Craig Root, President of Craig Root & Associates, Visitor Managment Resources

Craig Root has over 30 years experience working with the public in visitor centers, including twelve years as staff and then manager of the Beaulieu Vineyard tasting room.

As Manager at Beaulieu, he more than doubled the business with many innovations including a very successful direct mail program. The Sacramento Bee and the McClatchy newspaper chain rated his operation as one of the top ten visitor centers in Northern California.

As Manager of Trefethen’s Visitor Center, Craig increased business by over 70% by revitalizing the staff and tours as well as creating another highly profitable direct mail program which grew to 900 members in eight months.

For the last 15 years, Craig has provided successful consulting for tasting rooms all over the United States, Canada, China, and France. He is the only person to teach and lectures on Tasting Room Design and Management at UC Davis. He has also been a regular speaker for the Wine Industry Symposium, the Unified Symposium, and colleges and organizations throughout California and Oregon.

In addition, Craig still works one Saturday per month on the floor at a busy tasting room in order to stay in touch with the public and the work. He averages one wine club sign-up and two tours per shift. This experience keeps his seminars fresh and updated.

Craig lives outside of St. Helena with his wife, a professor of Speech and Theatre. He serves on the board of the Napa Valley Wine Library.

John Gillespie, President, Wine Market Council

Mr. Gillespie is the most prominent wine market research authority in the U.S. His career spans more than thirty years, and is highlighted by his leadership of Wine Market Council and direction of the council’s ongoing wine market research for more than a decade. Beginning his career in New York as a wine magazine editor, Gillespie has worked as a wine journalist, in the wine retail and restaurant trade, in marketing and public relations for wineries, and as the head of the Bordeaux Wine Information Bureau and Wine Market Council. He is a founding partner in Wine Colleagues. He is also the founder of Wine Opinions and directs the company’s strategic initiatives. As well, he is the publisher of Wine Review Weekly, the email newsletter that has been called the wine industry's "Monday morning must-read."

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, Professor, Department of Atmosheric Sciences, Texas A&M University and Texas State Climatologist

John Nielsen-Gammon holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1991 and was appointed Texas State Climatologist by then-Governor George W. Bush in 2000.  He served as Acting Executive Associate Dean for the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M from September 2008 to March 2009.  Dr. Nielsen-Gammon’s research involves such topics as jet streams, heavy rain, sea breezes, air pollution, data assimilation, and drought monitoring and forecasting.  He teaches courses in weather analysis, weather forecasting, and atmospheric dynamics.

ROBERT P. SMITH, Ph.D., P.E.

Robert P. Smith is an environmental and water resources consultant.  He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas.  He is a registered professional engineer in Texas, currently inactive status.

In spring 2008, Dr. Smith undertook an independent study of energy and climate change.  He subsequently prepared a booklet, now in its second edition:  “Energy – Present & Future” which addresses energy and global warming. 

Dr. Smith is married (Judy) and has two sons and six grandchildren.  He currently resides in Dallas and owns and manages a vineyard in east Texas near Athens.

David M. Evans, Attorney at Law, Langley & Banack

David Evans works in Langley & Banack's litigation section, devoting his practice equally to employment law and general commercial law. Mr. Evans has advised and represented both employers and employees on various matters, including Title VII, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Family & Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Texas Payday Act.

He has assisted clients appearing before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Western and Southern Federal District Courts of Texas, the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals, numerous Texas District, County, and Small Claims Courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Texas Civil Rights Division and Labor Law Section of the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Wage & Hour Division of the Department of Labor.

Denise Fraser, DC Communications

Denise Fraser, with nearly 30 years of public relations experience, owns DC Communications.  She is part of the TateAustinHahn team that manages the public relations campaign for TDA’s Wine Marketing Program.  In her 30 years, she has gone from hand-delivering press releases in Washington, DC, to promoting client news and events via Twitter and Facebook.  She has been involved in food and agriculture public relations for most of her career, spending 10 years in Washington, DC, where she worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.  After leaving Washington, she served as the executive director of the American Agricultural Editors Association.  She then opened and ran the Austin office of Fleishman Hillard, one of the largest international PR firms in the world, whose clients included Dell and AT&T.  Since starting her own consulting business, she has provided PR strategy and services for an array of clients including Whole Foods Market, HomeAway, Waste Management and Emerson. 

Dr. Russell Kane, Wine Writer, VintageTexas.Com

Russ Kane (The Texas WineSlinger) is a wine writer with articles and tasting notes that have appeared in local and regional publications including Texas Culinary Thymes, ArtsHouston, Baycomber, My Table Magazine, and Wineandcuisine.com. He recently did a guest tasting of California Cabernets featured in the My-Table August-September 2008 issue and an article, ”Blogs: The Virtual Gutenburg Press” in the My-Table April-May 2009 issue.

Russ has organized and moderated winemaker panels at major festivals including “Hot Weather, Cool Wines” at the SAVUER Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, and “Mediterranean Cowboys” and “Pinot Gringos” at the Grand Wine and Food Affair.

Yes - “Mediterranean Cowboys” and “Pinot Gringos” are strange names for wine panels; but, this is Texas!

He was a Houston entrepreneur for over 20 years, traveled extensively and is actively interested in regional cuisines, wine education, and wine/food pairing. Both Russ Kane and his wife, Delia Cuellar, come from families with restaurant ties and understand the qualities of wine and food in a context of family, friends and acquaintances.

