12pm-5pm

• Exhibitor Check In & Setup
• Conference Center

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3pm-5pm

• Attendee Early Check-in
• Conference Center

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3-4pm

• One Block Challenge update
• Dr. Colleen Myles, Texas State University + team
• Location coming soon

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4pm-5:30pm

• Pre-Symposium Workshop - TABC
• Limestone

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6:30pm

• Symposium Dinner
• Separate ticket - menu & details coming soon
• Location coming soon

*NOTES: session times/dates may be adjusted pending speaker schedules, session descriptions coming soon

9am - 9:30am

• Welcome
• Main Ballroom

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9:30am - 10:30am

• Keynote
• Main Ballroom
• From Insight to Identity: Using Consumer Data to Drive Growth
• Matthew Brown — Founder, MWJ Brown Consulting and Coordinator, Virginia Wine Coalition
• Texas wine is on the move but growth creates a new challenge: what do we want to be known for? Drawing on recent studies, this session examines what today's wine consumers actually want — confidence, simplicity, and clear cues — and why regions grow fastest when producers pull in the same direction. Attendees will leave with practical tools they can use immediately: how to pass the "10-second sell test," how to structure a focused portfolio around on-ramp, core, and flagship wines, how to identify an anchor wine, and how to align individual winery messaging with a shared regional identity. Consumers don't need to know everything about a region, they just need one thing they can remember.

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10:30am - 11am

• Exhibitor Break

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11am - 12pm

• TASTING
• The Tasting Room, Ballroom F
• Building Color & Structure:
  Techniques for Long-Term Wine Quality
• Dr. Andreea Botezatu - Texas A&M University and Mike Nelson - Ab Astris Winery
• Color and structure are fundamental to the quality, longevity, and market appeal of red wines. Join Dr. Andreea Botezatu and Mike Nelson for a technical session exploring the science and practical application of color retention and tannin development throughout the winemaking process. Designed for winemakers and cellar staff, this session will examine the factors that influence color stability and mouthfeel—from fruit composition and fermentation practices to extraction techniques, oxygen management, and aging decisions. Combining research with real-world winery experience, presenters will share practical strategies for developing wines with greater balance, structure, and aging potential while preserving the characteristics that define exceptional Texas wines.

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• BUSINESS
• Main Ballroom
• The Future of Wine DTC Is Intelligent: How Top Wineries Use Customer Data to Build Loyalty and Grow Sales
• Andrew Kamphuis, Commerce7
• Today’s wine consumers expect to feel seen and remembered, yet many wineries remain trapped by fragmented data silos. In this forward-thinking session, Andrew Kamphuis, Founder and President of Commerce7, reveals how leading wineries leverage connected customer intelligence to drive loyalty and explosive sales growth. Moving past basic transaction tracking, Andrew will share real-world data showing how 360-degree customer profiles can spark up to six times more online engagement and how flexible club customization boosts shipment values by 20%. Attendees will discover practical strategies for personalization, smart segmentation, and automation that eliminate buying friction without losing the human touch. Don't miss this actionable blueprint to stop guessing, start knowing your audience, and transform your data into your winery’s ultimate competitive advantage.

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• VINEYARD
• Limestone Ballroom
• The Art of Pruning for a Successful Future
• Lydia Nida, Pebble Rock Cellars & Vine to Vino Consulting
• Pruning is one of the most important vineyard practices each season. Pruning decisions are the first step to canopy management and directly influence vine balance, crop load, fruit quality, disease management, and the long-term health of the vineyard. We'll explore the principles behind effective pruning and how to make decisions that support both current-season production and future vineyard success.

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12pm - 1:30pm

• Lunch sponsored by WineCub
• Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Awards
• Main Ballroom

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1:30pm - 3pm

• BUSINESS WORKSHOP
• The Tasting Room/Ballroom F
• Workhorse Tech Sheets: Making Sure They Earn Their Keep!
• Kelsey Kramer, Hill Country Wine Academy
• Too often treated as a boilerplate list of facts, tech sheets should do much more than take up bandwidth. Take a fresh look at one of the most underappreciated and underused tools of the trade. In this hands-on session Kelsey will clarify the true purpose of tech sheets for on- and off-premise, showing how intentional choices turn them into sales, storytelling, and engagement assets. Through real-world tech sheet success stories, a collaborative tasting note exercise, and a strategy challenge that bonds to your core audience, you'll dust off a practical approach and actionable framework for smarter tech sheets that work harder for you.

