Day 1: Symposium 2021 – The New Language of Wine
8:00 Pacific | Welcome Address
Linda Reiff (Napa Valley Vintners) and David Pearson (Meadowood Estate)
8:15 Pacific | Opening Keynote
Stephen Satterfield (Co-Founder, Whetstone Media)
A former sommelier, Stephen is the Co-Founder of Whetstone, a multimedia company dedicated to producing both original and commissioned content that tells the story of food. Their mission is to champion food to expand human empathy. At the core of their values: diversity isn’t just noteworthy, it’s what makes Whetstone’s work so essential, accelerating collective knowledge and empathy. Whetstone is led by women and people of color. When the gatekeepers are diverse, so too are the stories, its tellers and their experiences.
9:15-10:45 Pacific | Panel: The Language of Wine
This panel will dive into what’s behind the language of wine writing: the history, the descriptors, the social and cultural implications, and beyond. Joining moderator Erica Duecy (Pix) are Ray Isle (Food & Wine), Reva Singh (Sommelier India Wine Magazine), Jeannie Cho Lee MW (The Asian Palate), and Wanda Mann (The Somm Journal).
11:00-12:30 Pacific | Activation: Term Exploder
This panel will explore status quo descriptors and “wine speak,” revisiting some of the terminology we take for granted with the intention of making wine writing more creative, accessible, and inclusive. It will be moderated by Esther Mobley (The San Francisco Chronicle), who will be joined by Deniece Bourne (WSET Global), Regine Rousseau (Shall We Wine), Dr. Hoby Wedler (Ph.D. Chemist and Entrepreneur), and Joseph Hernandez (Research Director, Bon Appétit). This discussion will be accompanied by an at-home exercise featuring Napa Valley wines.
