Tasting Room Profitability Conference & Trade Show
Speakers & Topics
13 Annual Tasting Room Profitability Conference & Trade ShowLocation: Showcase Theater at the Marin Center
Date: January 21-22, 2009
Download a registration form here
2009 Topics:
Day One
8:30 a.m. Welcome/Opening Remarks
8:45 a.m. Email and the Web-Under Used Tools for Increasing Profits
Are you utilizing email and your web site to maximize sales to current and new customers? This session helps you optimize your site and includes the information that encourages consumers to purchase. Learn the tips you need to promote your products and winery more effectively electronically.
9:45 a.m. Can Outsourcing Sales Lead to Greater Profits?
The wine industry is discovering that there are lots of ways to sell wine. How can you use these different methods of sales to your advantage? Find out if outsourcing certain types of selling will lead to more profits and more customers in this thought provoking session. Our panel describes two different ways to increase sales: Telemarketing-How do you feel about telemarketing? Would you rather have a root canal and a rash than pick up the phone? If you would, then consider outsourcing. Shipping Out of State-Selling out of state...no permits required. There are new ways of shipping out of state popping up that afford you a way to ship without all the headaches of compliance. Take advantage of what the market place has to offer.
10:45 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Numbers that Lead to $$$
One aspect of growing the business is to increase the effectiveness of the processes in the tasting room. Budgeting and key performance indicators are quantifiable measurements that can be utilized to define success factors and measure progress towards achievement of winery goals. This presentation will help participants understand the budgeting process and enable them to develop key performance indicators that drive profit.
12:15 p.m. Lunch / Trade Show
2:30 - 3:45 p.m. Turning Your Events into Profit Centers
There are many sides to events, two of these are (1) the business side of the event...how do you negotiate with vendors to get the most out of the caterers, rental companies and musicians so you can provide the most spectacular event for your customers? (2) The experience...how your attendees perceive the experience of the event. Learn the secrets of creating an event everyone loves. And one that encourages attendees to purchase.
3:45 p.m. Break / Trade Show
4:00 p.m. Real Life in the Tasting Room
Are you looking to raise revenues even when you may be seeing less visitors. Elizabeth Slater opens up her large bag of tips and tricks to help ensure steady and ever increasing sales. Included are Tasting Room Bloopers - things that should never have been said in a Tasting Room, but were- and things that should be said and done to encourage buying.
5:00 p.m. Trade Show
5:30 p.m. "Bring Your Own Bottle" Wine Reception
It's time to mix business with pleasure as you network with your fellow tasting room peers and enjoy some food and drink. Bring a bottle of your winery's finest to show off and share with friends and colleagues!
Day Two
9:00 a.m. Different & Unusual Can Make a Difference in Profits
Do your tasting room and tours stand out from the crowd? Be different, make your tasting room and tours come alive. Give customers and visitors something to talk about when they leave.
10:00 a.m. Promoting Your Tasting Room for Maximum Effect on a Minimal Budget
There are many ways to promote your tasting room for little or no money if you are willing to put in the time and have the expertise to do so. This session gives you the tools you need to find the avenues of promotion to increase your profitability and grow your customer base.
11:00 a.m. Break / Trade Show
11:15 a.m. Your Winery: Evolution or Revolution
Is your winery change or growth based on natural progression or are you willing to lead the revolution of change? Ensure your longevity, success and profitability. From simple winery philosophy to HR dilemmas, discover how your create an environment that is both a strategic business and a customer experience.
12:15 p.m. Lunch / Trade Show
2:30 p.m. Consumer Panel
A panel of consumers who regularly visit tasting rooms give their feedback and tell you what makes for a great experience, what they are looking for and what makes them buy wine in the tasting room.
3:30 p.m. Open Forum
What challenges are you facing? Perhaps others have faced the same challenges and have answers that can help you. Gather together for an intimate session of problem solving and idea gathering.
Trade Show Shopping Spree - Register early for two chances to win!
TRP attendees will automatically be entered in our Vineyard & Winery Management Bucks Raffle. Wineries receive “VWM Bucks” to spend on the trade show floor 1/22/09. Early Bird registrants get an extra chance to win. The lucky winners will be selected and announced during the Wine Reception on 1/21/09. You must be present to win, so names will be drawn until winners are present.
