Below are some of the speakers for our 2021 Wine Media Conference.
L.M. Archer, Freelance Journalist
L.M. Archer
L.M. Archer is an award-winning writer and content consultant for consumer, B2B and B2C platforms and publications worldwide, including Pix.com, Wine Business Monthly, Oregon Wine Press, Meininger’s Wine Business International, and The Buyer. She is also a 2020 Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year award finalist, and a 2021 Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year award shortlist winner. She also holds designations in Bourgogne + Champagne Master Level, and French wine from the Wine Scholar Guild. When not working, she’s drinking Oregon sparkling wine. Find her at: www.lmarcher.com + IG @lmarcherml
Jill Barth, Freelance Journalist
Jill Barth
Jill is a writer, author and journalist focused on wine and food creators–with culture, community, ecology, and travel pivotal to the stories. She is a Provence Wine Master through the Wine Scholar Guild and received a fellowship to the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers. Jill is also a columnist at Forbes and a wine country travel expert panelist and contributor for USA TODAY’s 10Best. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, Relais & Châteaux Instants Magazine, SevenFifty Daily, France-Amérique, Palate Press, Luxe Provence, Courrier International, Provence WineZine, and Perfectly Provence. Jill is the founder and author of L’Occasion, awarded the Best Overall and Best Writing from the prestigious Wine Media Awards, and was a finalist for Millesima’s Blog Awards in food and wine pairing.
Céline Bossart, Freelance Journalist
Céline Bossart
Céline Bossart is a Brooklyn-based certified sommelier and freelance journalist covering wine and spirits, particularly the sociopolitical aspects thereof. Her work has appeared in SAVEUR, Wine Enthusiast, Liquor.com, NBCNews, VinePair, Delish, The Spruce Eats, and more.
Austin Beeman, Vice President of Marketing for Cutting Edge Selections.
Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman
Austin Beeman is an nineteen-year veteran of the wine business with extensive experience in Marketing and Sales (wholesale, retail, & DTC.) Currently Vice President of Marketing for Cutting Edge Selections, Austin has a deep knowledge of the global wine business with expertise in Direct-to-Consumer sales. While Director of Marketing for Bonny Doon Vineyard, he managed one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in the wine industry. His video podcast “Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman” has been praised in USA Today. Austin holds an MBA in Wine & Spirits Management from Kedge Business School in Bordeaux.
Craig Camp, General Manager
Troon Vineyard
Craig Camp has worked in the fine wine industry for over thirty-five years. He co-founded Direct Import Wine Company in Chicago, an importer and distributor of estate wines from France, Italy, Spain California, Oregon and Washington. After twenty years, he sold that company and moved to the winery side of the industry. After working several years at wineries in Italy, he oversaw vineyard and winery operations as president of Anne Amie Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, then as general manager of Cornerstone Cellars in the Napa Valley. Today, he is general manager of Troon Vineyard in Oregon’s Applegate Valley, a biodynamic estate specializing in southern French varieties.
Christine Clair, Winery Director
Willamette Valley Vineyards
Christine’s love for Oregon wine began at an early age looking up at Willamette Valley Vineyards out the window of her nearby home as the winery took shape on the slope of the Salem hills. Christine worked at the winery as a college intern and started making wine while she was a senior to launch her own brand based in Southern Oregon. Her life-long connection and passion to fulfill the founders’ dream of making world-class Pinot Noir led her back to the winery where she now leads winemaking and vineyard operations, as well as sales and marketing. She is training to replace the Founder/CEO upon his retirement. In 2015, Christine co-founded a new company division, Oregon Estate Vineyards. In 2018, Christine helped coordinate the Oregon Solidarity wines to help Southern Oregon winegrowers who had their contracts canceled just days before harvest citing smoke taint. Christine has been awarded Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s 40 Under 40, Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and Wine & Spirits Educational Trust Future 50 Award.
Chasity Cooper, Journalist
Wine With Chas
Chasity Cooper is a Chicago-based communications strategist and wine journalist whose work can be found at the intersection of wine and culture. She has written for Wine Enthusiast, Vinepair, Essence Magazine, Thrillist, Food & Wine Magazine, Imbibe Magazine, 5280 Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and has executed several creative partnerships with award-winning wine brands. Chasity holds her WSET Level 3 Award in Wines with Merit. With wine education, Chasity’s goal is to break down the barrier of intimidation, to empower others to explore their palates freely, and to make learning about wine an enjoyable experience for all. When she isn’t studying grape varieties or creating wine content, Chasity enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Christine Deussen, President
Deussen Global Communications, Inc.
