by Smoke | Feb 11, 2014 | 2014 Event, Blog
We are in full planning mode for the 10th Annual WITS… hard to believe that a few of us sat around brain storming ideas for a “technology extravaganza for the wine industry” almost 11 years ago. Â Please plan on joining us this year in Napa, CA as we celebrate a decade of WITS, for what promises to be our most exciting and well attended event. Â Here is the link to the press release and posted below as well.

10th Annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium to Unite Wine Business Leaders, Technology Experts on June 30 & July 1, 2014
(NAPA, Calif.)  —The 10th Annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)®, the premier event showcasing the strategic use of information technology and services for the wine industry, has been set for June 30 – July 1, 2014 at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel. www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com
Executives from wineries, distributors and retailers gather annually at WITS, the only annual conference designed exclusively to foster education and debate around the application of technology solutions for the wine industry. The 2014 WITS program includes:
- Educational Tracks – Sessions on Technology Leadership, Small Business, Consumer Direct, Trade Sales & Marketing and Vineyard & Winery Operations
- Speed Dating – To celebrate the 10th technology extravaganza, WITS has introduced “speed dating†for winery CIOs and technology companies. This will provide opportunities for quality one-on-one time with key decision makers and thought leaders.
- Plus Beer, with BITS – WITS has united leaders in the craft brewing industry to add the first Beer Industry Technology Symposium (BITS™) that will run concurrent with WITS this year.
“In today’s rapidly changing business environment, where consumers are driving massive change throughout the industry, it is vital to get it right when it comes to your route to market, as well as the strategic and tactical use of enabling technology,†said J. Smoke Wallin, WITS Co-Chair. “WITS is the only place where winery owners and GMs can sit side by side for a day of learning and discussion with CIOs and other technology leaders from across the three tiers,†he added.
The WITS Steering Committee, comprised of technology and business leaders across the wine industry, is currently finalizing panel topics and keynote speakers. Past speakers have included the CEOs, CIOs and leaders from Amazon, Facebook, Groupon, garyvaynerchuk.com, FedEx Office, Nielsen and 1800-Flowers, as well as experts from IBM, Oracle, Cornell University, UC Davis, Sonoma State University and many others.
Attendees and sponsors are encouraged to register early, as space is limited and expected to sell out quickly. Registration will open March 1, 2014. For more information visit www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com.
About The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)
The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) was created to address the unique information technology and services needs of the wine industry. WITS is dedicated to bringing the world’s leading wineries, distributors and retailers together with the leading technology experts to foster learning and discussion. Expert panels and keynotes discuss leading edge case studies involving consumer direct marketing and sales, operations, financial management, trade sales and distribution, winemaking and vineyard management. www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com
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by Smoke | Aug 10, 2013 | 2013 Event, Blog, Technology
Over the years, I have been an early adapter of technology. In 7th grade (1978), I won 2nd place in the Manatee County Science Fair for a program I wrote on a Commodore 64 that allowed one to take a quiz on the Solar System. I had the first MAC in 1984 when I went off to Cornell University as a Freshman. It was very cool, except when it made that unhappy MAC face (often).

Fast forward a few years in business (and a budget) and I always had the latest devices in laptops and phones and crossover gadgets almost every year since 1992.  From my cool Radio Shack phone (big and rectangular) while still at Vanderbilt for business school in 1993 to the dark grey Motorola Flip to the StarTac (almost $1k when it came out). Since I had companies I ran outright or for which I oversaw the technology side of things, I had an obligation (it was part of the job) to test out the new devices. After a long and loyal run on Blackberry’s (I had the original pager shaped device and almost every one since, until 2011), my current device set looks like a commercial for Apple. It includes an iPhone 5, a PowerBook Pro and an iPad mini.

Over the years, I have broken, lost or had stolen (from me) my fair share of these.  Invariably once missing, always missing with a couple of exceptions of cell phones returning to me from taxis in Chicago and New York and a laptop coming back from the back of a plane seat.  But it was not until this summer that I experienced a fundamentally different experience in attempting to retrieve a missing device.Â
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This story is about my iPad mini’s theft and return.
In July we went out to Denver to visit family in the mountains. After a couple of days up at Grand Lake, CO (amazing lake at 8,000 ft surrounded by mountains at the back side of the Rocky Mountain National Park), we enjoyed an evening of friends and music while Anitra performed with her old band mate Ryan Tracy.Â
  
Sunday morning we had early flights out of Denver International Airport with kids flying in different directions and us heading back out to Napa, CA.  In our hectic exit, my iPad mini (I love it, but it is a “miniâ€) was inadvertently left wedged between the front passenger seat and the console of our Avis rented Tahoe. I realized this during my Southwest flight back to Sacramento.  We immediately called Avis lost and found (I have had some success in having things returned if you realize it quickly enough). In the past insisting on having the rental company re-check a vehicle several times has been required. I did so this time to no avail. They said it was not there. I was 99% positive it was.

