• 2027 Hill Country Wine Symposium
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2027 Hill Country Wine Symposium

Join us for the 13th Annual Hill Country Wine Symposium!

This highly anticipated event spans two immersive days, offering an array of engaging seminars, enlightening lectures, and thought-provoking panel discussions. With over 20 sessions meticulously curated across three dedicated tracks —Vineyard, Winery, and Business, —the Symposium provides a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the wine industry through tastings, breakouts and workshops, as we focus on the theme:

The Texas Wine Standard: Defining Excellence in Quality, Hospitality & Business


Join us January 11-13, 2027 at Horseshoe Bay Resort

$375.00
$375.00
2027 Hill Country Wine Symposium

Established in 2015, this event features seminars, lectures, panel discussions, and an intimate trade show designed to foster meaningful relationships among winemakers, grape growers, and tasting room associates. Beyond networking, attendees can renew friendships, build new connections, and actively exchange ideas and insights that directly impact their work and success.  

CHANGES in 2027

Workshops.

Join us for 6 workshops for more actionable takeaways based on the "I do, We do, You do" concept, leaving wineries with more take away items to implement into your business right away. There will be 3 workshops each day (Tuesday & Wednesday) focused on Business and Vineyard topics.

Tastings.

Definitely not new and still using the Tasting Room model. Tasting focuses will be much more intentional for both winemakers and front of house.

Schedule.

Based on feedback, we're bringing the Annual Symposium Reception back to the TENT! And, moving it back to Tuesday night. The Symposium Dinner will adopt a new, more interactive concept on Monday night and the BIG reception will be on Tuesday night again.

2026 Event Agenda

  • Monday

    January 11

    12pm: Exhibitor Setup

    3pm: Early check-in

    4pm-5:30pm: Workshop TBA

    6:30pm: Symposium Dinner

  • Conf.app Symposium App

    The Symposium will be using the Conf.app platform again to help you navigate the event. The app will include all session details, speaker info, sponsor and exhibitor contacts and more.

    Download now to get your account set up, and plan out your schedule.

    Symposium App

  • Tuesday

    January 12

    9am: Welcome

    9:30am: Keynote Speaker

    10:30am: Exhibitor Break

    11am: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

    12pm: Lunch & Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Awards

    1:30pm: 3 Workshop Sessions

    3pm: Exhibitor Break

    3:30pm: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

    5-7pm: 13th Annual Symposium Reception - BYOW

  • Wednesday

    January 13

    8am: Breakfast Tacos & Networking

    9am: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

    10am: Exhibitor Break

    10:30am: 3 Workshop Sessions

    12pm: Lunch & Hill Country Wine Industry Awards

    1:30pm: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

    2:30pm: Closing Panel & Symposium Close

2027 Educational Sessions Agenda

Sessions in the works

  • Monday Workshop: TABC
  • Keynote: Matthew Brown, The Virginia Wine Coalition
  • Tasting Business: Decanter Awards, James Tidwell
  • Tasting Business: Italian Varietals in Texas, Jessica Dupuy
  • Tasting Winery: Wine Faults, Dr. Andreea Botezatu
  • Tasting Winery: Defining Excellence in Wine Production: A Metric to Successfully Compete with Outside Markets, Dan & Spencer Gatlin & Daniel Pate
  • Business Breakout: Andrew Kamphuis, Commerce7 - The Future of Wine DTC Is Intelligent: How Top Wineries Use Customer Data to Build Loyalty and Grow Sales
  • Business Breakout: Distribution
  • Winery Breakout: Oxygen Management
  • Winery Breakout: Color Retention & Structure Development, Dr. Andreea Botezatu & Winemaker
  • Winery Breakout: Vineyard to Cellar Communications panel
  • Vineyard Breakout: Canopy Management, Rob Nida
  • Vineyard Breakout: Soil Health
  • Vineyard Breakout: Pruning, Lydia Nida
  • Business Workshop: Creating Tech Sheets & Tasting Notes, Kelsey Kramer
  • Business Workshop: Staff Training, Jennifer Beckmann
  • Business Workshop: Social Media, Caroline Bradley
  • Business Workshop: Canva
  • Vineyard Workshop: TBA
  • Vineyard Workshop: TBA
  • Closing Panel: TBA

Monday, January 11

  • 12pm-5pm - Exhibitor Check In & Setup - Conference Center

  • 3pm-5pm - Attendee Early Check-in - Conference Center

  • 4pm-5:30pm: Workshop in Limestone. Details coming soon.

