Member Services Lounge Open

7:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Forum Pre Function 2

WSWA members can stop by the Member Services Lounge for a quick break between meetings to engage with WSWA staff and learn more about association initiatives like the WSWA-PAC and SipSource, explore member benefits, or meet with a representative from Distribution Solutions.

Registration Open

7:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Forum Pre Function

Welcome Lounge Open

7:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Forum Pre Function 2

Opening General Session & Breakfast

8:00 AM - 9:45 AM

Forum Ballroom

Kick off your Access LIVE experience with a better understanding of the state of our industry from WSWA Chairman, Doug Shaw of M.S. Walker and a warm welcome from WSWA President and CEO, Francis Creighton. During this session, hear from Linda Bernardi, former IBM Chief Innovation Officer who will discuss embracing disruptive technology to improve our businesses. Lastly, you will hear from our Retail Theft panel. As organized crime and retail theft is a major issue facing the beverage alcohol industry. During this 30 minute discussion, theft prevention experts will share challenges and provide solutions on how to prevent theft in retail spaces.

Access HQ & HQ Suites Open

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Summit Ballroom

The epicenter of Access LIVE! Formerly split across two exhibit halls, HQ brings all the action into one space—housing the highest concentration of exhibits in addition to The Hub, LIVE Stage, Innovation Pavilion, HQ Connect, and more.

Main Street Suites Open

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Caesars Forum

Marketing Mastery: How to Create Effective Content Buzz Around Your Beverage Brand.

10:00 AM - 10:20 AM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

Discover the approach and techniques successful beverage brands are using to set themselves apart in the market and boost digital brand awareness.

Continue the Conversation: Retail Theft

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

HQ Connect, Summit Ballroom

After the morning session, please join us for an interactive discussion about the organized retail theft. Our panelists will be in Access HQ to answer questions about their presentation and hear about your concerns and possible solutions to this growing problem.

Hub Activities Open

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Summit Ballroom

A one-stop-shop for brand innovation and development! Located in Access HQ, the Hub offers a variety of solutions for exhibiting brands looking to expand, experiment, and grow. Back by popular demand don’t miss your chance to secure a space in the Content Lab, Mixology Workshop, or at the Brand Building Bar!

What does it mean to be "Customer-Centric" in an omnichannel world?

11:00 AM - 11:20 AM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

Digital initiatives and eCommerce generate a treasure trove of information about your customers that can be leveraged to empower your sales initiatives. Mike will discuss how to create a unified view of your customers and then use that robust data to better serve them the right product, at the right time, for their target consumer – through both eCommerce and physical selling teams. Mike will also discuss how to build a more customer-first model that enables better service through flexible processes and enhanced technology solutions.

European Garnacha Grenache Quality Wines: Discover the most trendy aromas and wines

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

HQ Connect, Summit Ballroom

European Garnacha Grenache Aromas
Discover and learn about one of the most planted grapes in the world.

European Garnacha/Grenache Quality Wines Program is an exclusive and innovative partnership between the leading countries in wine production: Spain and France. Because of their excellent value, the new Garnacha Grenache wines are reaching, for the first time, major competitors in the wine market, joined under the umbrella of the European Union to make awareness about one of their treasures and most eco-friendly grape… Garnacha Grenache. During the conference experts from France and Spain, will educate guest about the origin, history, features, European quality schemes, the latest innovative techniques used in Garnacha Grenache growing and wine elaboration. During this seminar, attendees will have a unique opportunity to attend a Garnacha Grenache experience with an innovative "sense of smell" to learn about the most representative aromas of one of the most planted grapes in the world. Be sure to arrive early as the first 80 participants to visit the session will recieve a free wine aroma box gift!

Cinematic Cocktails: Mastering the Art of Visual Mixology

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

The Hub (Summit Ballroom)

Hemp Intoxicants: The Farm Bill and Emerging Beverage Market

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

Take a close look at how Congress inadvertently deregulated intoxicants made from hemp, what it means today, and the market landscape now and into the future. We will examine the 2018 Farm Bill and how it set conditions for today's intoxicants, market challenges, and where we go from here.

Lunch in Access HQ (Exhibit Hall) - Near LIVE Stage

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Summit Ballroom

Past Chairman's Luncheon (Invite Only)

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Forum Ballroom 107

International Approach and Challenges in the Wine Industry – Organic Practices

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

As an international grape grower and wine maker in many countries and in both hemispheres, Francois Lurton has a unique global understanding of global climate change and its effects on grape growing around the world. Being an organic grape grower/wine maker, he has developed unique solutions to overcome our ever-evolving challenges we are now facing with climate change. I believe it presents a great opportunity to have this discussion with the wholesalers of the US, who rely on grape growers and wine makers to navigate these challenges, in an effort to provide them a more in depth understanding of climate change, its effects on vineyards, and share our evolving solutions.

Best in Show Wine & Spirits Tasting

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

HQ Connect, Summit Ballroom

Join us at HQ Connect to taste and sample the Best of Show winners from the 2024 WSWA Wine & Spirits Tasting Competition brought to you by Tasting Panel Magazine!

Wholesaler Power Hour: Stories Through the Generations

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

Wine and spirits wholesalers have been around for 80+ years and many of the current companies are in their 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation of ownership. Join this session to hear stories from pioneering leaders who helped to create today's wine and spirits marketplace and lessons they've learned through the years.

Building a Winning Brand for On-premise Success with Bill Rancic

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Summit Ballroom - LIVE Stage

A Sweet Escape with Dimensional Insight

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

HQ Connect, Summit Ballroom

Take a break from the tasting on the show floor to connect with other attendees and satisfy your sweet tooth in this break sponsored by Dimensional Insight! We will have a (literal) candy bar set up with all different kinds of goodies. Plus, see if you can nab the strolling napkin artist to get a drawing you can take home with you!

Brand Battle Championship

4:15 PM - 5:30 PM

Forum Ballroom

WSWA’s Brand Battle is the only event of its kind where craft, start-up, and small production brands have the opportunity to get in front of distributors from across the country to show off their product and receive constructive feedback and influential exposure. The 2024 Battle will hold 8 Shark Tank like virtual category competitions through the month of January with the winners of each competing live on-stage to crown the 2024 Brand Battle Champion!

TASTE

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Alliance Ballroom 310-321

Access LIVE’s signature grand tasting reception! Join all three-tiers of the industry for a fun-filled evening of sampling new products available to the market and connecting with all 8 Brand Battle Contenders, including the 2024 Champion!

All exhibitors are welcome to pour. Contact Molly Fontaine (molly.fontaine@wswa.org).