Wine regions worldwide are grappling with climate change, all while trying to distinguish themselves for being excellent stewards of the land and producing quality wine. A challenge to be sure. Those who excel in both areas, however, have an opportunity to showcase their work to a powerful wine enthusiast traveler who prioritizes that positive impact over price per bottle. Join this panel of national experts as they discuss the future opportunities when building a sustainability narrative into your wine tourism marketing strategy.
Moderated by: Shannon Brock, Co-owner and Estate Manager, Silver Thread Vineyard
Pamela Lanier, Founder, Sonoma Sustainable Tourism Observatory
Lisa Francioni, Program Director, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
Shannon Brock, Co-owner and Estate Manager, Silver Thread Vineyard
Shannon Brock is co-owner and estate manager at Silver Thread Vineyard, a boutique winery in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She and her husband have owned the winery since 2011 and have worked to cement its reputation as one of the top quality producers in the Finger Lakes. They have also continued Silver Thread's position a leader in sustainable and organic farming.
She holds the level 4 Diploma in Wine & Spirits through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) of London, England, and is a WSET Certified Educator. She spent many years as a full-time wine instructor at New York Wine & Culinary Center before coming to Silver Thread.
Shannon’s areas of particular interest include pairing New York wines with local foods, improving the quality of people’s wine experiences in tasting rooms and restaurants, and understanding New York wines in a global context.
Pamela Lanier, Founder, Sonoma Sustainable Tourism Observatory
Pamela Lanier is the author of 20 travel titles and textbooks in 140 editions.
Over the past 12 years, Pamela has been very involved in ecotourism and sustainable travel, leading presentations at the World Conservation Congress in Honolulu; World Wilderness Congress in Salamanca, Spain; World Travel Market, London, and World Parks Congress, Sydney, amongst one-hundred and thirty conference presentations worldwide.
She is a National Geographic Geo Ambassador, and is a member of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). She is the co-founder of EcoGo.org, a one-stop resource for ecotravel news, lodgings, and more, to help you have fun and travel green!
Her latest titles include Sustainable Tourism: a Small Business Handbook for Success, The Good Company: Sustainability in Hospitality, Tourism, and Wine, and Healthy Vines, Pure Wines: Methods in Organic, Biodynamic®, Natural and Sustainable Viticulture.
Lisa Francioni, Program Director, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
Lisa Francioni is Program Director for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes environmental stewardship and social responsibility in the state’s wine community. She has been integral in implementing the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program, a voluntary educational program for California wineries and vineyards, since 2005 and directs the third-party certification program, Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing. She leads the development of educational workshops and events and works closely with expert partners, winegrowers, wineries, winegrower associations, and agricultural professionals to develop sustainable winegrowing tools and educational resources. Previously, Lisa served as Environmental Affairs Coordinator at Wine Institute, a public policy advocacy association of more than 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses. She received a Master's of Science in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco, and a BA in Environmental Studies and a BA in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.