The preliminary agenda for Wine Vision 2014 has been announced and I am excited to be included in the list of presenters. The event will be in London from 17-19 November. Click here for more information and to receive updates about the event. You can view videos of Wine Vision 2013 here.

Wine Vision is meant to be an opportunity for members of the global wine business community to come together to think about the challenges and opportunities that the wine business faces today and consider how best to prepare for the changing future industry environment.

We speakers have been challenged to throw out ideas that will challenge the conventional wisdom, sharpen thinking and stimulate discussion. I have been asked to help set the scene by analyzing the state of the global industry today and, since the next speaker,  Jean-Guillaume Prats, President and CEO, Moët Hennessy Estates & Wines, will be talking about the future of wine I decided to look at the present from a slightly different angle that I hope will generate some interesting insights. Here’s the description of my talk — what do you think? (You can read more about my presentation here.)

An unlikely future? Today’s wine world – and the forces that shaped it

Fifty years ago it would have been hard to predict the world of wine we live in today. In this presentation one of the world’s most provocative commentators will consider both its most surprising characteristics and the historical forces that have shaped it. Mike will challenge conventional thinking and suggest new ways to predict the future based on a fresh interpretation of the past. He’ll shake up the way we see the wine world – both as it is today and might be tomorrow – with topics that include:

• Redrawing the wine map – who makes it, buys it and drinks it, and why the market’s borders have shifted so dramatically
• Lost in translation – the wine world’s lingua franca has changed dramatically, how did that happen and what are the implications?
• Deconstructing disintermediation – how market structures have shifted and where power lies today
• New friends, new foes – in a complex competitive landscape, who are the enemies and allies for today’s wine makers?

The program is still coming together — I’ll provide occasional updates as news is released. In the meantime, here is the current speaker/panelist list  and here is a link to the current agenda. Hope to see you in London!

Jean-Guillaume Prats, President and CEO, Moët Hennessy Estates & Wines
Dan Jago, UK and Group Wine Director, Tesco Stores PLC
Mike Ratcliffe, Managing Director, Warwick Wine Estate and co-founder and Managing Partner of Vilafonté
Kevin Shaw, Founder and CEO, Stranger & Stranger
Tyler Balliet, President and Founder, The Second Glass and Wine Riot
Mike Veseth, The Wine Economist
Prof Charles Spence, Head of Crossmodal Lab, Oxford University
Prof Barry Smith, Director, Institute of Philosophy, University of London’s School of Advanced Study
Dominique Persoone, The ‘Shock-o-latier’, Founder, The Chocolate Line
David Schuemann, Owner and Creative Director, CF Napa Brand Design
Robin Copestick, Managing Director, I heart wine – Copestick Murray
Jonny Forsyth, Global Drinks Analyst, Mintel
Barry Clark, The Future Foundation
Mike Greene, founder of Him!, business mentor and author of ‘Into the Eye of the Storm’