Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/331901
8 W i n e s & V i n e s J U LY 2 0 1 4 a good conference is like a magazine, but even better because it's alive and kicking. Where a magazine de- pends on good writers and well-chosen topics, a con- ference requires good speakers and well-chosen top- ics. A well-balanced magazine provides readers with news and information, and it allows advertisers to reach the readers, too. At a conference and trade show, a similar exchange occurs, only it's up close and personal. The parallels are interesting to me as our staff prepares for the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference hap- pening Aug. 20 in Napa, Calif. Our team has put together a very focused one-day program for winery person- nel, covering innovations in wine packaging materials, design and application. The goal is to help our readers understand and use these in- novations to improve their sales and profits while maintaining or improv- ing wine quality. Come and spend the day with us. You will get a better grasp of what's new in packaging and how to take ad- vantage of it in a single day than you would in weeks of web searching. We will connect the dots between packag- ing and sales, and cover glass, labels, screen-printing, closures, anti-counter- feiting technology and "Learning to Love Bottling Day." The speakers include veteran wine- makers like Doug Fletcher of Terlato Family Wines and Greg Kitchens of Don Sebastiani & Sons, winery executives David Pearson of Opus One, John Conover of Plumpjack, CADE and Odette; coopera- tive extension specialist Anita Oberholster from the University of California, Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology; Don Neel of Practical Winery & Vineyard and several more. Learn while enjoying the company of your peers in the inspiring, spacious ambi- ence of 500 First St. (the former Copia building in Napa). An easy-to-navigate trade show featuring the makers of packaging supplies and services will run before, after and concurrently with our seven conference sessions, so you will be able to see and touch what's new while meeting people from those companies who can help you update and improve your winery's packaging. Consider this your invitation to attend. A light breakfast, full lunch and keg wine tasting are included in the $195 registration fee. Learn more and register at winesandvines.com/events/wvpack. The Technology Issue This being the 10th annual Technology Issue, I recommend that you read the first part of Dr. Richard Carey's series about winery and vineyard database management, which begins on page 30. In this opener, winemaker and long-time technology advocate Carey sketches the big challenges that wineries face in assembling data about their operations but especially in using that data construc- tively once it is captured. Taking advantage of your data should be the goal, but so many businesses seem only to collect the numbers and never take the time to investigate what the numbers are saying. That's where software comes in. Carey sketches out the various challenges and their potential solutions in this installment, and he will go into much more detail in future issues. Another article about technol- ogy addresses mostly tools made of steel rather than computer code. On page 37, Charles "Chik" Brenneman of UC Davis leads you on a tour of multiple new technologies for wine- making and grapegrowing that can help improve the quality of your grapes or wine, however you may define quality. Finally, the Technical Review this month (page 40) looks closely at the Villa San-Juliette winery near Paso Robles, Calif. Associate editor Andrew Adams relates how wine- maker Matt Ortman had to hit the ground running when he joined the fast-growing winery in 2012, cre- ating new crush and fermentation workflows in time for the 2013 har- vest. Labor-saving technology was a key part of his plan, as you will read. goodbye, Inquiring Winemaker When the May issue went to press we had no idea that the Inquiring Winemaker column printed in that edition would be Tim Patterson's last. Our friend and colleague passed away May 17 after 11 years of superlative writing for Wines & Vines. And if you haven't read that column, I strongly urge you to read it now. Titled "In Search of Grapevines and Terroir," it is the best and clearest review of the myths and misunderstandings about terroir that I have ever read. I wrote an obituary about Tim (page 21) that tries to summarize his career as a wine writer. Still, it is impossible to convey how im- portant Tim was to the magazine and how much we on the maga- zine staff—and many of you readers—will miss him. E D I T o R ' S L E T T E R you will get a better grasp of what's new in packaging and how to take advantage of it in a single day. Don't Miss our Packaging Conference Learn about innovations that improve sales and maintain quality control