SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 14, 2020… Due to concerns about COVID-19, organizers of the 2021 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium announced the event will be presented online as a virtual conference on January 26-28, 2021. In addition, the Unified will host a virtual trade show throughout the three days, with an additional half day on Friday, January 29, 2021, from 8 to 11 a.m. The Unified was scheduled to occur on January 12 – 14, 2021 at the Cal Expo grounds.

The 2021 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s LLC Managing Committee decided to host the show as a virtual online event after consulting with risk experts at Arup, an international design and engineering firm. The Managing Committee believes hosting the Unified as a virtual event is the responsible decision under difficult circumstances. Industry members will be able to access vital business, research and marketing information, while avoiding the many challenges associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

“First and foremost, the Unified Symposium is about serving the interests of the people who make the wine industry so special. The decision to host the event online comes at a great cost, but the welfare of our attendees, exhibitors and the people of California is our greatest priority,” said John Aguirre, CAWG president. Aguirre added, “We will deliver an excellent event online and provide the quality of service our attendees and stakeholders expect.”

For 26 years, the Unified Symposium has been the industry’s leading trade show, drawing tens of thousands of guests from all over America and the world to learn about the emerging trends, new products and ways to be more efficient and successful. The 2021 virtual format will allow the same experts to exchange information, while being responsive to the new realities of a world facing a pandemic.

“There has been strong interest in continuing the Unified tradition of starting the new year by accessing this vital information,” says ASEV Executive Director Dan Howard. “We’ve already met with our Program Committee and are confident that we can deliver the same invaluable content in a convenient and safe virtual format. Because of similar interest in the trade show, we’ve included that as well in our virtual format for 2021. It will be different, but in these uncertain times, we have to be flexible and innovative.”

Built with the joint input of growers, vintners and allied industry members, the Unified Symposium serves as a clearinghouse of information important to wine and grape industry professionals. The Unified Symposium also hosts the industry’s largest trade show of its kind, with over 700 vendors displaying their products and services.  The Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s LLC Managing Committee is comprised of representatives from the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG). For additional information, go to www.unifiedsymposium.org.
 

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