{"id":135366,"date":"2026-05-13T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=135366"},"modified":"2026-05-13T14:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:55:53","slug":"karen-macneil-to-keynote-2026-uc-davis-harvard-vine-to-mind-symposium-joined-by-christine-wente-and-michael-mondavi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/karen-macneil-to-keynote-2026-uc-davis-harvard-vine-to-mind-symposium-joined-by-christine-wente-and-michael-mondavi\/","title":{"rendered":"Karen MacNeil to Keynote 2026 UC Davis \/ Harvard ‘Vine to Mind’ Symposium, Joined by Christine Wente and Michael Mondavi"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. HELENA, Calif., May 13, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Karen MacNeil, wine authority, author of “The Wine Bible,” and co-founder of COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine<\/a>, 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\u201320 on the UC Davis campus.<\/p>\n

\"Karen
Photo caption: Karen MacNeil, author of “The Wine Bible,” and co-founder of COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019s place in American life for the next generation.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, now in its second year and running May 3 through June 28, and Come Over October<\/a>, returning for the third year this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWine is at a critical juncture in American culture, and we must rise to meet the challenges,\u201d said MacNeil. \u201cThe Vine to Mind Symposium gives us\u2014scientists and industry leaders alike–an opportunity to come together to explore a modern and practical approach to wine over the coming decades. Coming together on behalf of wine\u2019s future underscores wine\u2019s historic role as the beverage that has brought people together for 8000 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE VINE TO MIND SYMPOSIUM<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2026 Vine to Mind Symposium is organized by the Harvard Data Science Initiative in partnership with the Agricultural and Resource Economics department and the Viticulture and Enology department at the University of California, Davis. 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\u2019s 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\u201320, 2026, with a post-symposium visit to Napa Valley on May 21. For topics, speakers, and past highlights, visit: https:\/\/www.vinetomind.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine<\/strong><\/p>\n

COME TOGETHER A Community for Wine<\/a> 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\u2019s unique ability to create meaningful human connections. Founded by noted wine writer and author Karen MacNeil, along with leading wine industry marketers Gino Colangelo of Colangelo & Partners and Kimberly Noelle Charles, DipWSET of Charles Communications Associates, the mission-driven company shares the story of wine\u2019s historic and contemporary role as a beverage that uniquely brings people together. Learn more: https:\/\/www.cometogetherforwine.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MEDIA CONTACTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kimberly Noelle Charles, DipWSET kcharles@charlescomm.com 415-701-WINE (9463)<\/p>\n

Regan Carlin rcarlin@colangelopr.com 978-460-3921<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. HELENA, Calif., May 13, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9840,"featured_media":135365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11247,12804,1,10,402,20057,197],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wines-and-vineyards","category-ap","category-business-news","category-california-news","category-food-beverage-news","category-napa-business","category-event-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":308,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135366"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135370,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135366\/revisions\/135370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}