That evening after I hosted a beer tasting at our brewery Napa Smith Brewery, I went online and reported my iPad stolen on the very user friendly Denver Police website (which was quite user friendly). The next morning, I turned on the “Find my iPhone†and searched for it using Apple’s iCloud service. Sure enough, it found it, but it was in an area of Denver that we had not been. I screen captured the image of the location and sent that on to the Denver Police.

Note: I password protect all my devices. While I’m sure a sophisticated criminal technology ring could crack the 4 digit code, I felt I had a little time to keep searching. The alternative is to “wipe†the device. This protects all your personal information, but prevents one from tracking the device ever again. I choose to keep it intact to try to retrieve it.

At this point my working theory was either Avis re-rented the vehicle and the iPad was in it OR it was stolen by someone at Avis, who had then either taken it home or handed it off to someone else. I received a call from Denver Police detective Gomez who asked me to send her directly the picture of the location. She told me she would call me when she got there and I planned on “pinging†it. iCloud allows one to cause a device to make a sound, very useful in finding a missing one or stolen one.   When the detectives arrived on the site, they called and I began pinging the iPad. They went door to door. The find your iPhone is amazing, but it is not easy tell EXACTLY where it is, only within a very small area
Nothing. The detectives even went into a couple of apartments (with permission). They told me it appeared to be a retirement home of some kind and they did not think it was there. I was confident it was on site given the images. They told me to let them know if it moved or I had any new information and left the site. Frustrated but with little recourse, I kept checking the site.
Sure enough shortly after the police left the scene, the iPad was on the move. I tracked it and kept pinging it, hoping that whoever was driving would hear it and either fear they were being tracked or look at it and call my mobile number, which was prominently displayed on the front screen. For a while it was at what appeared to be a junkyard. My working theory at this point was the perpetrator got scared and tossed it . However, this theory was dispelled when it went on the move again, eventually returning to roughly the same spot where the police had been earlier.
  
The next morning while my Peet’s coffee was brewing, I checked the Find my iPhone site. Lo and behold it was on the move. I kept refreshing it and it was clearly on the way back out toward the airport. Sure enough, it pulled into the Avis lot. We immediately called Avis again and told them and sent them a picture of where it was. Remember, these pictures are a current location overlaying a satellite image that was taken some time ago. So while you can look at cars and other things on the ground in the image, these are from a different moment in time. Interesting.

Now my working theory was maybe the Tahoe was re-rented and it is now just returned. Or the perpetrator panicked from the police visit was trying to bring it back. Or it never left the perpetrators car and was simply in it as they returned to work after 2 days at home. They reported to work at 8am.
The image I sent Avis appeared to be in the employee parking lot.

Our Avis representative Yolanda went out to the area and began searching with some of her colleagues. 3 times they went out looking to no avail.
Then all of a sudden the iPad appeared to enter the Avis building. We called Yolanda and told her it was on the move. Quickly it moved back out into the parking lot into another area. My theory at this point was the perpetrator knew there was a search going on, had retrieved the device and was moving around with it. One possibility was they were part of the search group. It felt like the Kevin Costner movie, “No Way Out†in which he was the spy but part of the search party looking for the spy. Crazy. Frustrating.  I was determined to get to the bottom of this. Sitting in Napa, CA, watching my iPad move around Avis at the Denver airport – was simply amazing.
After a short while, Yolanda called back and gave us the good news that they found the iPad mini. Relieved, and now more curious than anything, I wanted to know the answer to what happened and who did it. Yolanda told us it was in a rental truck, but NOT our Tahoe. My working theory at this point is someone took it, realized it was being tracked (police visits and pings), brought it back when they had to return to work, realized there was a search going on and planted it in a similar rental where Avis found it. I reported all this to Detective Gomez at DPD. I believe it’s not too difficult for Avis to figure out who worked on Sunday July 28, had off on the 29th and 30th, and then reported to work on the 31st at 8am. This person likely lives at or right around the location of the iPad where we had the police search.
I am still curious as to the final outcome. I’m sure Avis has every reason to find out who did it.

