wine2wine 2018 dates and schedule announced

The 2018 wine2wine forum is due to be held at the Veronafiere Congress Centre on 26 and 27 November with a line-up including CEO of Krug, Maggie Henriquez, Sarah Heller MW and president of GuildSomm, Geoff Kruth MS.

Krug’s CEO Maggie Henriquez will give the keynote address

Now in its fifth year, wine2wine is open to members of the wine trade and covers topics including digital innovation, communications, marketing, exports, market focuses and sustainability.

Henriquez will kick off proceedings with a keynote address entitled ‘Luxury brand communication and women’s leadership’ in which she will explore how digital tools and storytelling techniques are best integrated into promotion and brand communication.

Sarah Heller MW, who is based in Hong Kong, will focus on how younger female Asian consumers are driving growth in the wine sector and will discuss how Italian producers can ensure their promotional content resonates with these drinkers.

President of GuildSomm, Geoff Kruth MS, will speak about sommeliers and their influence on the US market, addressing the how sommeliers add value to restaurants and how to boost their profile through social media.

This year the talks will be in a new 45-minute format, consisting of a 30-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute Q&A.

Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly International, commented: “Every year we are striving to make slight but significant changes deriving mostly from requests we gathered directly from participants to the previous edition. We are especially mindful of the concept “WIIFM – What’s In It For Me,” since our main purpose is to give attendees solid takeaways to improve their business.”

Among the producers due to take part are Valentina Argiolas (Argiolas Winery), Matteo Lunelli (FerrariTrento), Andrea Sartori (Sartori Wines), Ettore Nicoletto (Santa Margherita Group), Jose Rallo (Donnafugata) and Carlo Franchetti (Franchetti Wines).

Other speakers at the event include: Lynne Sherriff MW; Lady Penguin, top Chinese wine influencer; Lorenzo Montagna, founder of SecondStarVR; Marino Braccu, general manager at 8 1/2 Bombana; Paul Mabray, CEO at Emetry; Ayana Misawa. winemaker at Grace Winery; Sue Tolson, wine writer and editor; Armando Corsi, senior marketing scientist, and Xiaohan Zhang, marketing director at Zacky’s China.

Other sessions due to be held include: ‘Cannabis, beer and gin, and experiential marketing: the challenges and opportunities the wine industry faces today’; ‘Brazil, the real deal: opportunities and pitfalls of an alluring country’, and ‘How to be listed in a Michelin-starred restaurant’.

For further information, please visit the wine2wine website.