Virginia Wine Trade Intensive: Full Schedule

The Virginia Wine Trade Intensive is a high-impact professional development experience built for the trade to taste, learn, and sell Virginia Wine with confidence.

1:45pm EDT

Pour with Purpose: Virginia Wine & Trade Strategy

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT

The Jefferson Hotel

Virginia wins when it’s poured purposefully, especially by the glass and through smart list placement. Built for buyers, sommeliers and distributors, this session explores which Virginia styles perform best BTG, how to place them effectively on wine lists, and how thoughtful programming can support margin and encourage discovery.

Moderators

Kristi Delovitch

Vice President Sales, Winebow Mid Atlantic, Winebow

Speakers

Antoinette Landragin

Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers Association, Cork & Fork Fine Wine Merchants

Robert Jones, MS

Robert Jones grew up in Roanoke VA and holds a BA in Psychology from Roanoke College. He received the Master Sommelier diploma in March 2001 and since June of 2001 has worked as a national account manager for the wine importing company Kysela Père et Fils, LTD. He also runs the wine... Read More →

Crystal Cameron-Schaad

Owner, Sommelier, Crystal Palate Wine & Gourmet

Crystal Cameron-Schaad, DipWSET, is the owner and lead educator at Crystal Palate, a wine boutique and tasting room in Norfolk, Virginia.

Crystal is a certified wine educator with Wine & Spirt Education Trust (WSET), and offers the WSET L1-L3 courses at Crystal Palate as a satellite provider for Vitis House. She is also a certified sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, a keynote speaker, and writer. Crystal... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Jefferson Hotel

Afternoon Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Same Grape, Different Stories: Cabernet Franc Across Virginia

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT

The Jefferson Hotel

Cabernet Franc has become one of Virginia’s most compelling calling cards—fresh, lifted, and quietly complex. This guided tasting explores five distinct expressions of the state’s most planted grape, ranging from bright, red-fruited and floral to savory, herbal, and peppery; from lighter, chillable styles to more structured, cellar-worthy bottlings. Along the way, discover how site and winemaking philosophy shape style; often as much as geography itself.

Moderators

Erin Scala

Market Street Wine

Erin hails from Market Street Wine in central Virginia, a wine hub dedicated to sustainability, wine education, and community building. She’s also a content creator and wine journalist, and has written articles for Wine & Country Living, Wine & Spirits, Knife & Fork magazine, and... Read More →

Speakers

Boela Gerber

Winemaker, Southwest Mountains Vineyards

Boela Gerber is an internationally recognized winemaker whose career has spanned continents and decades, earning him a reputation for craft, curiosity, and restraint. A graduate of Stellenbosch University with a BSc in Agriculture focused on oenology and viticulture, Boela went on... Read More →

Corry Craighill

Winemaker, Septenary Winery/Wound Tight

Corry brings many years of winemaking experience from a variety of regions, including South Africa, France, Australia, New Zealand, California, and Oregon in addition to her native Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she is excited to be in Charlottesville making... Read More →

Joy Ting

Winemaker, Joy Ting Wine

Joy Ting is an independent Virginia winemaker producing small-lot wines under her own label, Joy Ting Wine. She sources fruit from local vineyard partners and makes her wines at the Virginia Wine Collective in Charlottesville. Before launching her own project, Joy worked at Michael... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Jefferson Hotel

Afternoon Breakout

1:45pm EDT

The Pour That Changed Everything

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT

The Jefferson Hotel

A candid, story-driven tasting featuring buyers, sommeliers, distributors, and writers who once had doubts about Virginia wine—and the specific bottle that changed their mind. Hear the turning-point moments, taste the wines, and unpack the cues that signal quality, value, and list-worthiness.

Moderators

James Tidwell, MS

TEXSOM

James Tidwell is a writer, speaker, and educator. Tidwell founded and produces the TEXSOM Conference and produces the TEXSOM Awards.He consulted on The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition as well as the forthcoming update to the Oxford Companion to Wine, contributes to the annual Hugh... Read More →

Speakers

Grayum Vickers

Sommelier, AMP Hospitality

Growing up, Grayum Vickers wanted to study tornadoes. After earning a Graduate degree from Florida State University for meteorology, Vickers moved to Brooklyn, New York, where his roommate at the time, a bartender at New York’s Death & Co, helped him land an interview at The NoMad... Read More →

Booth Hardy

Owner, Barrel Thief Wine & Provisions

Growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia, Booth was torn between two passions: food and music. Choosing music, he studied percussion at Berklee College of Music and spent years performing, but a harvest job in Sonoma County in 2005 changed his path. The blend of art, science, and camaraderie... Read More →

Sedale McCall

Writer

Sedale is a writer and editor focused on the stories and conversations that are not being told enough. His passion is for stories related to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the industry. A Virginia-native, Sedale focuses on people and places wine is enjoyed outside of typical... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Jefferson Hotel

Afternoon Breakout