Join us at the picturesque Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, California, for our annual Wine Industry Financial Roundtable for lunch, networking, and an industry-specific panel discussion.

Panel topics include:

• How wineries develop strategies to meet the needs of their customers, including wholesale partners, export partners, direct-to-consumer (DTC) customers, and grape clients
• Ways the wine industry can bring in new wine drinkers while moving the industry forward 
• The current market for M&A activity and valuations

The event begins at 12:00 p.m., with check-in beginning at 11:15 a.m. Please feel free to bring a bottle of wine to share. We look forward to seeing you.

Capacity is limited—please register early.

Note to service providers: We’re limiting service providers, so please don’t forward to other providers. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Elijah Pfister, MBA, Founder, Warp & Weft Strategic Partners

Elijah is a seasoned executive in the wine and spirits industry with a track record of founding, scaling, and exiting ventures successfully. As an advisor, he specializes in finance, strategic change management, and operational excellence. A Stanford MBA graduate, he helps companies assess their current position and implement strategies for sustained success.

Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing, Wine Institute

As vice president of international marketing for California wines, Honore draws on her more than 20 years of experience in international wine marketing, brand strategy, and association management to build the global brand for California wines and promote export sales. Prior to joining the Wine Institute, Honore held several senior leadership positions in the wine sector including as the executive director of the Sonoma County Vintners, president of Brack Mountain Wine Company, and North American brand director for Penfolds and Rosemount Estate with Foster’s Wine Estates.

Bret Munselle, Owner, General Manager, Munselle Vineyards, LLC

Bret is a Sonoma County native and fifth-generation grape grower in Sonoma County. His family started farming in Alexander Valley in 1876. Bret was born and raised on his family’s ranch in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County. After graduating from UC Davis with a B.S. in Agricultural & Managerial Economics, he began his professional career as an appraiser with American AgCredit.

Mario Zepponi, MBA, Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets

Mario Zepponi is a managing director with the beverage alcohol team at BMO Capital Markets. He has extensive experience performing valuations and negotiating and structuring purchase, sale, and lease transactions for the beverage alcohol industry. Mario cofounded Zepponi & Company in 2009, an M&A firm specializing in the beverage alcohol industry, which joined BMO Capital Markets in June 2024. Prior to Zepponi & Company, Mario practiced law as a corporate, real estate, and food and beverage attorney.