Dr. Damien Wilson, Hamel Family Chair of Wine Business at the Wine Business Institute, will lead a panel of experts in a discussion about wine tourism.
The DTC Wine Symposium is presented by and a fundraiser for Free the Grapes! The event has raised more than $1 million for Free the Grapes' PR campaign, and the Coalition for Free Trade's legal work (CFT "retired" in 2014 after achieving its goals). These two groups have worked closely with industry lobbyists and regional associations to streamline onerous shipping regulations and to increase the number of legal states from 17 to 45 which represent 94% of the US population. The conference is the primary fundraiser for Free the Grapes! which executes state-specific advocacy campaigns encouraging consumers to write their legislators, and working with media and advocacy groups to keep the issue alive.
The 2018 DTC Wine Symposium last January attracted another sold-out group of wine club, tasting room, marketing and DTC managers from 19 states and four countries. Along with speakers, volunteers and sponsors, nearly 500 execs packed the Hilton Concord hotel for a 2-day program of five keynotes, seven sponsor sessions, seven workshop sessions and four Town Hall sessions. In our post-event survey, 105 respondents gave high marks: 96% recommend the summit; 86% graded it as either "excellent" or "good."
