9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Pre-Fermentation Must Adjustments – General Winemaking
A balanced must is critical to making good wine. You’ll learn how to both test and make adjustments as needed. Getting the pH, Brix, tannins, and other structural elements in harmony before you begin fermentation is a critical first step you need to master. Pro winemaker and testing equipment expert Dr. Richard Sportsman will guide you through the important steps to create better balance in your must.
Richard Sportsman, Ph.D.
President, Vinmetrica
President and Winemaker, Little Oaks Winery
5 Biggest Grape Growing Mistakes – Grape Growing
Learn the five most common mistakes home grape growers make and how to avoid these roadblocks to harvesting better fruit. Longtime “Backyard Vines” Columnist Wes Hagen will share his decades of experience interacting with hobby vineyard owners to steer you clear of mistakes that can avoided making sure you are giving your grapes the best chance to grow into great wine after all your hard work. Leave this session with a roadmap leading you through the small-scale grape growing danger zones.
Wes Hagen
Wine Sales, Native9 Wines, Ranchos de Ontiveros Wines, and Alta Maria Vineyards
“Backyard Vines” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
Award-Winning White Winemaking Panel – General Winemaking
A panel of award-winning hobby winemakers of white wines from the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition will share their advice and tips for success when making white wines from grapes. Find out from your fellow home winemakers about their techniques to help you create your own award-winning white wines.
Moderator: Dawson Raspuzzi
Editor, WineMaker Magazine
10:30 – 11:00 AM
WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Accentuated Cut Edge Extraction – Advanced Winemaking
Accentuated Cut Edge extraction is a new theory of grape processing that can impact both red and white wines. Grapes put into a traditional crusher- destemmer often only one edge breaking down the grapes into must. This new technique first written about by Dr. Richard Smart uses multiple edges to break up the grape skin more with positive results in final wine’s structure and aroma. Clark Smith will walk you through the latest data and how you can adapt this new technique as a home winemaker.
Clark Smith
Author, Postmodern Winemaking
Winemaker, WineSmith Wines
Wine Troubleshooting Q&A – General Winemaking
Home winemakers have lots of questions about when things go wrong. Here’s your chance to have two winemaking experts help troubleshoot any problems you faced making your own wine. You’ll not only get answers to your own questions, but you’ll learn from the answers to your fellow attendee winemaking questions.
Maureen Macdonald Bob Peak
Winemaker, Hawk Ridge Winery Technical Editor and “Techniques” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine “Varietal Focus” Columnist,
WineMaker Magazine
Going Pro & Starting a Winery
Quite a few WineMaker readers dream one day of opening their own small winery. So we’ve invited a couple who actually took the big step of launching a winery to share their personal experiences and advice on the journey from hobbyist to winery owner. Jenny and Marcus Meadows-Smith decided to turn their love for wine into launching Great Bear Vineyards in Davis, California. Along the way they learned lessons on both the winemaking and business side of running a small winery. If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of opening your own small winery, don’t miss this opportunity to hear this first-person account.
Jenny and Marcus Meadows-Smith
Winemakers and Owners, Great Bear Vineyards
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Lunch & Keynote: WineMaker Columnists on Hot Wine Topics – Group Interactive WorkshopListen in as four WineMaker Magazine Columnists tackle a variety of winemaking topics from new techniques to style trends and more. The old joke goes, when you get four winemakers together on stage you’ll probably end up with six different opinions when a wine topic is discussed. This is a fun chance to get to know WIneMaker writers in person outside of their writing over the years.
Chik Brenneman
Winemaker and Partner, Baker Family Wines
“Advanced Winemaking” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
Chik Brenneman
Winemaker and Partner, Baker Family Wines
“Advanced Winemaking” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
Wes Hagen
Wine Sales, Native9 Wines, Ranchos de Ontiveros Wines, and Alta Maria Vineyards
“Backyard Vines” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
Maureen Macdonald
Winemaker, Hawk Ridge Winery
“Varietal Focus” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
Bob Peak
Technical Editor and “Techniques” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
1:30 – 2 PM
WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from the hobby’s top vendors.
2 – 3 PM
Choosing the Right Yeast Strain – General Winemaking
There are dozens and dozens of different wine yeast strain available to home winemakers. How do you know which one is right for your wine? What should you consider when selecting a yeast strain to add to your must? Get helpful advice on understanding how to make the right choice for your wine from pro winemaker and WIneMaker Magazine Columnist Maureen Macdonald.
Maureen Macdonald
Winemaker, Hawk Ridge Winery
“Varietal Focus” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
WineMaker Magazine
Preparing for a Wine Competition – General Winemaking
Entering wine competitions can be a great way to improve your winemaking with feedback on your wines from experts. Learn valuable tips on how to get the most you can from your wine competition experiences from a trained judge (who may have even scored your wine at a past WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition!) Leah Stafford knows both sides of the wine competition world as both an award-winning home winemaker with her husband as well as judging many amateur and commercial wine events. Learn that it can be much more than just sending your bottles in with a form if you want to maximize the learning potential on your entries.
Leah Stafford
American Wine Society Certified Judge, WSET3, Sommelier
Grape Growing Q & A – Grape Growing
Bring your best backyard grape growing questions to this session featuring our longtime “Backyard Vines” Columnist and viticulture expert Wes Hagen. Wes is ready to share his expertise fielding your questions for one hour and help you troubleshoot your home vineyard problems as you learn from his decades of hands-on grape growing knowledge.
Wes Hagen
Wine Sales, Native9 Wines, Ranchos de Ontiveros Wines, and Alta Maria Vineyards
“Backyard Vines” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine
3 – 3:30 PM
WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.
3 – 3:30 PM
WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.
3:30 – 4:30 PM
WineMaker Table Topic Breakouts – Group Interactive Workshop
Learn from each other in two different ways! First, you’ll pick a winemaking topic of interest to you and then spend 30 minutes with other home winemakers who share that same interest to facilitate discussions. Then for the last 30 minutes you’ll sit with another group of winemakers to explore a second topic of interest to you.
6:30 – 9:30 PM
2025 WineMaker Competition Awards Dinner
Find out first who is a medalist in the world’s largest competition for hobby winemakers. What wines will be judged the best for 2025? The official results will be revealed for the very first time and any winners in attendance will be recognized and come up to receive their medals in person. Click here to register for this awards dinner!
Please note: You will need to register for this separate ticketed event if you want to attend this Saturday night dinner since it is not included in the general conference. Space is limited and this dinner has regularly sold out in the past.
