Midwest Wine And Grape Summit

SUMMIT 1-ON-1

Engage with industry experts in an exclusive 1-on-1 setting. Obtain valuable advice, insights or solutions tailored to your winery. Each 20-minute session will be held in the historic Appellation Café, offering a rare chance for personalized interaction. Secure your spot today before these coveted sessions fill up! There are no additional fees for these sessions.
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Rebecca Ritz

Field Specialist- Farm Management | Bauerhaus Designs, Inc.

Anne Zwink

Competition Judge and Enology Professional

Anndrea Harris

Creative Director | Whooann Creative Studio

Nicole Elizabeth

Founder | Premier Wine Compliance

1. Brand & Design Critique at the Conference: Bring your bottle or pull up your website. I will identify key areas for improvement to increase your professionalism and conversion rates. I can answer specific questions about labels, branding, or user flow on your site.

2. Digital Marketing Audit at the Conference: For wineries feeling overwhelmed by technology, they can choose one key area of opportunity—whether it’s email marketing, social media, or AI search optimization–for me to offer improvements.

3. The Bauerhaus Launchpad is a focused strategic review session designed to give you clarity and direction—a snapshot of your brand’s performance.

Here’s what you get:

• 30-Minute Discovery Call: A focused conversation to understand your goals before the conference and provide the below at the conference.

• Brand Position Review: A quick analysis of how you stand out from the competition.

• Website Review: An evaluation of your site’s effectiveness and visitor experience. • Online Health Check: A concise overview of your SEO, Social Media, or AI opportunities (your choice!).

• Actionable Next Steps: A clear recommendation on the best strategic route forward.

Bauerhaus Design: Be Unforgettable. Creating brands with strategy and heart. With over 25 years of experience, Rebecca Ritz acts as a strategic partner for wineries, helping them create unforgettable brands. She blends brand strategy with execution, offering services that range from packaging and website design to full-service monthly digital marketing retainers. Rebecca is also dedicated to education, helping hundreds of wineries increase their bottom line through her free “Sell More Wine” course. She just created a new hands-on “Digital Marketing for Midwest Wineries” 8-week workshop designed to help wineries increase their sales.
Anne will provide private sessions for tasting tank samples or bottled wines, with honest sensory and technical input geared toward competition readiness. Sessions can also be used to discuss production challenges, style refinement, or ideas to improve wine quality and consistency. Alternatively, if a wine has previously received negative or confusing competition feedback, this is an opportunity to review and discuss it in detail. All feedback is grounded in commercial winemaking experience and calibrated, competition-level evaluation standards.
Anne Zwink is a professional enologist with extensive experience in commercial winemaking, sensory evaluation, and wine competition judging. She serves as the Head Enologist for the Illinois State Fair Wine Competition, where she oversees technical accuracy, panel calibration, and evaluation standards across judging flights. With a background in commercial wine production, Anne brings a practical, science-based perspective to wine assessment rooted in real-world cellar decision-making. She is a frequent judge at wine competitions across the Midwest including Missouri, Ohio, and Minnesota, with particular expertise in cool-climate varieties and regional wine styles.
Whooann Creative Studio is a branding and digital strategy studio that helps entrepreneurs, organizations, and public-sector teams communicate clearly and consistently through intentional design. Services include brand strategy and visual identity development, Canva training and workshops, social media strategy, content design, and website support. The studio specializes in teaching clients how to use Canva as a strategic tool, not just for design, but for messaging, visibility, and brand alignment. Whooann Creative Studio also provides speaking engagements and customized trainings focused on branding, content creation, and digital confidence
 
 

Whooann (Anndrea Harris) is a nationally recognized brand strategist, Canva educator, and the creative force behind Whooann Creative Studio. Known as the “Canva Queen,” she helps entrepreneurs, organizations, and government entities turn their ideas into intentional, high-impact brands using strategy-first design. With a background in marketing, digital storytelling, and visual branding, Whooann specializes in teaching people how to actually use Canva the right way,not just to make things look cute, but to communicate clearly, consistently, and confidently. Her work blends creativity with structure, making branding approachable, scalable, and effective. Whooann is passionate about helping brands show up with clarity, purpose, and personality without overwhelm or overcomplication.