Christine founded Deussen Global Communications, Inc. in 2002. Long part of various Who’s Who listings (In American Business, Cambridge, Princeton, etc.), the agency was also named the 2016 “PR Agency of the Year” by UK-based Drinks International. Various plaques on the walls of their Manhattan headquarters celebrate additional awards, for example from UK-based Duty Free News International, Frontier. In 2019, one US award is the “Best of Manhattan” award for Marketing Communications, as well as media coverage in Chilled, Craft Spirits Magazine, and even the covers story of Total Prestige Magazine.
Melissa Dowling, Editor
Cheers
Melissa Dowling is the editor of Cheers, the award-winning beverage business magazine for full-service restaurants and bars. Founded in 1990, Cheers reaches more than 130,000 on-premise beverage professionals nationwide with each edition. The brand also includes the Cheers@Home digital consumer magazine and the Cheers Beverage Summit professional event, as well as several enewsletters. Prior to joining Cheers in 2012, Melissa was the editor for business magazines targeting executives in the direct marketing, ecommerce and retail industries.
Scott Fish, Chief Growth Officer
32° digital
Scott works with wineries, AVAs and supporting businesses to refine their customer’s experience and drive sales. Chief Growth Officer at 32° digital, he is responsible for developing new strategies for prospective and existing clients. During the past two decades, he has worked with growing companies around the world in evolving industries such as tourism, wineries, hotels, tourism associations and cultural organizations. History is important to him, and as a Cabinet board member of the Oregon Historical Society, Scott is actively working to connect new generations to the history and culture of the Northwest.
Tiziana Forni
VIA Italian Wine Ambassador/Wine Educator (Vinitaly International Academy)
Sommelier and Professional Taster (Italian Sommelier Association)
Tiziana Forni is the US Brand Ambassador for Velenosi winery with extensive experience in the wine industry and thorough knowledge of Italian wines. She is a Certified Sommelier, Certified Professional Taster, Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) Italian Wine Ambassador and Wine Educator. She moved to NYC in 2015, working as Brand Manager for a Wine Importer. Tiziana is native of Marche region in Italy where Velenosi is based: wine passion and love for her land, this is the actual link with Velenosi winery.
Chris Kern, Owner
Forgotten Grapes
In addition to being co-host of the award-nominated One Bourbon, One Chard, or One Beer podcast, Kern is known as “America’s Uncommon Wine Expert” and the “King of the Independent Wine Clubs.” An award-winning wine writer, content creator, sommelier, wine educator and entrepreneur, Kern has held nearly every job in the wine industry, from General Manager of a USA Today Top 10 winery to founding his own online retail, distribution and wine club companies. His wine writing has been featured in Food & Wine, La Cucina Italiana, Palm Springs Life, Great Taste, and the Orange County Register among numerous outlets, and he can neither confirm nor deny that there are YouTube videos out there of him describing unusual grapes to Spice Girls songs while dressed in drag. He currently resides in Paso Robles, CA. His private, members-only wine club Forgotten Grapes boasts over 2500 members across multiple states and hand-delivers small-batch garagiste wines to club members monthly. You can discover more about Kern and Forgotten Grapes at www.ForgottenGrapes.com
Frank Morgan, Author and Wine Columnist
DrinkWhatYouLike.com
Frank Morgan is the author of the DrinkWhatYouLike.com wine blog, started 12 years ago to chronicle his wine travel experiences and to share stories of the wines, wineries, and winegrowers of Virginia. Morgan is the wine columnist for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper and contributor for Piedmont Virginian Magazine, Savor Virginia Magazine, Dine, Wine & Stein Magazine, and the founder of the monthly virtual wine tasting series Virginia Wine Chat (started in 2013).
