery is the most visited winery in the country with approximately 600,000 visitors each year. Heather is responsible for marketing strategy, market analysis, sales forecasting and wine portfolio development for Biltmore’s extensive wine business — both on property and across the United States.