If you are serious about addressing changing trends in the wine industry then Verona and wine2wine is the place to be between November 25-26.
wine2wine was first set up by the organisers of Vinitaly to offer something different to the global wine industry. It have evolved over the last six years to become part major business conference, part educational event. An opportunity to reflect, discuss and share ideas on the most important issues facing the rapidly evolving international wine industry. A forum, it claims, is the ideal platform for busy, challenged wine buyers and professionals to really get to grips with the latest commercial, viticulture, consumer and technology trends that are going to be crucial in their everyday working lives.
“In the battle to gain an edge over competitors, buyers must leverage the power of knowledge,” says the wine2wine organisers. “As well has having a sound technical knowledge of wine, buyers need to understand consumers and market drivers; they need to have access to surveys and analytics, and learn how to analyse data in order to make better decisions.”
Stevie Kim of Vinitaly was the leading force behind wine2wine being set up as a new platform to discuss world wine issues
The wine2wine agenda has been designed to provide relevant seminars and interactive workshops that focus on all of these areas.As it explains: “The wine industry is faced with both complex challenges and opportunities, linked to increasing global competition and recurrent economic crisis. It is within this broad spectrum, that we find rapid technological innovations. The wine production and distribution industry is being reshaped and organised in this ambit as well as within the sphere encompassing the value creating process, and ultimately how wine businesses interact with consumers. The aim of wine2wine is to inform, and to share ideas about how to successfully navigate these changes.”
Communications first
The demands on buyers, and their teams, have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. It is no longer about sourcing the right wine at the right price. It’s also about being on top of marketing and communication skills. It’s about branding, image and promotion. As the market around them changes, so must their buying strategies to remain relevant.
It’s why the line up of wine2wine speakers cover such a wide range of expertise. This year’s topics. for example, will focus on a wide range of subjects from neuroscience research, digital analytics, to communication strategies and brand creation.
As wine2wine explains: “Marketing wine has become more complex with the emergence of new global markets, diverse consumers and the prominence of e-commerce, requiring context-specific strategies. Communication sessions will answer various questions such as: ‘How do we communicate the story of our wines more effectively?’; ‘What communication and event strategies are proving to be successful nowadays?’; ‘What should be placed on the frontline while communicating about wine?’.
Digital wine expert Paul Mabray of Emetry will once again be sharing his insights at wine2wine
Local knowledge
Wine buying conditions differ differently depending on the market you are operating in. The event will take a closer look at how some of these markets work. Perhaps one of the more baffling is the Scandinavian world of state monopolies like Sweden’s Systembolaget. To show how it works wine2wine2019 will host a simulated tender tasting hosted by the company’s head of product quality control,Jonas Röjerman.
Other global sessions will also look at wine buying in a range of markets including Canada, Japan, India, and Macao.
Being sustainable
wine2wine 2019’s special theme is social sustainabilityin the wine industry with a series of talks and seminars looking at what is being done, could be done and should be done. In particular it wants to focus on what benefits and help wine buyers can offer their customers, be it retailers, restaurants, bars or hotels, offer a more sustainable wine range and communicate it to their consumers.
To help do so wine2wine has devised a sustainability agenda featuring speakers including: Yannick Benjamin, a wheelchair sommelier who co-founded Wheeling Forward, a nonprofitbusiness to help people with disabilities achieve their goals; Kristina Kelley from E&H Gallo Winery who will look at ‘Why Corporate Social Responsibility Matters’; Julia Coney and Elaine Chukan Brown will examine‘Responsibility in Wine Communication’; and Robert Joseph will discuss ‘Different Models of Sustainability and their Value for your Wine Business’.
Sustainability will be one of the key themes at this year’s wine2wine
Who you know
Wine buying is also very much about who you know, so the wine2wine event is designed to offer networking opportunities for those who have travelled in from around the world. A forum of professionals that come from a wide range of backgrounds including small and medium-sized wineries, independent producers, big brands, generic bodies, service providers, wine consultants and media.
- wine2wine takes place November 25-26 at Veronafiere’s Palaexpo, Italy. For further information, full programme and tickets visit the wine2wine website.
