Blind Tasting for Winemakers: Practical Applications for Blind Tasting in the Winery – Joanna Wilcozch, Pedernales Cellars

The goal of this session is to outline different methodologies and applications of blind tasting as tools in wine production. While Sommeliers may focus on identifying regions and varietals in a blind tasting, Winemaker’s can utilize blind tasting to better understand the grapes they are working with. We will discuss best practices in blind tasting and several different ways to utilize them to evaluate your wine program. The session will conclude with a five wine tasting that will require participants to evaluate and score each wine. Results will be provided by the end of the Symposium.

LIMTED TO 200 SEATS

1 – BUSINESS: HR Recruitment – Liz Mercer, WISE Academy

It’s a time of The Great Resignation and hiring good people AND keeping them is harder than ever. If we can even find the right people, the cost of hiring and training is extremely high, so high turn-over is not what we want either. Take a deep dive into how we’re recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, compensating and retaining staff. In this session, WISE will help you think through your processes and give insights on what works, what doesn’t, steps to great hiring, and ways to keep your superstars, yours.

2 – VINEYARD: Farming Profitability in the Hill Country – Ryan Thomas, Vine Ops

3 – WINERY: Winemaker Panel – Adapting to Texas. Moderator – Michael Barton, Hilmy Cellars. Panel:  Jackie van SantDownes – Driftwood Estate Winery, Travis Proctor – Augusta Vin & Bénédicte Rhyne, Wine Country Consulting

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Main Ballroom

THCW Presidents Panel & Texas Crush Survey Report

THCW Presidents Panel – Philip Hawkins, Heath Family Brands &  John Catalano, Bent Oak Winery

Texas Crush Report and Vineyard Production Survey for Crop Year 2021 – Justin Scheiner, Texas A&M

This presentation will highlight the results of the Texas Crush Report and Vineyard Production Survey for the 2021 crop year.

What’s Wine Worth? $276 Billion – Jim Trezise, President & Michael Kaiser, Executive VP & Director of Government Affairs – WineAmerica – (Virtual Presentation)

The wine industry boosted the American economy by $276 billion in 2022, up by 25% from the $220 billion in 2017, according to a new study sponsored by WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries in Washington, DC. And even though Texas is fifth in the number of wine producers, it’s second in terms of total economic impact at $20 billion because of its large population and related consumption levels. The study contains detailed data on the national level and for all 50 states, showing that wine is truly the ultimate value-added product.   Presenters: Jim Trezise, President, and Michael Kaiser, Executive Vice President and Director of Government Affairs.

1 – BUSINESS: Metrics that Mean Something – Philip Hawkins, Grape Creek Vineyards

This session will cover things to track in your tasting room and your marketing (ie: web and more) and how you can use that information to make informed business decisions.

2 – VINEYARD: Soil Science of the Hill Country – Travis Conley

session sponsored by Inland Desert Nursery

3 – WINERY: Understand forestry and barrel making to enhance Terroir in Texas wines – Guillaume Maugeais, Bernard Barrels & Bénédicte Rhyne, Wine Country Consulting

Explanation of the forest and wood selection , the evolution of the selection in the last decade, economic of the forest industry, the importance of seasoning, some processing and the toasts, theirs  evolution and the different parameters for a optimum barrel selection.

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Main Ballroom

1 – BUSINESS: Wine Club Panel moderated by Dave Bryant.  Panel: Beth Bayliss – Texas Wine Collective, Valerie Elkins – William Chris Vineyards & Sheila Laigle – Dry Comal Creek Vineyards

2 – VINEYARD: Recent Findings about the Spread of GTDs and Options for Management – Brianna Crowley, Texas A&M

3 – WINERY: Managing High pH and High TA wines through Cation Exchange – Misha Kwasniewski, Penn State

Managing High pH and High TA wines through Cation Exchange- A number of factors can cause fruit with both high pH and high titratable acidity. Such as high potassium uptake, warm temperatures, and elevated transpiration. This can be particularly common when dealing with some interspecific hybrid varieties. Unfortunately, these problems are hard to avoid in some vineyards have few options for how to resolve them in the winery. This talk will discuss the practical use of cation exchange as a way to lower a wine’s pH with minimal impact on titratable acidity. Which can be an important tool for winemakers in making predictably stable wines.

