Looking Back at 2014
The year that is just ending was full of interesting experiences, many of which were reported here. I was fortunate to be asked to speak at wine gatherings in five U.S. states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Virginia) and four foreign countries (South Africa, Portugal, Italy and the U.K.).
The largest audience was over 2000 persons at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s “State of the Industry” session. The smallest? Well, just a handful of people braved the harsh weather to come out for one local bookstore event earlier in the year, but they made up for small numbers with mighty enthusiasm.
The happiest audience? It would be hard to top the crowd that attended a Seattle World Affairs Council “extreme wine” dinner talk in February. Great food, wine and people and lots of extreme wine stories to tell. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to come to one of my talks whether the audience is big or small.
Looking Forward to 2015
2015 looks like it will be a busy year, too. I’ll be returning to the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium next month to contribute to the “State of the Industry” panel. Then I go north to Alaska to do two events in support of global education there. I’ll give a Wine Wars s talk for the Juneau World Affairs Council on February 11, 2015 and then forge on to Anchorage for an Extreme Wine fund-raising dinner event on February 12 for the Alaska World Affairs Council. I’m proud to help support global education through these World Affairs Council events.
One of the things I enjoy the most is speaking to regional wine groups, trying to bring a global perspective to their local discussions and discourage intellectual “cellar palate.” This year I’m fortunate to be talking to the Idaho Wine Commission annual meeting in Boise on February 17 & 18, 2015 (here is the agenda) before going on the the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario “Insight 2015″ conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario on March 3, 2015. Both of these regions produce some stunning wines and are seek to attract the recognition they deserve. I’ll try to give them some food for thought.
On the publishing front, a new book is scheduled for 2015. , Money, Taste & Wine: It’s Complicated, will appear in August 2015. Yes, Amazon will let you pre-order that! And there’s a paperback version of Extreme Wine in the wings, too. Looks like a busy year already and it hasn’t even officially started!
Best wishes to Wine Economist readers. I wish you all health, happiness and great wine in the New Year. Cheers!
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Here’s a short video of highlights from Wine Vision 2014 that’s just been released. Thought you’d find it interesting.
