WIVI #2 GAINS TRACTION FOR THE LONG HAUL ©

         The second annual WIVI Central Coast Wine & Viticulture Symposium/Trade Show, held last week, set the stage for a third show. Tweaks from lessons learned from the inaugural event in 2013 made this year's format even better and resulted in approximately 40% more attendees at the Paso Robles Event Center. Spread out over more space, adding a new seminar category focused on marketing and the DTC segment, plus concentrating the trade show into a single day were all successful. There were enough "side shows" (including a very popular Wine and Beer Garden sponsored by RadiantFires.com), to help trade show attendance, providing breaks between vendor visits. Those included product demonstrations, a Winemaker Throwdown panel and the Central Coast Salary Survey. I spoke with many who returned from last year and those new to the event. All expressed a high level of satisfaction with the opportunity to talk to end-users about their products and, for second timers, the success of the new format.

Wine Business Monthly and Precision Ag Consulting, the hosts, were aided by dedicated staff, a large group of volunteers and many supportive sponsors. The major promotional organizations from all of the Central Coast wine growing regions and Independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles area added support and wine for the event ending regional tasting. And, with the addition of a series of DTC/Marketing seminars, primarily moderated by Lesley Berglund - Chair of WISE Academy, the scope of educational opportunities was expanded into an additional and important part of the business.  Viticulture and enology are the other main areas of education focus, with multiple offerings each day and a concentration in each area of about seven hours of active class time. There was also a lunch hosted by Rabobank America with a keynote speaker that addressed the state of the world wine business.

Networking was another major feature, both at the trade show and with the well-attended launch party and closing regional tasting event. Future postings will  provide comments on those sessions I attended and my take-aways from keynote and other presentations on the state of the market. I would encourage those who want more inside information and the exchange of ideas with colleagues involved in the wine trade to register early for WiVi  #3 in 2015.