I want to compliment the GREAT service I received at Avis, especially Yolanda. My expectations were exceeded greatly with the excellent customer service from the Denver Police Department, especially Detective Gomez. Both were terrific and it was appreciated. This service from Apple is AWESOME! I was so glad I had a fully charged iPad so we had the time it took to track it down and get it back.
With all the disturbing revelations regarding the NSA tracking, the targeted drone strikes and other technology enabled activities governments are now able to do, at least in this regard, the technology was put to great use!
While I can think of some enhancements to make this even easier, perhaps, make the iPad talk to the perpetrator – warning them that “I belong to Smoke, he is looking for me and will find me soonâ€, current level of function was sufficient to have a positive outcome.
It sure ain’t so easy anymore if crime was your chosen field…
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by Smoke | Apr 25, 2013 | 2013 Event, E-commerce, eskye, FDA Compliance, General Technology, News, Software, Supply Chain, Technology, WINE 2.0, WITS Happenings
Keynote Announcement… please join us this summer at our 9th annual WITS conference… it will be great!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 25, 2013     Contact: Waunice Orchard                                                waunice@swgnapa.com
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Thought Leaders to Discuss Strategic and Tactical Uses of Technology, Building Elite Teams and Lessons From the U.S. Military Special Forces.Â
Best Practices To Drive Wine Brands and Businesses
 at the 9th Annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium Symposium
Napa, CA— April 25, 2013— Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) today announced its Keynote speakers for the 9th annual event to be held July 15 & 16 in Napa, CA.  Keynotes by Larry Broughton, Jonathan Good and Miles Ward bring elite leadership, social media and the transformative cloud to the wine industry.
Keynote ELITE: 5 Special Ops Success Strategies for Building Top Performing Teams: Imagine what would happen if you place 12 highly intelligent, Type-A personalities in a boardroom and gave them a task to perform. The result would likely be complete pandemonium! Yet the U.S. Military has discovered a way to turn top individual performers into unstoppable teams literally capable of toppling countries. Award-winning serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and former U.S. Army Green Beret Larry Broughton shares his insights on transforming ordinary teams into extraordinary ones.
“I’m very pleased to have Larry, Jonathan and Miles join us on our Keynote program.†said J. Smoke Wallin, founder and co-chairman of WITS. He continued, “I have had the privileged of interacting with each of our speakers and know they will each deliver inspirational and thought provoking discussions that will deliver real take home value to all our winery attendees.â€
Jonathan Good, Senior SMR Solutions at Oracle will give a keynote on “Developing a Social Relationship Management Strategy in the Wine Industryâ€.
Find out how to create a strategic social media program that will build brand awareness and buzz, drive revenue and gain the trust of your online community. Learn social media best practices and how to manage and recruit a community of supporters who will embrace and recommend your brands through the use of social relationship management best practices.  Jonathan Good is a Senior SRM Solutions Consultant at Oracle. He provides technical and functional support to prospective clients and customers for Oracle’s Social Relationship Management platform.

Before joining Oracle, Jonathan was the founder of HelloSocialMedia.com – a social media and marketing agency that focused on the creation and execution of social media programs, including blogging, community development, Internet marketing, design and web development.
In addition, Amazon, a company that has revolutionized whole industries, has now gotten serious about the wine industry. Find out about how Amazon is building the next generation platforms that are literally transforming how software and services are delivered, from Miles Ward, Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services.Â
Miles will speak about Big Data for Real World Businesses showing tools, techniques and clear ROI for analysis in the cloud. Miles helped NASA live-stream the Mars Rover landing, developed the Obama For America 2012 presidential campaign, and has helped thousands of companies make the leap to the cloud.
“I’m very pleased to have such a strong program for 2013. I look forward to welcoming the industry to our 9th Annual event!†said, Lesley Berglund, co-chairman of WITS and co-founder and chairman of the Wine Industry Sales Education (WISE) Academy
Berglund continued, “When Larry Broughton is not speaking and coaching, his day job is running his luxury hotel company, Broughton Hotels. Having an operator who knows the wine business where it touches the consumer will provide a unique perspective to our winery attendees.â€
Early bird pricing to attend WITS end June 1, 2013. Attendees can register at www. wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com beginning May 1.

