SommCon 2025

I recently had the pleasure of attending SommCon at the Rancho Bernardo Inn here in San Diego County. While I’ve attended in the past, this year was unique: I joined the volunteer team to help with event execution, which offered a cool, interesting, and completely new perspective. My sincerest thanks to the Fast Forward team, especially Leslie Belenzo, for welcoming me so graciously and making me feel like I’d been part of the crew for years.

In previous years, I attended as a hospitality professional and beverage buyer. This time, however, was different. Recently, my company had a reduction-in-force, and I was among those who lost their jobs. SommCon is one of the premier events for gathering wine professionals for amazing seminars, tastings, and discussions, and since it was held locally, I would have been loath to miss it.

Given my unemployment, the financial investment to attend wasn’t entirely within my means. But SommCon offers such incredible value, and I was determined to be there. So, I put on my thinking cap. As I browsed the site, I noticed the volunteer link, quickly filled out the form, and to my delighted surprise, I received an invitation shortly thereafter.

I had some idea of what volunteering might entail, having attended previously and also executed large-scale events professionally. In the days leading up to SommCon, I was elated to learn that I would be serving as a Floating Room Lead, assisting as part of the volunteer leadership team. Fortunately, the other “greenhorn” and I were warmly welcomed by a friendly, diligent, and cohesive team with years of experience together and a great plan to execute.

The experience was, in a word, incredible. My days were a whirlwind of activity, from setting tasting mats and glasses to "proofing" and pouring amazing wines, and scrambling to find the right size Aqua Panna bottles and then face them perfectly (shoutout to Nestlé, thank you for sponsoring!). It was inspiring to work alongside such enthusiastic and dedicated professionals from all over the country. Being a volunteer also allowed for an interesting freedom of movement. When not setting up or breaking down, we were generously invited to pop into fabulously compelling sessions led by producers, farmers, industry professionals, and thought leaders.

I was so invigorated by meeting so many interesting people, having so many informative conversations, and creating new relationships with like-minded individuals from around the world. There are too many awesome people to name, and I certainly didn’t take enough pictures, but the experience was so wonderful. It was a powerful reminder of how much wine—and hospitality as a whole—brings me joy. I can’t wait to do it again.