Penny Adams has worked in and around the Texas vineyard and winery industry since 1978, with countless prospective and current commercial grape growers and winemakers; she is a ‘pioneer’ of the Texas wine industry. She completed a B.S. in Horticulture from Texas A&M University (1980) and an M.S. Agriculture-Plant Science with a specialty in Viticulture from California State University-Fresno (1982). She did her master’s thesis at the University of Texas Vineyard in Bakersfield, Texas on Cordon Training of Grapevines in Texas. Penny was the first Texas women winemaster as co-owner of Cypress Valley Vineyard and Winery in Blanco County from 1981 to 1986. She also served as winemaster for St. Lawrence Winery, Itza Natural Wine Company and Hill Country Cellars. In early 2004 Penny began working for the Pierces Disease Research Program and since 2006 she has worked as Viticulture Advisor for AgriLife Extension-Texas Hill Country serving the needs of both current and prospective wine grape growers. Penny lives on the family ranch in Gillespie County and has two grown sons.

Dr. Ed Hellman is Professor of Viticulture and Extension Specialist holding joint appointments with Texas AgriLife Extension and Texas Tech University. Dr. Hellman's Extension activities include leadership of the statewide Viticulture Extension Team, development of the Texas Winegrape Network website, and establishment of the Viticulture Certificate Program. His research program is headquartered at the AgriLife Research & Extension Center in Lubbock. Current research includes studies on the physiology of grapevine adaptation to climate, variety and rootstock evaluation, the use of geographic information systems for vineyard site selection, and vineyard management to avoid frost and hail damage. Dr. Hellman teaches Viticulture II: Grape Production for the Viticulture & Enology Specialization within the Horticulture degree program at Texas Tech University.

Enology Program Specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Michael Sipowicz is employed by Texas AgriLife Extension as the Enology Program Specialist for the State of Texas. He has been a Texas vineyard owner and is the proprietor of a small wine barrel coopering company. He has over 15 years of experience working in all levels of the commercial winemaking and brewing industries throughout Texas as well as in Napa Valley, California.

Paul Wagner

Paul Wagner studied sociology and education at University of CA at Santa Cruz and classical guitar and public performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Seville, Spain.  After several positions in Public Relations and Marketing in the wine industry in Napa Valley, Mr. Wagner formed Balzac Communications & Marketing on April 1, 1991.  Clients include a broad range of national and international companies and organizations, with primary focus in the food and beverage industries.  Current clients include Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines,   the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Don Sebastiani and Sons, Trinchero Family Estates, Simply Italian, Italian Wine Masters, Consorzio di Chianti Classico, Franciacorta DOCG, D.O. Navarra, Collio, and a host of other wine and food specialists.  He has been an instructor for Napa Valley College's Viticulture and Enology department for the past fifteen years.  In addition he teaches at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, and is a guest lecturer at universities throughout the world on wine business, communications, public affairs, wine and wine marketing.  With Liz Thach and Janeen Olsen, he authored a book:  Wine Marketing & Sales, Strategies for a Saturated Market by The Wine Appreciation Guild, which won the Gourmand International Award in 2008 for the best wine book of the year for professionals. A second edition of that work was published in 2011. He is a regular columnist for Vineyards & Winery Management Magazine, a member of the board of directors of the Society of Wine Educators and contributes to Allexperts.com in the field of wine and food. Paul Wagner has judged many national and international wine competitions, is a founding member of the Academy of Wine Communications, a member of the nominations committee of the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintner’s Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Spadarini della Castellania di Soave in 2005.  In 2009 he was honored with a “Life Dedicated to Wine” award at the Feria Nacional del Vino (FENAVIN) in Spain.

Fritz Westover has been working in the viticulture industry since 1999. He began as a vineyard worker for the Chaddsford Winery in southeastern Pennsylvania, while obtaining his BS in horticulture from Penn State University. Fritz completed his MS in plant pathology in 2003 from the Penn State Department of Plant Pathology while assisting with grapevine-decline research in Pennsylvania and New York vineyards. His research involved various projects concerning biological causes of grapevine decline in replanted vineyards, grape disease management, and the use of compost in vineyards. Fritz has worked internationally as an assistant winemaker for the 2004 harvest at Caiarossa Vineyards and Winery in Pisa, Italy.  From 2005 to 2007, Fritz served as Virginia Tech’s Viticulture Research-Extension Associate at the Alson H. Smith Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Winchester, Virginia.  He is currently working with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service (Texas A&M) as Viticulture Program Specialist.  In addition to his duties as viticulture advisor for the Texas Gulf Coast region, Fritz supervises three Extension Program Specialists as part of a state-wide team effort to provide educational programs and hands-on viticulture workshops for the Texas wine industry.