Fifth Annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium Announces Prelim Program

May 6, 2009, Napa, CA (NEWS RELEASE)  – The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS), the premier event showcasing innovation and strategic use of information technology and services for the wine industry, announced a preliminary program of topics and speakers for its fifth annual conference July 16-17, 2009 at the Marriot Napa Valley.

“WITS is an opportunity to engage with peers and technology leaders to learn about new technology solutions that will benefit your business,” said Lesley P. Berglund, who co-chairs WITS with J. Smoke Wallin.

Day One: Technology Workshops

The event begins mid-day, July 16 with the following Technology Workshops:

• Web 2.0 Technology
• Consumer Compliance, PCI Compliance 2.0
• Free (or Very Low Cost) Web Technologies to Run Your Business

A private Chief Information Officer (CIO) Roundtable meeting will take place concurrent with the Technology Workshops.

The Technology Workshops are followed by a wine reception and the Technology Showcase, where a wide range of suppliers will demonstrate their products and services and mingle with winery CIOs and other attendees. The evening concludes with a VIP dinner that will attract senior executives, speakers, moderators and sponsors.

Day Two: Keynotes, Panel Discussions and Technology Showcase

Day two includes both thought-provoking ideas and practical advice from experts within and outside the wine industry. Afternoon workshops will be broken into the following tracks:

Track A: Technology Leadership

• Panel Topic 1 Topic: Business Intelligence Best Practices
• Panel Topic 2 Topic: How Cloud Computing Will Impact Winery Operations

Track B: Consumer Direct Sales

• Panel Topic 1: DTC Metrics, Benchmarks & Best Practices
• Panel Topic 2: Prescriptive Approach to Social Media Success

Track C: Trade Sales & Marketing

• Panel Topic 1: Sales Force Automation – the Latest and Greatest
• Panel Topic 2: Cracking the Code at Large Retailers

Track D: Vineyard & Winery Operations

• Panel Topic 1: Blend Management, Advances in Tank Farm Computing
• Panel Topic 2: Vineyard Data Management, Advances in Hand Held Technologies

For more information on speakers and topics, visit www.WineIndustryTechnologySymposium.com.

Registrations will be accepted online beginning May 15, 2009.

“The economic environment forces us all to think more creatively and where possible, to leverage the wealth of technology advances that can propel our companies. We’ve designed WITS to be the industry’s summit for discovering new solutions and technology tools and how others are successfully applying them,” said J. Smoke Wallin, WITS co-chair.

About Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)

The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) was created in 2005 by a group of wine industry and technology professionals. The purpose of WITS is to address the unique information technology and services needs of the wine industry. WITS is dedicated to bringing the world’s leading wineries, wholesalers and retailers together with some of the world’s leading technology experts to foster learning and discussion. Panels of experts will discuss specific examples and case studies.