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Faces & Forums 66 WINES&VINES March 2016 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Thousands of wine industry profession- als and suppliers flocked to Sacramento, Calif., during the final week of January for the annual rite that is the Unified Sym- posium. Highlights included a keynote luncheon address by Fred Franzia and the State of the Industry session. Fred Franzia, founder and CEO of Bronco Wine Co., delivers the keynote address on the opening day of the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. Tom Collins serves as chair of the Unified Symposium program committee. Steve Fredricks of Turrentine Brokerage shares information during the State of the Industry gen- eral session held Jan. 27 in the Hyatt Ballroom. Winemaker Alison Crowe of Plata Wine Partners moderates a water-management discussion. Edita Rodriguez of the Clever Girls Collective speaks on a sales and marketing panel titled, "How to Craft and Share Your Story." La Soirée Four student finalists from Bay Area uni- versities answered wine-related ques- tions and competed in a blind tasting during the La Soirée event hosted by the French-American Chamber of Com- merce. Wine industry professionals judged the candidates, and winners were awarded prizes from $100 to $1,000. Jacques Brix (from left), vice president and director of sales for Wines & Vines, and Louis Zandvliet, general manager of Tonnellerie Radoux, present a check to Yigit Keskin (right), winner of the Best Wine Student Competition, at the La Soirée event held in San Francisco. MBA student Peter Alig won second place in the Best Wine Student Competition, earning him a $500 prize. KEN FREEZE