Welcome
Welcome
Staying Ahead in an Evolving Field: Join Us February 21-24, 2012
We are pleased to invite you to attend the 2012 Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley. This extraordinary program will take place February 21 through 24, 2012, and is open to published editorial wine writers, wine/food writers, wine/travel writers and editors.
Keynote speakers for the 2012 symposium will be:
Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, who will speak on the Universal Principles of the Creative Process; and
Nat Ives, Media Editor, Advertising Age, whose topic will be Who Will Publish Your Work? The Present and Future of Ad-Supported Media.
The symposium faculty for 2012 is an accomplished cast of magazine editors, wine writers and writing coaches, including in part:
Katie Tamony, Editor, Sunset magazine, Menlo Park, California
Eric Asimov, Chief wine critic, The New York Times, New York
Joshua Greene, Editor, Wine & Spirits magazine, New York
Guy Woodward, Editor, Decanter magazine, London
Louise Kiernan, Associate Professor of Journalism, Medill School, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Martha Holmberg, Editor, Mix magazine, Portland, Oregon
Aaron Wehner, Vice President and Publisher, Ten Speed Press
Read what previous attendees and speakers had to say about the symposium on our Press page.
The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, a non-profit organization founded by Meadowood Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Vintners trade association and The Culinary Institute of America, draws top wine book authors and editors, wine magazine writers and critics, newspaper wine columnists, bloggers and other wine content creators to Napa Valley to speak, listen, debate, explore themes prevalent in contemporary wine writing and network with their peers for four days. A combination of lectures, panel discussions, group and individual writing sessions, wine tasting and fine dining make the symposium an unmatched career enrichment opportunity for editorial wine, wine-food, and wine-travel writers. The symposium is not open to winery personnel and marketing and communications professionals.
In order to maintain the editorial caliber and collegial atmosphere of this conference, the symposium has taken various steps, including the following. Symposium registration is not open to winery personnel and wine marketing and communications professionals. The symposium has solicited no outside sponsorship. A portion of the cost of the program is underwritten by the Napa Valley Vintners, a non-profit organization representing more than 300 wineries, and by Meadowood Napa Valley. Meadowood, which is also the annual home to Auction Napa Valley, continues its 30-year tradition of service to the Napa Valley winegrowing community by providing a venue for the conference. The symposium follows an intense plenary program for a limited number of attendees plus speakers.
We look forward to welcoming you in February 2012 to the seventh annual Symposium for Professional Wine Writers.
Sincerely,
 Jim Gordon Symposium Director |  H. William Harlan Proprietor Meadowood Napa Valley |  Linda Reiff Executive Director Napa Valley Vintners |