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• BUSINESS WORKSHOP
• Main Ballroom
• Beyond the Post: Social Media Strategies That Drive Results
• Caroline Bradley, Scenario Marketing
• Join Caroline Bradley for a hands-on workshop designed for marketing managers, tasting room managers, and social media professionals looking to elevate their winery's digital presence. This interactive session goes beyond the basics to explore high-impact social media strategies that increase engagement, strengthen your brand, and inspire more visitors to your tasting room.
  Through real-world examples, group activities, and practical exercises, attendees will learn how to create intentional content, identify what resonates with today's audiences, and develop a social media plan that aligns with their winery's goals. Best of all, you'll leave with actionable tools, content ideas, and a customized framework you can begin implementing as soon as you return to your winery.

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• VINEYARD WORKSHOP
• Limestone Ballroom
• Renovate, Replant, Reimagine or Rest? A
  Practical Vineyard Decision-Making Workshop
• Jacy Lewis - Texas A&M University, Jackie Mancuso - Atlas Vineyard Management, Daniel Pate - Apical Texas
• As Texas vineyards continue to navigate the impacts of
  extreme weather, increasing disease pressure, and changing market demand,
  knowing when to renovate, replant, graft over, or maintain an existing vineyard
  block has never been more important. Join Jacy Lewis (Texas A&M AgriLife),
  Jackie Mancuso (Atlas Vineyard Management), and Daniel Pate (Apical
  Texas) for an interactive workshop that brings together expertise in viticulture, vineyard management, and winery economics to help growers make informed, strategic decisions. Using real-world case studies, production scenarios, and practical worksheets, participants will evaluate the tradeoffs between replacing individual vines, redeveloping entire blocks, grafting to more marketable varieties, or adapting existing vineyards for long-term success. Discussions will cover the impacts of weather, disease, vineyard health, labor and input costs, yield variability, and market demand, while providing a structured framework attendees can apply to their own operations. Bring your vineyard challenges, and your numbers, and
  leave with practical action items to help guide future vineyard investments,
  whether you're in the Hill Country or anywhere across Texas.

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3pm - 3:30pm

• Exhibitor Break

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3:30pm - 4:30pm

• TASTING
• The Tasting Room/Ballroom F
• Defining Excellence in Wine Production: A Metric to Successfully Compete with Outside Markets
• Dan Gatlin & Spencer Gatlin, Inwood Estates Vineyards
• Addressing the need to establish standards for concentration in Texas wine through appropriate yields for designated price points. Includes discussion of results from ETS labs at various yield/concentration metrics along with corresponding price considerations. Also addresses common mistakes and pitfalls in vineyard to winery miscommunications, as well as remediation techniques such as optical sorting available at the crushpad.

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• WINERY
• Main Ballroom
• From Vineyard to Cellar:
  Strengthening Communication for Better Wines
• Moderator - Miguel Lecuona, Siboney Cellars
• Growers - Emily Searle & Angela Garcia, Rowland Taylor Vineyard and Katy Jane Seaton & Traci Furgeson, Farmhouse Vineyards
• Wineries - Remi Gregory- Becker Vineyards, Janet Miertschin- Portree Cellars, Ben Calais- Calais Winery/French Connection
• Description coming soon

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• VINEYARD
• Limestone Ballroom
• Beyond the Surface: Advanced Soil Health Strategies for Texas Vineyards
• Joseph Burke, Texas A&M University
• Healthy soils are the foundation of productive, resilient vineyards, but maximizing their potential requires more than routine management. Join Joseph Burke of Texas A&M AgriLife for a technical session designed for experienced growers seeking a deeper understanding of soil health and its role in long-term vineyard performance.
  This advanced presentation will explore the physical, chemical, and biological properties of vineyard soils and how they influence vine growth, nutrient availability, water management, and fruit quality. Attendees will gain practical insights into evaluating soil health, interpreting key indicators, and implementing management strategies that enhance vineyard resilience, sustainability, and productivity. Whether you're looking to fine-tune an established vineyard or optimize long-term performance, this session will provide science-based knowledge and actionable approaches tailored to Texas growing conditions.