He has served as a judge in numerous wine competitions including the Houston Rodeo Wine Competition and the Lone Star Wine Competition. Russ was the founder and organizer of the annual Texas’ Best Wine Competition held by the Wine Society of Texas from 2001 through 2005. He has also developed wine training lectures and seminars for the WST and several wineries aimed particularly at developing “a knowledgeable and responsible wine culture in Texas”.

Rhonda Hammond, Doctoral Candidate & Graduate Instructor, Texas Tech University and Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute

Rhonda Hammond is a Doctoral Candidate and Graduate Instructor at Texas Tech University majoring in Hospitality Administration where she teaches Beverage Management courses in the Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management degree program. She also serves as a research assistant supporting the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute.

Scott Cain, Chief Winery Applications Section , Alcohol and Tabacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB)

Scott Cain is currently the Chief, Winery Applications Section for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.  As a manager at the National Revenue Center (NRC) in Cincinnati, Ohio, Scott oversees a twenty-person staff responsible for screening and investigating new applicants in the wine industry, processing changes to their permits and registrations, and providing general customer service related to these functions.   In his eighteen year career with TTB and its predecessor ATF, Scott has served as a first-level and second-level manager in both the Winery and Brewery Applications Sections at the NRC, as well as holding positions as a Program Manager, Writer/Editor, and Specialist. 

Amy Harrison, Director of Licensing, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC)

Amy Harrison joined the TABC in January of 1990. She is the Director of Licensing which is responsible for the issuance of over 100,000 licenses and permits all over the world. Amy has held various positions in the agency before her promotion to Director in 2004. Prior to joining the TABC, Amy spent five years at the State Comptroller's Office. Amy held several positions there including Licensing Supervisor of the Regulatory Division. Amy's experience at the Comptroller's Office, coupled with the TABC, has given her over 24 years of state regulatory experience.

Amy earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. It was the experience of working several Legislative Sessions that inspired Amy to pursue a career in state government after graduation.

Michael Sipowicz, Extension Program Specialist I, Enology, Texas A&M Universtiy

Mr. Sipowicz’s main focus will be in the development and coordination of an effective educational and applied research program to enhance the ability of Texas wine and grape growers to add value to their production through improved technology. These programs additionally aim to leverage Texas grape varieties and conditions to create unique products which are competitive nationally and internationally, while also addressing the needs of Texas winemakers. His goal is to effectively link enology research and extension with wine and grape growers in Texas through individual and multi-disciplinary team efforts.

Michael Sipowicz bas been a Texas vineyard owner and is the proprietor of a small wine barrel coopering company. Among other business ventures prior to joining the Department, he was a winemaking consultant. He has worked in all levels of the commercial winemaking and brewing industries throughout Texas as well as in Napa Valley, California

Mark Hyman, Llano Estacado Winery, President, C.O.O.

Mark Hyman's challenge as President and C.O.O. is significant, for, despite the indisputable quality of the wines; many people outside of the boundaries of Texas remain unaware of the achievements of Texas' premium wine industry. Still, for a professional with his skills, experience, and energy, the challenge of making a quality product accessible to Texas and the world represents just about the most enjoyable job around.

Since joing the team at Llano Estacado in 1994, sales of the winery's premium wines have grown and the reputation of the winery has continued to soar. One important reason for this is Mark's proselytizing. Mark's role with Llano Estacado is to help direct all marketing strategies, work with the winery's impressive lineup of wholesale distributors, and brokers, while supervising the winery in every aspect of its operation. Mark works closely with Winemaker Greg Bruni in assuring that Llano Estacado's goals are achieved.

Mark began his career in the wine industry with The Seagram Wine Company, successfully working his way though a variety of marketing and sales positions. He then joined Vintners International Company as its Texas State Manager of Sales. In 1989 Mark accepted the position of Area Manager for the Heublein Fine Wine Group, where he was responsible for the growth of the company's Napa Valley brands for Texas and surrounding states. Mark joined Llano in 1994 as the Vice President Sales & Marketing, was appointed Executive Vice President in August 2000, and President/C.O.O. in January 2001.

Jeff Siegel, Wine Writer

Jeff Siegel write the Wine Curmudgeon column for the Star-Telegram newspaper in Fort Worth and Advocate/Home & Heritage Magazines in Dallas, as well as an award-winning writer and a journalist who has written six books. He also writes about wine for a variety of national and regional publications. Jeff has traveled extensively in search of wine wisdom, including trips to Spain, Chile, Napa and Sonoma, Washington State, and west Texas.

Jeff is the co-founder of drinklocalwine.com, the Web site that focuses on North American wine that isn’t made in California and the Pacific Northwest. They held the first-ever conference and tasting on Aug. 15 in Dallas. Called the GO TEXAN DrinkLocalWine.com Conference, the event will focus on Texas wine and feature some of the state’s best wines, top winemakers, and leading growers.

Marco Bertaccini, General manager and Scientific Advisor for AEB North America

Marco Bertaccini, born in Bologna, Italy on March 1st 1972. Graduated in 1998 at the University of Bologna Italy with a thesis on aging wines on different kinds of woods.

Master of Science in the year 2000 at the University of California Davis working with Professor Linda Bisson and the wine microbiology lab. Marco worked harvests in Napa Valley, Virginia, and Italy (Sicily, Abruzzo and Emilia Romagna) as winemaker.

Currently Marco is the General Manager and scientific advisor for AEB North America, supervises experiments with AEB technologies From Mexico to Canada including California, the  Mid West and the East Coast wineries.