National trade group Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America hosted its 67th annual convention and exposition from April 6 to 8 at Caesars Palace with higher than anticipated attendance, new programming, and a somewhat surprising keynote speaker. Close to 2,000 members and suppliers—400 more than last year—came out for the show, where Sarah Palin served as the convention’s opening general session keynote to a standing-room crowd.
The group's senior consultant for meetings and conventions, Cindy Nachman-Senders, oversaw the event, and explained that the decision to hire Palin was strictly related to numbers. "She was new to the speaker circuit and we thought she would be someone who would fill the house, and that she did. It was definitely not a political statement."
In addition to the keynote choice, Nachman-Senders attributed the event's attendance success to "the economy slowly improving," and to the location. Attendees responded to the show's new Las Vegas home at the expanded Caesars. (It was formerly held at Bally's. For the last decade or so, the convention has alternated between Orlando and Las Vegas. In all, about 250 suppliers participated this year.
A new industry day offered concurrent breakout sessions on social media, wine and spirits trends, and political affairs. An opening general session, mixology competition, and other programming were also new. “This year we added an opening general session and expanded our programming in education as well as the exciting mixology competition with the help of The Tasting Panel magazine and famed mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim,” said the group's president and C.E.O., Craig Wolf, in a statement. “These new events, along with our ever-popular Taste of the Industry, created opportunities for our supplier exhibitors—large and small—to market their products, and we hope they will continue to take greater advantage of the opportunities our convention offers."
Mixologists Marcos Tello, Jim Romdall, Jonathan Pogash, Aidan Demarest, Joe Brooke, and Jeffrey Morgenthaler judged the new mixology competition and selected their favorites from more than 30 cocktails submitted by exhibiting companies. Three winning cocktails entered into a final competition during the Taste of the Industry, where attendees had the opportunity to vote for their favorite.
Next year's event will move to the Orlando Grande Lakes Resort in Florida from April 15 to 17.