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5-7pm

• 13th Annual Symposium Welcome Reception
• Palm Pavilion
• BYOW - deliver to Conference Center registration desk anytime during the day

*NOTES: session times/dates may be adjusted pending speaker schedules, session descriptions coming soon

8am - 9am

• Breakfast Tacos & Networking
• Conference Center Foyer

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9am - 10am

• TASTING
• The Tasting Room/Ballroom F
• Decanter Wines
• James Tidwell - TEXSOM/Decanter
• Description coming soon

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• BUSINESS
• Main Ballroom
• Distribution Panel
• Details & description coming soon

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• WINERY
• Limestone Ballroom
• Mastering Oxygen Management: From
  Cellar to Bottle
• Michael Barton, Signor Vineyards & Guest
• Description coming soon

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10am - 11am

• Exhibitor Break

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10:30am - 11:30am

• BUSINESS WORKSHOP
• Main Ballroom
• Train the Trainer: Building
  Intentional Tasting Room Teams
• Jennifer Beckmann, ReRooted 210
• Great hospitality starts with great leadership. Join Jennifer Beckmann of
  ReRooted 210 for an interactive workshop designed specifically for tasting room managers, owners, and hospitality leaders who want to build more confident, consistent teams. Jennifer will share her proven approach to developing effective staff training programs, with a focus on equipping managers to become exceptional trainers—not just delivering information to frontline staff. Using a mock winery brand, participants will work through the process of creating intentional training protocols, service standards, and onboarding tools before applying the framework to their own winery. Attendees will leave with a practical training blueprint they can customize and implement immediately, helping create more knowledgeable staff, more consistent guest experiences, and stronger brand ambassadors.

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• BUSINESS WORKSHOP
• The Tasting Room/Ballroom F
• Canva for Wineries: Create Better Marketing with Confidence
• Jon Ramirez, Eat It Up Marketing & Guest
• Description coming soon

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• VINEYARD WORKSHOP
• Limestone Ballroom
• Feed with Purpose: Using Vineyard
  Data to Build Smarter Fertility Programs
• Jacy Lewis, Texas A&M University & Lydia Nida, Pebble Rock Cellars & Vine to Vino Consulting
• Description coming soon

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12pm - 1:30pm

• Lunch sponsored by Berlin Packaging
• Hill Country Wine Industry Awards

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1:30pm - 2:30pm

• TASTING
• The Tasting Room/Ballroom F
• The Italian Influence: Exploring
  Italian Varietals in Texas
• Jessica Dupuy, Freelance Writer
• Description coming soon

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• WINERY
• Main Ballroom
• Building Color & Structure:
  Techniques for Long-Term Wine Quality
• Dr. Andreea Botezatu, Texas A&M University
• Color and structure are fundamental to the quality, longevity, and market appeal of red wines. Join Dr. Andreea Botezatu and a guest winemaker for a technical session exploring the science and practical application of color retention and tannin development throughout the winemaking process. Designed for winemakers and cellar staff, this session will examine the factors that influence color stability and mouthfeel, from fruit composition and fermentation practices to extraction techniques, oxygen management, and aging decisions. Combining research with real-world winery experience, presenters will share practical strategies for developing wines with greater balance, structure, and aging potential while preserving the characteristics that define exceptional Texas wines.

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• VINEYARD
• Limestone Ballroom
• Canopy Management with Purpose: Measuring and Improving Fruit Quality
• Rob Nida, Pebble Rock Cellars & Vine to Vino Consulting
• Canopy management is more than a seasonal task—it's one of the most powerful tools for influencing fruit quality. In this practical session, attendees will learn how to move beyond relying solely on winery feedback by developing a structured system for evaluating fruit quality directly in the vineyard. The session will explore how to establish a vineyard-specific fruit grading system, identify the key indicators of quality, and use those observations to guide canopy management decisions throughout the growing season. Participants will gain practical strategies for using canopy practices to improve fruit composition, consistency, and overall vineyard performance while creating a framework they can immediately implement in their own vineyards. Designed for vineyard managers, growers, and winery professionals, this session will provide actionable tools to better understand fruit quality and make more informed vineyard management decisions.

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2:30pm - 3:30pm

• Closing Panel & Symposium Close
• sponsored by Protea Financial
• Panel & description coming soon

CLICK HERE to see Speaker Bios