State of the Industry
January 29, 2025
8:30 am - 11:00 am
State of the Industry
Welcome & Introductions
Michelle Moyer, President, American Society for Enology and Viticulture
The State of the Industry session provides a comprehensive look at every aspect of the wine industry, from what’s being planted to what’s selling. This 2½-hour session features highly regarded speakers and delivers incredible value for attendees who need to understand the market dynamics of the past year and are seeking insight into the market trends that will define the year ahead.
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Moderator
Mike Veseth (pronounced VEE-seth) is editor of The Wine Economist newsletter (WineEconomist.com) and author of more than a dozen books including Wine Wars (2011), Around the World in Eighty Wines (2018) and Wine Wars II: The Global Battle for the Soup of Wine (2022). He is a sought-after speaker at wine industry meetings both in the United States and around the world.
Veseth’s writings on wine and globalization have been widely praised. Globaloney was selected as a Best Business Book of 2005. Wine Wars was named a Best Wine Book of 2011. The Wine Economist was named Best Wine Blog by Gourmand International in 2015. Money, Taste, and Wine: It’s Complicated received the 2016 Gourmand International award for Best Wine Writing.
A noted educator, Veseth is professor emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. In 2010 he was named Washington Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Veseth received the Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Puget Sound and the Master’s and Ph.D degrees in Economics from Purdue University.
Speakers
Jeff Bitter is a life-long resident of California. Born into a family vineyard operation, Jeff has always had a passion for agriculture and specifically grape growing. Jeff is the President of Allied Grape Growers (AGG), a 500-member statewide grape growers cooperative marketing association. AGG markets approximately $100,000,000 worth of grapes annually to wineries, shippers, packers and dehydrators. In addition to managing AGG, Jeff is a fourth-generation California grape grower, actively farming winegrapes in Madera County, where he resides.
Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business from California State University, Fresno and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the same. Jeff is also a graduate of Class XXXII of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, a prestigious two-year fellowship program emphasizing leadership training and development for those involved in California agriculture.
Jeff participates on numerous industry boards, committees and task forces and spends his free time farming, traveling and enjoying time with family and friends. Jeff has one minor and three adult children, one of which is married and provided Jeff with his first grandchild in 2024.
Danny Brager
Organization:
Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting, California
Sessions:
Danny Brager has a wealth of experience in the U.S. Beverage Alcohol industry, analyzing trends over many years. He formerly headed Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice Area in the U.S, leading teams that supported relationships with Nielsen’s clients as well as key industry groups and the media.
In his current consulting role, Danny provides data-driven analysis and insights to Beverage Alcohol companies seeking to translate information into authoritative, fact-based insights in support of their corporate and brand goals. Each year, he presents at a large number of notable industry and company events and is a frequent thought leader contributor to the media/press. His informed opinions are highly respected by the beverage alcohol producers, importers, distributors, retailers and financiers.
Danny currently partners with 3 Tier Beverages – a company that facilitates the provision of data, and provides outsourced analytics, is on the Board of Directors of the Wine Market Council, and is Managing Director of Category & Consumer Insights at Azur Associates. Azur was founded to bring comprehensive advisory & consulting services – including strategic advisory, mergers & acquisitions and route to market solutions – to wine and spirits companies.
Danny was born in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Toronto where he graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He relocated to Mission Viejo, California in 1993 where he now resides.
Glenn Proctor
Partner – The Ciatti Company
My family immigrated to the Dry Creek Valley in 1889 and bought the Puccioni Ranch in 1904. The family has continuously farmed grapes on the property, and in the early 1920’s and 30’s operated Puccioni Winery. I am an owner of Puccioni Ranch and serve as the General Manager. I also started Puccioni Vineyards in 2002 – a small handcrafted Old Vine Zinfandel brand using the grapes from my family’s property.
I am a partner at The Ciatti Company. We broker wine and grapes between buyers and sellers and have offices in 10 different countries throughout the world. I advise our clients on their supply positioning and work closely with growers and wineries in marketing their grapes and wine. I have over 30 years of experience relating to wine supply strategy, wine-grape quality and production, brand strategy, and business development.
I attended Healdsburg High School and then California State University Fresno where I received a bachelor’s degree in Viticulture/Plant Science. I then received a master’s degree in Horticulture at UC Davis. I also completed a two-year fellowship with the California Agricultural Leadership Program – Class 29.
I have served on the Board of Directors of the California Wine Institute, American Vineyard Foundation, California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), California Ag Leadership Alumni Council, Healdsburg Future Farmers Country Fair, the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, and the Board of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation.
I am married to Laurie, and we have two boys – Joshua and Noah.
Stephen Rannekleiv is the Beverage Sector Strategist in the Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group. He joined Rabobank in 2006 as an analyst and now leads the global beverage research team.
As Sector Strategist, Stephen and the global team of beverage analysts research emerging trends and opportunities with the goal of providing actionable ideas to Rabobank’s clients. Recent research themes that the team have tackled include opportunities in e-commerce, shifting distribution models for alcoholic beverages, blurring of category lines, innovation in brand-building strategies, changing consumer demand and more. Stephen is also the host of Liquid Assets, Rabobank’s podcast that shares insights and views on the global beverage industry.
Prior to taking the role of Beverages Sector Strategist, Mr. Rannekleiv was a senior beverages analyst at Rabobank for ten years, primarily and is a regular presenter at industry events.