In a wine industry that’s shifting faster than ever, timing has become just as critical as talent. Market dynamics are evolving month to month. Consumer behavior is changing in ways that challenge long-standing assumptions. New technologies are reshaping how we grow, produce, package, and sell wine.
For professionals working to stay ahead, the question isn’t whether continuous learning is important—it’s whether you’re learning at the speed the industry now demands.
That’s why the 13th Annual North Coast Wine Industry Expo (WIN Expo), happening Thursday, December 4, 2025 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA, isn’t just another industry gathering — it’s one of the few moments each year when the core of the North Coast wine industry convenes in one place.
The Power of Real-Time Knowledge
Reports and webinars are helpful — but they recap what has already happened.
Tomorrow, you get something different: information and insights as they’re emerging.
With nearly 300 exhibitors showcasing new equipment, technology, packaging, automation, sustainability solutions, vineyard tools, and production innovations, the Expo floor gives you a firsthand look at what suppliers are prioritizing for 2025–2026.
The conference program spans Winemaking & Production, Viticulture, Sales & Marketing, and Leadership, offering workshops on everything from vineyard robotics and climate adaptation strategies to consumer trend data, brand positioning, and operational efficiency. These aren’t theoretical concepts — they’re discussions grounded in what people are facing right now in cellars, vineyards, and tasting rooms.
If you want to understand the actual problems, opportunities, and emerging solutions shaping the North Coast wine landscape, this is the place to hear it first.
Access to People You Don’t Normally Reach
Some of the most valuable industry knowledge isn’t published — it’s shared quietly:
- in the hallway after a session
- during a trial tasting
- walking the floor with a vendor
- talking with a speaker you normally don’t get face time with
These moments can lead to clarity on a production challenge, advice on a career step, or a connection that grows into a collaboration or an opportunity.
Tomorrow’s Exhibit Hall Trial Tastings, running from 10:15 am to 3:00 pm, are a perfect example: hands-on, comparison-based evaluations of products and methods you’d never fully understand from a PDF or a webinar.
Those exchanges — the ones that shift how you think or how you work — only happen in person.
The Advantage of Showing Up
Presence compounds. Being physically at WIN Expo:
- puts you in proximity to leaders who don’t have time for cold outreach
- helps you build name recognition within your professional community
- signals that you’re engaged and actively investing in your career
- exposes you to opportunities — partnerships, vendors, roles — you can’t predict
These aren’t abstract benefits. For many professionals, career-defining conversations have started with an unplanned introduction or a question asked at the right moment.
Tomorrow Is One of Those Rare Days
Nearly 3,000 wine industry professionals will be under one roof tomorrow — winemakers, growers, vineyard managers, marketers, buyers, cellar teams, suppliers, and executives.
The conversations will be current.
The challenges will be discussed honestly.
The ideas will be shaped collaboratively.
And the people you want to meet — or learn from — will all be there.
Whether you're exploring technology upgrades, refining your sales approach, troubleshooting vineyard issues, or simply trying to understand where the industry is headed, the Expo gives you something you can’t get from a summary or a recording:
the industry in motion.
If You Want to Start 2026 Ahead, Show Up
The 2025 WIN Expo happens tomorrow at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
Don’t underestimate the value of being present when the industry gathers, shares, debates, and moves forward — together.
Showing up may be the most important professional decision you make this year.