CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE (DAVIS, Calif.) — Karen MacNeil, wine authority, author of “The Wine Bible,” and co-founder of COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine, will deliver the opening keynote at the 2026 Vine to Mind Symposium, a joint initiative of the University of California, Davis and Harvard University, taking place May 19-20 on the UC Davis campus. MacNeil will be joined by Christine Wente and Michael Mondavi, two figures whose family names have shaped the American wine story for generations. Together, the three will speak to the cultural standing of California wine today, and to the work of sustaining wine’s place in American life for the next generation.
The Vine to Mind Symposium convenes data scientists, scholars, and industry leaders to examine how data-driven insight and AI can advance viticulture, enology, and wine communications. Additional speakers include Orley Ashenfelter, Eric Asimov, Jing Cao, Felicity Carter, Joe Czerwinski, Xiao-Li Meng, Madeline Puckette, Liz Thach, Jason Wise, and Ben Montpetit. Sessions will be held at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, with a post-symposium visit to Napa Valley on May 21, 2026.
That work is the animating purpose behind Come Together A Community for Wine, which MacNeil co-founded in 2024 with Kimberly Noelle Charles, DipWSET, of Charles Communications Associates and Gino Colangelo of Colangelo & Partners. In response to mounting headwinds facing the global wine industry, Come Together has built two of the largest pro-wine consumer campaigns in the United States: Share & Pair Sundays, now in its second year and running May 3 through June 28, and Come Over October, returning for the third year this fall.
The symposium brings together wine industry leaders and academics to explore the intersection of wine, wine communications, data science, and artificial intelligence, and how data-driven insights and AI can advance viticulture, enology, and the broader wine ecosystem. This year’s gathering also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, widely considered the blind tasting that forever changed the cultural landscape for the California wine industry.
The 2026 symposium will be held on the UC Davis campus May 19-20, 2026, with a post-symposium visit to Napa Valley on May 21. For topics, speakers, and past highlights, visit: https://www.vinetomind.org/.
COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine is a dynamic community for wine enthusiasts dedicated to fostering connections, education, and appreciation within the wine world. Through innovative campaigns and community-driven initiatives, the organization brings together industry professionals, passionate consumers, and wine lovers of all backgrounds to celebrate wine’s unique ability to create meaningful human connections. Learn more: https://www.cometogetherforwine.com/.
RELATED LINKS: https://shareandpairsundays.com/ and https://www.comeoveroctober.com/
SUMMARY [AI]
- Wine expert Karen MacNeil will deliver the opening keynote at the 2026 Vine to Mind Symposium on May 19-20 at University of California, Davis, joined by Christine Wente and Michael Mondavi to discuss the future and cultural relevance of California wine.
- The symposium will explore how data science and AI can advance viticulture, winemaking, and wine communications, featuring prominent speakers from the wine, media, and academic communities, with sessions at the Robert Mondavi Institute and a Napa Valley visit following the event.
- MacNeil also highlighted the mission of COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine, which launched national campaigns like Share & Pair Sundays and Come Over October to strengthen consumer engagement and address challenges facing the U.S. wine industry.
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This version of news first appeared on California Newswire © 2026 – all rights reserved. Image credit: COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine (image modified by Christopher Simmons).
