I have to hand it to the  graduate students at  University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business!  A business conference focusing on wine, food, beer and spirits will be hosted next week by one of the larger student clubs, The Wine and Cuisine Club  This is an annual conference  providing both local and international  information and resources for MBA students with  personal or  professional interests in these industries.  WACC  (clever name)  appears to be a productive wine club, turning a kick back atmosphere for students to socialize and converting it into potential business opportunities. For a limited number of registrants, dinner Thursday evening the 26th, will be at  The Local,  offering networking opportunities for students with sponsors and presenters.  Unfortunately I’ll have to skip the dinner but look forward to learning along with the Darden students at the conference on Friday.

I wonder if Thomas Jefferson knew he was going to be used in marketing endeavors for centuries and that his name would be associated with the birth of wine making in Virginia?  Who knows which graduate student will make their mark on history in the wine or food industries?  For technical accuracy I took this photo in Williamsburg at the Williamsburg Farmers Market after noticing a clever marketing ploy by Betsy’s Baked Goods!  Sorry, I digress…

Keynote speaker will be Andy Mansinne, President of Aveniu Brands, a company that specializes in bringing to the United States of America distinctive brands  from some of the world´s foremost production regions.  They are the exclusive U.S. marketer for about 30 wine and spirits brands from eight different countries.

After the presentation guest will proceed to breakout sessions with the following speakers:

Commonwealth Restaurant and Skybar 
Richard Averitt, Founder

Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Hayes Humphreys, Chief Operating Officer

E&J Gallo Winery
Lee Susen, Marketing Director

General Mills
Polly Madsen, Associate Marketing Manager

Pernod Ricard
Jennifer Drapisch, Assistant Brand Manager

VinConnect
Kevin Sidders, President

Virginia Eagle Distributing 
Scott Heinz, Chief Operating Officer

Cheers to  Sara Hester!

Vice President, Darden’s Wine and Cuisine Club Conference  MBA Candidate, Class of 2012 | Darden Graduate School of Business | University of Virginia  and all the people who were involved in coordinating this event!