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Main Ballroom

Bring Your Own Wine – please bring wines to the Symposium registration desk when you check-in

We all know that good sensory evaluation is important—but how well do we know our own sensory capabilities? Do you have to be born with a great nose, or can you learn with practice? How accurate are descriptions in sensory notes, anyway? In this session, we’ll explore the sights, smells, and tastes of wine from a sensory scientist’s point of view, try some simple tasting exercises, and bust some wine-tasting myths along the way.

1 – BUSINESS: Sales Training – Liz Mercer, WISE Academy

We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take…what’s holding our team back from closing the sale? And what can we do to help? Sales is an extension of great hospitality and if we’re doing our job right, we’re playing matchmaker for our guests – matching the wines or the clubs that would best suit their interests. Studies show that people buy with emotions and justify the purchase with logic, so in this session, learn how to close the sale using emotional connections and sales skills like planting sales seeds, identifying buying signals and other ways to make an organic, effective close. Attendees will gain tips, tricks and build confidence in the WISE Triple Score: asking for the sale in a brand-appropriate way, effectively presenting the wine club, and inviting guests to join the mailing list.

2 – VINEYARD: Impact of Rootstock and Irrigation on Nutrient Uptake and Fruit Quality – Misha Kwasniewski, Penn State

This talk will cover some of the biology and practical uses of rootstocks in managing nutrient uptake and fruit quality. This will include the presentation of data acquired as part of a multistate NSF grant investigating what role rootstocks can play in adapting to climate change (specifically in regard to instances of drought and other extreme weather events)

3 – WINERY: TA and pH: the basics (and acidics) – Gavin Sacks, Cornell University (VIRTUAL presentation)

Measurements of pH and titratable acidity (TA) have been near-ubiquitous in wineries for decades as proxies for grape maturity or to predict the sourness and stability of a finished wine. This talk will review the basics of the acidics, with content appropriate both for new and established winemakers. Why measure both pH and TA, since the are both metrics of acidity? How can a wine have both high TA and high pH? Why adjust pH and TA, and how do common approaches to acid management lead to different final outcomes? Participants should be able to answer all of these questions by the end of the seminar.

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Main Ballroom

KEYNOTE: The Future of Texas Wine – Jean Hoefliger, JH Wine Consulting

A discussion of Winemaker Jean Hoefliger’s first two vintages in Texas and his thoughts on where the industry is going in the next 10 years. A focus on winemaking, vineyard development and the opportunities for growth.

In this session, we will deep dive into 5 years of data from international wine competitions to help get an understanding of what grapes to grow and wines to produce in Texas for Gold medal winning results. We will look at trends in growing regions, varietal popularity, and pricing. We will also showcase and congratulate the top award winning Texas wines and wineries of 2022. You can see all the top ranked Texas wines and wineries by visiting toptexaswines.com

VINEYARD: Sustainable Viticulture in the Hill Country. Moderator: Michael Bilger, Adega Vinho.  Panel: Doug Lewis – Lewis Wines, Cole Harper – Precision Viticulture & Michael Maynard – Kuhlman Cellars

The panel will discuss building soil health, soil fertility, introducing compost, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, bio-cides, and canopy & water management.

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Main Ballroom

Why Texas? – What is attractive about the Texas wine industry that is driving established brands from other states into our area

Moderator – Amie Nemec. Panel: Sarah Garrett – Serrano Wines, Hailey Zurschmeide – Bluemont Vineyard, Chris Missick – Missick Cellars

What is attractive about the Texas wine industry that is driving established brands from other states into our area? What is attractive about Texas? And why did these wineries seek a tasting room outside of the area of their original location? How is Texas similar, and how are we different from where they came from? Join us in a panel discussion about why Texas is an attractive area for wineries to grow.

This session aims to take a closer look at two other Spanish varietals that in many ways have already started to draw attention and raise eyebrows for their quality and consistency vintage-over-vintage. We’ll discuss the growing areas, production and styles of Albarino and Monastrell and make an effort to link them back to styles produced in Texas. Through an interactive tasting we will be able to discuss what parallels we can draw from and also what are the apparent differences each wine exhibits that may inform us about what’s possible (or not possible) in Texas using these varietals.