  • 6:30pm: Symposium Dinner

Tuesday, January 12

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

9am: Welcome, Main Ballroom - THCW Staff, Board & Presenting Sponsor

9:30am

  • Keynote, Main Ballroom

10:30am: Exhibitor Break

11am: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting

  • Tasting, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F
  • Breakout, Main Ballroom
  • Breakout, Limestone Ballroom

12pm:

  • Lunch
  • Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Awards

1:30pm: 3 Workshop Sessions

  • Workshop 1, Main Ballroom
  • Workshop 2, Limestone Ballroom
  • Workshop 3, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F

3pm: Exhibitor Break

3:30pm: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting

  • Tasting, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F
  • Breakout, Main Ballroom
  • Breakout, Limestone Ballroom

5-7pm: 13th Annual Symposium Welcome Reception - BYOW

Wednesday, January 13

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

8am: Breakfast Tacos & Networking

9am: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

  • Tasting, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F
  • Breakout, Main Ballroom
  • Breakout, Limestone Ballroom

10am: Exhibitor Break

10:30am: 3 Workshop Sessions

  • Workshop 4, Main Ballroom
  • Workshop 5, Limestone
  • Workshop 6, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F

12pm:

  • Lunch
  • Hill Country Wine Industry Awards

1:30pm: 2 Breakout Sessions & 1 Tasting Session

  • Tasting, The Tasting Room in Ballroom F
  • Breakout, Main Ballroom
  • Breakout, Limestone Ballroom

2:30pm: Closing Panel & Symposium Close

Speaker Bios

CLICK HERE to see Speaker Bios

Registration At A Glance

Need Lodging?

Enjoy a stay at Horseshoe Bay Resort - Texas’ premier AAA four-diamond lake and golf resort featuring 72 holes of award-winning Robert Trent Jones golf, full-service marina, spa, tennis and waterfront dining on the shores of Lake LBJ.

A group room rate has be set up for this event - use links below to book
Please note rates expire December 20, 2026. Book early to guarantee your discount.

Please use the ADD A NOTE TO YOUR ORDER box in the Cart to enter the business name for your registration and all other names for additional attendee registrations on the same order.

No refunds available after December 15, 2026

MEDIA - contact us for media rate

  • The Symposium Dinner will still feature wines from the 2026 THCW Board of Directors wineries, stories, laughs and perfect pairings.

    But, it won't be the same sit-down, paired dinner you're used to. The Symposium Committee, THCW Team & HSBR Staff are working to bring you something new, engaging and affordable.

    All proceeds benefit the Texas Hill Country Wine Scholarship Program.

    Monday, January 11

    More details coming soon!

  • 2027 Symposium Dinner

    MENU

    Coming soon!

Texas Hill Country Wine Scholarships & Industry Awards

As part of the Symposium, we have curated special presentations during the two lunch breaks. These will include the 2026 Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Awards and THCW Industry Awards.

The THCW Industry Awards will honor 4 industry members with the Tall Texan Lifetime Achievement Award, Gilstrap Innovator Award, Wine Industry Person of the Year Award and Bunny Becker Women in Wine Award. Recipients are nominated by THCW Members and selected by the THCW Board of Directors.

The Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship awards celebrate the achievements of Texas students pursuing fields related to the wine industry and THCW Industry Awards, honoring those who do so much for Texas wine. To date, we have awarded over $123K in scholarships, empowering the next generation of wine industry professionals across the state. Learn more about the THCW Scholarship Fund.

Symposium Event App

Download Conf.app and go to 2027 Hill Country Wine Symposium to get the Symposium agenda and more at your fingertips throughout the whole event.

COMING SOON

Thank You 2027 Sponsors

2027 Exhibitors

  • Berlin Packaging
  • Bracero Group
  • Bucher Vaslin
  • Cadus
  • experi
  • Knights Grapevine Nursery
  • OI Packaging
  • Saverglass
  • Scott Lab
  • SensorInsight
  • Trysk Print Solutions
  • WISE
Sponsor & Exhibitor Registration

Event Staff

  • Executive Director & Sponsorships
    January Wiese

    Event Coordinator, Social Media
    Reagan Ramsey

  • Comms. Coordinator & Exhibitors
    Kate LaFleur


    Photographer
    To be announced

  • Symposium Committee Chairs
    Amber Saidler & Elisa Jones

    Wine Coordinator
    To be announced

  • On-site Staff

    To be announced