Cyril Penn, Editor-in-Chief
Wine Business Monthly
Cyril Penn is Editor-in-Chief of Wine Business Monthly, the largest circulation magazine serving the North American wine industry. Cyril has followed the U.S. wine industry as editor of Wine Business Monthly for nearly two decades. He has explored wine regions throughout the world, is a frequent speaker at industry events, and is often quoted in the news media. He has more than three decades of wire service, magazine, and broadcast experience.
Brett Rawson, Social Media Manager
Washington State Wine Commission
Brett Rawson runs digital storytelling efforts for the Washington State Wine Commission. In 2018, he was hired to build their social media program, co-steer their website renovation project, and create a voice for the brand. He is also founder of Handwritten, a place in space for pen and paper, and Digital Strategist at the literary arts non-profit organization The Seventh Wave. Brett holds an MFA in Creative (Non-Fiction) Writing from The New School, has been published inThe Rumpus, Narratively, Nowhere Magazine, PANK, and other publications, and was awarded an artist residency at Banff Center for the Arts. He has curated semester- and week-long writing projects in public and private institutions, interpreted for Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, speaks at annual writing symposiums, and teaches via Skype in classrooms around the world.
George Rose, Owner
George Rose Photography
For the past 25 years, Rose was a wine industry executive communications director at four successful wine companies: Fetzer Vineyards, Allied Domecq Wines USA, Kendall-Jackson, and J Vineyards & Winery. During this time, he continued to pursue his passion of photography. Rose is the 2017 recipient of the “Louis Roederer International Wine Writer Award” for “Best Artistry” and was a 1st place winner in the “Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year” in 2018. His vineyard photos have been used in numerous publications and calendars throughout the world of wine, and in 2007, Chronicle Books published a collection of those images in a book entitled “The Art of Terroir.” In 2014, the Wine Institute (California Wines) published his book, Down To Earth: A Seasonal Tour of Wine Sustainability in California, with author Janet Fletcher. VINEYARD Sonoma County, his first large format, coffee table-style book, was released in fall, 2017. His new coffee table book, WINE COUNTRY Santa Barbara County, was released on October 1, 2019.
Regine T. Rousseau
DOC delle Venezie
Regine T. Rousseau, wine and spirits expert, writer, presenter, and media personality, focuses on making wine knowledge accessible to people at all levels of proficiency. She is the nominee of 2020 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards, Wine Educator of the Year, an International Sommelier Guild Level II, and Executive Bourbon Steward, Stave and Thief. Regine has traveled around the globe sharing her wine and spirits expertise. She has authored or been featured in articles in the New Yorker, Wine Enthusiast, Black Enterprise, Black Food and Beverage, Wine Spectator, the Zoe Report, Forbes and Chicago Tribune.
Jason “Stub” Stubblefield, Blogger
Jessica ThomasSarah Tracey, Owner
The Lush Life
Sarah Tracey is a sommelier, speaker, wine educator and lifestyle expert based in New York City. A veteran of some of the city’s top restaurants, her career has spanned from spit-bucket-emptier to Michelin-starred Wine Director. When not vineyard-hopping, you can find her sharing wine, travel, and lifestyle content for millennial women on her site The Lush Life. An accomplished wine writer and content creator, she is currently the go-to wine authority for Martha Stewart Living, writing their online wine column since 2015. She is widely cited as an industry expert in the media, sharing expertise with outlets like ‘O’ The Oprah Magazine, Food & Wine, The Food Network, Town & Country, Refinery 29, Forbes, Elle, Brides, and CheddarTV. Named one of the Top 20 Wine Influencers in the US, Sarah holds a certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and is known for her fun and relatable style.
Liza Zimmerman
Liza the Wine Chick
Liza B. Zimmerman has been writing, educating and consulting about wine and food for more than 25 years. She has also worked almost every angle of the wine and food business: from server and consultant to positions in distribution, education and sales. Her approach to wine education, coverage and training is savvy, down to earth and unpretentious. She is a master of content and has decades of experience creating everything from tasting notes and food pairings to dynamic social media campaigns and marketing and pr materials for wineries in the U.S. and abroad. She has visited all the world’s major wine growing and spirits producing regions—50 plus countries and counting—is one of several hundred people in the U.S. to hold the Diploma of Wine & Spirits (D.W.S.), the rigorous academic three-year program that is the precursor to the Master of Wine.