Now in its 11th year, the popular DTC Wine Symposium is the wine industry’s annual, national summit on direct marketing and sales.
The January 2017 summit sold out, attracting 500 sponsors, speakers and registrants from 15 states. The program expanded to include 6 Workshop Sessions, 2 Town Hall Sessions and 6 Sponsor Sessions. Ninety-three percent of post-event survey respondents recommend the event.
In 2018, the event expands to two full days of practical advice, thought-provoking keynote speakers, lively networking, and sponsor demos of new products and services.
The DTC Wine Symposium is presented by and a fundraiser for Free the Grapes! The event has raised more than $1 million for Free the Grapes’ PR campaign, and the Coalition for Free Trade’s legal work (CFT “retired” in 2014 after achieving its goals). These two groups have worked closely with industry representatives and regional associations to streamline onerous regulations and to increase the number of legal states from 17 to 44, which represent nearly 94% of the US population. The DTC Wine Symposium is the primary fundraiser for Free the Grapes! and provides funding to continue its role streamlining regulations, opening new states and defending existing statutes which support legal, regulated DTC wine shipments.