About WITS: The Wine Industry Technology Symposium® (WITS) is the focal point for thought leadership in the strategic and tactical use of technology in the global wine industry. WITS was created in 2005 by a group of wine industry and technology professionals to advance innovation and to address the unique information technology and services needs of the wine industry.  The 9th annual WITS is July 15 & 16 in Napa, CA. Join WITS on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn more.
For more information, contact Waunice Orchid of the Wine Industry Symposium Group at 707-261-8716 or waunice@swgnapa.com

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by Smoke | Nov 26, 2011 | Brand Management, Napa Smith, News
I have not posted about Napa Smith lately so here is a bit of catch up.. We acquired the brewery & winery in December 2010 so it has been under our control since January… 10+ months.. we spent the first 3 getting production back up and running and taking care of vendors. Since then, we have been brewing to capacity and selling everything we make. Steve Morgan, Don Barkley and the rest of the growing Napa Smith team have been hitting on all cylinders as we have ramped up. The Paddington team has taken the lead on sales and distribution. The combination has been awesome!

Napa Smith Brewery

- Napa Smith Team
Some highlights over the past year:
- Paddington Brands acquires Napa Smith brewery & winery December 2010
- Napa Smith Beer now available in 33states. This is from a base of just CA back in 2009. See map.
- GABF Winner – Napa Smith Organic IPA won the Silver Medal at the Great American Beer Festival this year… huge! More on this below.
- Napa Smith “Brew Pub” tasting room opened in Napa, CA… an awesome experience and long overdue for our home market!
- Numerous beer dinners and tasting and events throughout the year.
- Major retailer support with placements in Safeway, Whole Foods, Publix, HEB, Harris Teeter, Total Wine & More, BevMo, ABC, Cost Plus World Markets and many more….

Silver Medal Winner - Great American Beer Festival 201

     Don’s brewery team had a wonderful time in Denver at the GABF seeing old friends and trying so many terrific beers.
- Don Barkley – Master Brewer – GABF Silver Winner – Napa Smith Organic IPA
Here is a short video of Don Barkley on Napa Smith Organic IPA
Don Barkley on Napa Smith Organic IPA
And here is a link to some of the pictures from the brew pub opening on facebook… Napa Smith Brew Pub Opening

Napa Smith Brew Pub Opening

Napa Smith “Lost Dog” Red Ale blew out at the Brockway Pub in Carmel, Indiana just last weekend…

Smoke and Dave Hunter enjoying a Lost Dog at Brockway

Napa Smith "Lost Dog"
And an example of retail placements… Cost Plus World Market has Napa Smith on promotion in 130 stores right now.

Cost Plus World Markets Now has Napa Smith Beer

Napa Smith Lost Dog & Organic IPA
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by Smoke | Apr 16, 2008 | 2008 Event, About and Contact, News, WITS Happenings
Industry Leaders, Technology Experts to Gather at Fourth Annual
Wine Industry Technology Symposium on July 14-15, 2008
April 15, 2008, Napa, CA Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)®, the premier event showcasing strategic use of information technology and services for the wine industry, will hold its fourth annual conference July 14-15, 2008 at the Marriot Napa Valley. www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com
Join executives from wineries, distributors and retailers at the only annual conference designed exclusively to foster education and debate around the application of technology solutions for the wine industry. Following the keynote general session, expert panels will discuss case studies and issues grouped into the following four tracks:
- Track A: Executive & Technology Leadership
- Track B: Consumer Direct
- Track C: Trade Sales & Marketing
- Track D: Vineyard & Winery Operations
“In this uncertain economic environment, it is vital to get it right when it comes to your route to market and the strategic and tactical use of enabling technology, said J. Smoke Wallin, WITS Co-Chair. WITS is the only place where winery owners and GMs can sit side by side for a day of learning and discussion with CIOs and other technology leaders from the across the three tiers and the technology community, he added.
The WITS Steering Committee, made up of technology and business leaders across the wine industry, is currently finalizing panel topics and speakers. Past speakers have included the CIOs of FedEx Kinkos and 1800-Flowers, as well as experts from IBM, Oracle and Cornell University.
Sign up early in order to guarantee a spot at this year’s conference. There are a limited number of spots available and last year’s event sold out quickly. For more information and to register, visit www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com.
About The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)
The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) was created in 2005 by a group of wine industry and technology professionals. The purpose of WITS is to address the unique information technology and services needs of the wine industry. WITS is dedicated to bringing the world’s leading wineries, distributors and retailers together with some of the world’s leading technology experts to foster learning and discussion. Panels of experts discuss specific examples and case studies involving winemaking, vineyard management, consumer direct marketing and sales, operations, financial management, trade sales and distribution. www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com
Media Contact:
Lesley P. Berglund, WITS Co-Chair, 707-246-6827
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by Smoke | Jul 20, 2007 | 2007 Event, Uncategorized
Over 300 people attended this years WITS event this week. It was deemed by most a huge success.Â
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by Smoke | Jul 20, 2007 | 2007 Event, Uncategorized
here are a few shots from the event…
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