Event Speakers
 | Alan Arnopole, Peju Winery Alan "The Yodelmeister" Arnopole is well known throughout wine country as one of the most entertaining personalities in Napa Valley. He is written about in guidebooks, discussed on the Internet and has been featured on radio, as well as national and international television. A person whose love of life, music, and the bounty of his native California, he happily shares with everyone he meets. In 1975, Alan co-founded California Zephyr, a group which has performed everywhere, from swank hotels, concert halls, dusty fairs and rodeos, on radio and TV, ...right down to the funkiest honky tonk. Zephyr retired from full time roadwork in 1986 and Alan settled in Napa. Two years later, he founded and produced the Napa Valley Music Festival. The festival ran annually through 1999 and its proceeds created music programs in local schools that continue to this day. Alan landed his job with Peju in 1995 as an event planner. He soon moved his talents to the tasting room, where he excelled beyond Peju's wildest expectations! Tasting with Alan is an unparalleled experience; here, all his skills of wine and music coalesce in a seamless stream of what can only be described as: Vintertainment! Part informational, part improvisational and always entertaining, Alan's presentations have been likened to a cross between the Williams' boys - Robin, Hank and Tennessee, or was it Eminem? It's hard to say where else one can be yodeled to, rapped at, made to laugh, educated and served great wine - all at once. Oh, and he might even break out the guitar and sing "The Peju National Anthem" just for good measure! | ||
 | Amber Balshaw, Owner/Executive Chef, Preferred Sonoma Caterers Amber Balshaw is the Owner and Executive Chef of Preferred Sonoma Caterers, Petaluma's leading caterer and one of the largest caterers in Sonoma County. Among the many hats she wears is that of Lead Event Planner, working with Wineries and other venues throughout the tri-county area on PSC's high end events and helping venues develop turn key events for smaller affairs. Before founding PSC sixteen years ago Amber worked from Innsbruck Austria, to West Point, to resorts in California. She received her degree from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, graduating first in her class. | ||
 | Matt Brown, Owner, Paperdot Design Matthew founded a 12-person ad agency in 1993 and ran it successfully for twelve years before striking out on his own. He first caught the wine bug when a client shared a bottle of 1983 Chateau Lafite. He remembers the taste of it to this day. A native of California but living in Colorado at the time, Matt nursed his craving for wine knowledge by working for a Denver-based wine importer for several years before he and his wife, Annemarie, officially made the jump to Healdsburg in 2007. Matthew has a B.S. in business from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA in marketing from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. | ||
 | Gary Finnan, Founder & Principal, Gary Finnan Creative Gary has over 20 years of experience in Destination Retail, Architectural Design & the Project Management industry. He specializes in the business of creativity and is a catalyst in the development of strategic solutions and teams for a varied clientele nationally and internationally. As the Founder & Principal of Gary Finnan Creative, Gary utilizes his past experiences gained in Africa, Europe and Asia, to bring a fresh perspective to the unique destination environments our clients' desire. Born in Scotland Gary was raised in Rhodesia and South Africa. Gary relocated with his wife and two daughters from South Africa to Healdsburg, California in 1999. | ||
 | Steven Harrison, President and CEO, Vino Shipper Steven has over 20 years in financial and operations management experience in industries from industrial manufacturing to software development. Steven moved to the USA from England in 1990. In 1999 he co-founded IntellectMarket, a software company that was sold to CollabNet in 2001. He then became Chief Financial Officer of TriVascular, Inc., sold to Boston Scientific in April 2005. Throughout the last ten years Steven has been an advisor to several early stage businesses including Think Tank Photo., 9mm Books, RedCondor, LoyaltyMatch and other early stage businesses. Steven is also a fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants. | ||
 | Erin Jacobs, Director of Marketing, VerticalResponse As Director of Marketing, Erin is responsible for evangelizing VerticalResponse and the benefits of email marketing to SMB companies. As a direct marketing expert herself, Erin came to VerticalResponse first as a customer managing successful campaigns for a Napa, CA Marketing Service Provider- so it's not surprising she vows to keep the conversation flowing with our passionate user community. Erin brings over 13 years experience managing global marketing campaigns for technology companies including Nortel Networks, Docent (now part of Sum Total Systems), and InQuira. | ||
