The World of Wine & Grapes Gathers in Sacramento for the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week Sacramento will seem like the center of the wine and grape world as the 2010 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium opens at the Sacramento Convention Center and Hyatt Regency for a four-day run from Jan. 26–29, 2010.

“This is our 16th year of hosting the event which has grown from a rather small gathering to the huge event it is today”

The event is the largest event of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and is expected to draw nearly 12,000 wine and grape industry professionals from around the world. “There is nothing that collectively showcases wine industry suppliers and invaluable business information in one place like the Unified Symposium does,” said Lyndie Boulton, executive director for American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV), which is a co-organizer with the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG).

“This is our 16^th year of hosting the event which has grown from a rather small gathering to the huge event it is today,” said Kim Ledbetter-Bronson, Board Chair of CAWG.

Each day the event opens with a general session that draws over 1,000 people. This year’s general sessions include: Tuesday - The Metrics of Business Sustainability, with an expert panel discussion on sustainability in the wine and grape industry; Wednesday - a panel of industry experts will discuss The State of the Industry; and Thursday - Looking Forward: How Consumers Find Information and Inspiration for Their Wine Purchases, were a panel of experts will explore major trends in marketing wine through the Internet.

Tuesday through Thursday afternoons offer breakout sessions, organized into four different topic categories. On Wednesday and Thursday the event hosts an industry trade show with nearly 600 exhibitors from around the world displaying their products and services to attendees on two different levels of the convention center.

This year Friday is devoted to a seminar titled High Elevation/High Latitude: Wine Growing On the Edge which examines the challenges of grape growing and wine making in these intriguing regions of the world.

The Unified Wine & Grape Symposium represents the collective experience, knowledge and background of the entire industry. For additional information and complete program detail with schedule and speakers, visit the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s Web site at www.unifiedsymposium.org.