Sonoma County Wine Conference 2012
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. http://winetourismconference.org/
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.