 | Chuck McPherson, Managing Partner, IMS Consulting LLC With over 20 years of global business and management experience and current position as managing partner, Chuck brings an extensive portfolio of expertise in human capital and organizational development results. In 2003, he retired from Hewlett Packard as a Senior HR Manager to launch IMS Consulting LLC and IMS TrackMeetTM, a consulting firm and system that takes a revolutionary new approach to making businesses more successful. IMS TrackMeetTM harvests the intellectual property that's often lost within organizations and converts hat information to produce "breakthrough" business results. Combining lessons learned from experiences with collaboration technologies and tools, he modeled IMS TrackMeetTM on the belief that "winning teams harness their intellectual property." IMS TrackMeet'sTM unique focus on human behavioral dynamics, technology collaboration, and business objectives create an optimum decision-making environment, which produces a guaranteed value and has provided clients a competitive advantage. | ||
 | Jim Norman, Norman Vineyards A man of many talents, Jim has put his chef career on hold to take over for his father to promote Norman Wines around the country. While his sales style is totally different from Art's, his passion for the vineyards and wines are just as great. | ||
 | Mark Parton, Founder and President, Call for Wine Mark is originally from Chicago and has a BA in Economics from Southern Illinois University. Over the past 10 years he has traveled through wine country in the United States as well as Europe and South America, visiting wineries in France, Italy, Spain and Chile. | ||
 | Richard Pellegrini, Owner/CFO, Pellegrini Family Vineyards Richard is the financial manager of the winery and the business offices in South San Francisco. In addition, he is responsible for the direct-to-consumer wine sales effort, having launched the successful Pellegrini Family Vineyards Wine Club, interactive website and tasting room. Known for his taste and style, Richard is the leading force in hospitality at the winery and at the family's signature Wine Club events; he relishes in ensuring that each visitor receives the high-quality service for which Pellegrini Family Vineyards is known. Fluent in Italian and active in the Bay Area Italian-American community, he is a board member for the Salesian Boys and Girls Club in San Francisco and is involved with many organizations including the Italian American Community Services Agency and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. He and his wife Janet have been married since 1976 with two children, Kathryn and Michael and a grandchild, Julia. | ||
 | Elizabeth Slater, Marketing Savant, In Short Direct Marketing Elizabeth's career in marketing, advertising and sales has spanned a number of diverse industries and provided her with an extensive breadth of knowledge and experience. She teaches classes in wine marketing at Santa Rosa Junior College in Sonoma County. She writes a regular marketing column for Vineyard & Winery Management magazine and creates marketing programs and plans for individual winery clients. | ||
 | Dennis Urffer, CPA, CSEP, Resnick Amsterdam Leshner Mr. Urffer is shareholder of Resnick Amsterdam Leshner, PC, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. He is a Tax and Business Development Specialist, specializing in business planning, tax planning, succession planning and estate planning. Areas of expertise include the Closely Held Family Corporations involving manufacturing, real estate developers, engineering and profession services, and a special focus on the businesses in the wine industry. Mr. Urffer graduated magna cum laude from Bloomsburg University. He is a former assistant professor of accounting at Montgomery County Community College and has lectured before various PICPA Chapters, Montgomery County Bar, Business Organizations and The Wineries Unlimited Trade Conference. | ||
 | Paul Wagner, President, Balzac Communications He is an instructor for Napa Valley College's Viticulture and Enology department, is a regular columnist for Vineyards & Winery Management Magazine, and contributes to Allexperts.com in the field of wine and food. With Liz Thach and Janeen Olsen, he has just published a book: Wine Marketing & Sales, Strategies for a Saturated Market by The Wine Appreciation Guild, which won the Gourmand International Award in 2008 for the best wine book for professionals. He is a guest lecturer for Golden Gate University, Sonoma State University, MIB School of Management in Trieste, the Enesad program at the University of Burgundy at Dijon, and UC Davis and UC Berkeley extension in the fields of wine history, wine marketing, and wine production. He has lectured throughout the world on communications, public affairs, wine and wine marketing. He has judged many national and international wine competitions, is a founding member of the Academy of Wine Communications, and was inducted into the Spadarini della Castellania di Soave in 2005.
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