  • Consulting on State & Federal Licensing
  • Reporting
  • COLA’s
  • Formula’s
  • Label Registrations
  • Ongoing Compliance Support
 
Nicole Elizabeth, founder of Premier Wine Compliance, is a dedicated regulatory consultant who channels her deep industry passion into helping businesses navigate the complex landscape of alcohol beverage laws. Nicole has extensive experience managing the needs of wineries, distilleries, and ready-to-drink (RTD) companies of all sizes. She is known for building strong, strategic connections with regulatory agencies to streamline business registrations, licensing, product set-up, and reporting. As a specialist in both federal and state regulations, Nicole provides personalized, innovative solutions designed to ensure compliance at every stage.
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Dr. Dean Volenburg

State Extension Viticulture Lead | University of Missouri

David Marrison

Field Specialist- Farm Management | Ohio State University Extension

Tara Good

Director | Trellis Collaborative

Sandy Waggett

Owner | MSW Interactive Designs
  • Vineyard consultation
  • Pest Management
 

Dr. Volenberg is the Extension Program Leader for viticulture and Director at the Grape and Wine Institute at the University of Missouri. Dean’s current research program is focused on applied and hypothesis driven discovery of pests that have economic implications for Eastern United States grape growers. Dr. Volenberg was first to confirm the presence of Grapevine Red Blotch virus in Missouri. His Extension program is multifaceted with attention focused on fungal and viral pests and their management. Dean is passionate about repatriating American grape cultivars lost to prohibition. He focuses on cultivars with Vitis aestivalis genetic backgrounds with the goal of moving the grape industry to improved sustainability.

  • Business Succession Planning and Mediation

David Marrison, has served as a Field Specialist in Farm Management and as the Interim Director for the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute (FFMPI) for Ohio State Extension since November 1, 2022. Mr. Marrison has worked for Ohio State University Extension since 1997, is a Professor in the Department of Extension, and served as an Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Educator in Ashtabula, Trumbull, and Coshocton Counties from 1997 to 2022. David serves as a farm mediator for the Ohio Farm Resolution Services (OFRS) and is on the Board of Directors for the International Farm Transition Network and is a Certified Farm Succession Coordinator. David is nationally known for his teaching in farm succession planning. He has a unique ability to intertwine humor into speaking about the difficulties of passing the farm on to the next generation. He has authored numerous publications in succession and estate planning. David was born and raised on a small dairy farm in northeast Ohio. Today, David and his family raise Boer meat goats and hay on a small farm in east central Ohio.

Tara is available to provide guidance on problems wineries may be experiencing related to music licensing. She will identify what a winery needs to pay to legally offer music and assist in responding to performance rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR) requests for payment.

Tara Good, founder and president of Trellis Collaborative, is an organization that connects mission-focused wine professionals to share information, identify industry blind spots, and collaborate on problem-solving. At WineAmeria, the national association of American wineries, Tara served as the Vice President of Development for 13 years. She managed the organization’s 500+ membership, developing programs and conferences, and partnering with the government affairs team to lobby on Capitol Hill. Tara has worked on agricultural, tax, and trade issues, but is best known for her work in music licensing. Prior to WineAmerica, Tara worked for the Distilled Spirits Council. She received her B.A. from Fordham University and M.A. from NYU, and is a two-time recipient of the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship, having studied Arabic in Jordan and Oman.

  • AI Strategy
  • ADA website compliance
  • Marketing Systems and Automation

Sandy Waggett is a nationally recognized, award-winning speaker, certified high-performance coach, and founder of a multi seven-figure marketing agency with over 27 years of success helping businesses scale smart. As the visionary behind MSW Interactive Designs, she equips entrepreneurs to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving world—teaching them how to harness the power of AI for growth and ensure ADA compliance for broader reach and legal protection. Known for blending big-picture strategy with real-world application, Sandy delivers engaging, high-impact sessions that challenge conventional thinking and drive action. Her mission? To help business owners work smarter, market with confidence, and build brands that lead.