The Future of Wine
Not since the Great Recession has the wine industry been in such a flux state. Climate challenges, a worldwide pandemic, the shifting demographic landscape, and general market confusion are impacting wine businesses of all sizes. The future of our industry no longer depends on simply having bottles of great wine on hand to sell. We need big ideas to inspire our teams, our customers, and our bottom line. This session offered the opportunity to engage with leading thinkers and practitioners in three key areas of the wine business: Culture, Technology, and Operations. The Future of Wine is here.
Speakers Bio
Andrew Smith grew up in the Midwest, discovering wine through university studies in philosophy, history, and religion. The world of wine opened further after moving to Seattle in the mid-2000s, working in restaurant management, and receiving his Diploma from the International Sommelier Guild. In 2011, Andrew left restaurants to pursue winemaking, and worked in wineries in Washington, Oregon, and Australia before settling in the Willamette Valley. After winemaking and sales roles at Harper Voit and Soter Vineyards, Andrew became the winemaker and general manager at Antiquum Farm, a leader in regenerative farming. In 2018, Andrew founded Fallbright Solutions, a strategic management firm that partners with wineries to provide purposeful solutions. Initially focused on winemaking consultation, the organization quickly expanded to provide marketing & sales support, product design & development, and ongoing guidance for wine businesses. In 2021, with the dual impacts of COVID-19 and a devastating wildfire season, a strategic vision was developed for a full suite of services to enable clients to move faster, increase market share, and create sustainable businesses for the long term. The heart of that vision is to transform wineries to values-driven platforms connecting stakeholders to the value-network of a winery’s ecosystem.
Paul Mabray has been a powerful change agent in the wine industry for over twenty years. He has been at the forefront of all major digital trends for the wine industry, working with WineShopper.com and Wine.com when they entered the wine-digital space. He founded two companies that significantly changed the digital US wine landscape, first by introducing winery e-commerce with Inertia Beverage Group now WineDirect.com pioneering winery e-commerce and then again introducing social media and social customer relationship management with VinTank.com. He now leads the world’s first wine discovery platform, Pix (pix.wine). He is considered the wine industry’s foremost futurist and thought leader, harnessing the power and potential of digital tools and methodologies to move the industry into the future.
Justin Noland is the Senior Director of DTC Marketing and E-Commerce at Treasury Wine Estates, one of the global leaders in wine. From the start of Justin’s career in wine, he has worked to bring digital transformation to marketing and consumer experiences. Working with an incredible team, he is helping to enable new technology and build better ways to connect with customers online. With vast experience in marketing, Justin specializes in a channel-agnostic approach to digital marketing, giving brands the opportunity to deepen their engagement with a consumer, try new things online, learn through data, and support the customer towards the purchase path of their choice. He is a marketing leader with a vision to drive positive change in the wine industry and help new generations of wine drinkers engage with brands through digitally native channels.
Ikimi Dubose-Woodson, destined to be a lawyer to help her Brooklyn community, Ikimi ended up in culinary school by accident. Ikimi attended Johnson & Wales University, and after graduation and traveled the world studying culture through food. She lead culinary and management teams at sports organizations, restaurant groups, and prestigious educational institutions. After leading the largest sustainable food initiative on Capitol Hill, Ikimi rediscovered her passion to mentor the next generation. In August 2017, in conjunction with Lifeworks Restaurant Group, she designed, and opened LEO MKT, a food hall in Washington, DC, focusing on cuisines around the world. In 2020, Ikimi co-founded The Roots Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities for communities of color throughout the wine industry. She currently runs the organization as Executive Director and has overseen the more than 155 scholars. She is known for her ability to create managers, lead large teams, encourage growth of women, and minorities.
