2025 ISPC Speakers

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig

Andy Farmer

Andy has owned and operated Northeastern Vine Supply with his wife India since 2002.  We grow, pack and ship grapevines of cold hardy varieties from our farm in Vermont to commercial and hobby growers around the country.  In addition to their grapevine nursery production, we also maintain 8 acres of “mother block” vineyard with over 40 named and un-named varieties of grapes that supplies our nursery with budwood and grapes for wine production, as well as hi tunnel table grapes for the local market.  They feel fortunate to have worked with growers from challenging climates as diverse as maritime and mountain areas of the East, the Upper Midwest and Plains, and the high deserts of the Intermountain region, and they apply that experience to helping growers match grape variety, site, and their goals.

Dr. Suzanne Slack

Dr. Suzanne Slack joined the Horticulture faculty at Iowa State University in late 2021 specializing in fruit production. She received her PhD from Michigan State in 2020; her dissertation topic was on the tree fruit disease fire blight. Dr. Slack’s new fruit program at Iowa State aims to improve fruit production in Iowa.

Parker Puchta

Parker Puchta is the CEO of Adam Puchta Winery, the Oldest Continuously Owned Family Farm winery in the Country. His leadership extends across the industry as the President of the Missouri Vintners Association and Vice President of the Hermann Vintners Association. Parker’s commitment to excellence and community involvement is also reflected in his active participation as a local Jaycee member.

Under Parker's guidance, Adam Puchta Winery has achieved significant recognition, most recently winning the 2024 Husmann Jaeger Award for Best White Wine. Parker's vision for the winery builds on the significant achievements of his late father, Tim Puchta, who laid the roots for the winery's success. Together with his dedicated staff, Parker continues to develop this legacy, ensuring that Adam Puchta Winery remains a pivotal player in the Missouri wine industry.

Kristy & Bob Walker

Kristy and Bob Walker are the founders of Walker Homestead Farm and Winery, a thriving and sustainable agricultural operation near Iowa City established in 2020. Their farm features a diverse blend of gardens, orchards, vineyards, pasture, and cropland, along with a charming small venue that seamlessly combines farming and agritourism. Beyond their work on the farm, Kristy and Bob are both professors at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business. They bring a shared passion for mentoring and empowering local businesses, leveraging their expertise to foster growth and prosperity within their community.

Randall Vos

Randall is the Commercial Fruit Crops Field Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach where he provides technical assistance to fruit growers throughout the state. He has a wide range of experience in fruit production. Prior to working in Extension, Randall taught production horticulture courses and served as the Coordinator for the Mid-American Wine Competition at Des Moines Area Community College.

Lora Friest

Lora Friest is a Tourism Liaison for the Iowa Tourism Office. In her position she engages industry partners in implementation of the Iowa Tourism Office’s innovative Marketing Plan, administers the Iowa Tourism Grant and works one-on-one with tourism partners to increase understanding of ITO programs, branding, marketing, economic impact data and other insightful research. Lora has 25 years of experience in economic development, including over 20 years as Executive Director of NE Iowa RCD where she built a reputation as ‘a systems change expert’ who fostered partnership and ingenuity to implement hundreds of millions of dollars in projects including several projects that helped with winery business start-up, expansion, branding and marketing.

Anne Zwink

Anne is the winemaker at Soldier Creek Winery in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She's been partnering with CanUp Mobile for 4 years to produce various cider products and has developed experience in the technical, logistical, and marketing aspects of canned wine.

Mason Groben

Mason graduated from UCDavis in Viticulture and Enology, and has spent 20 years in the Iowa wine, craft beer, and event industry.  He is the owner/winemaker at Jasper Winery in Des Moines.

Denise Gardner

Denise Gardner, wine consultant and founder of Denise Gardner Winemaking (DG Winemaking,

https://dgwinemaking.com/) has been integrated in the grape and wine industries for over 20 years with a background in wine production improvement, sensory evaluation, and research. Denise holds a M.S. in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech University, and has completed two industry accreditations (the Certified Specialist of Wine, CSW, from the Society of Wine Educators and the Level 3 certification from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, WSET). Having worked in both industry and academia, Denise provides a unique perspective and experience few hold in the wine industry.

Today, DG Winemaking delivers focused consulting and educational services that improve wine production efficiency, quality, and marketability for wineries of all sizes. Denise’s consulting services continue to address common winemaker needs and connect people to build community within a vast, growing industry. By assisting wineries with fermentation and production plans to optimize quality from grapes to package, providing effective wine processing decisions, assisting with compliance, and creating wines with intention to enhance quality, Denise’s clients have improved recognition among peers, competitions, consumers, and wine reviewers. You can learn more from Denise by subscribing to her Winemakers’ Blog newsletter, following her on Instagram (@dgwinemaking), or listening to her podcast “Voices of the Vine” available through most podcast platforms.

Sarah Thompson

Sarah Thompson is the Director of Rural Development for Greater Iowa City Inc. In her role, Sarah collaborates with Johnson County and rural communities to streamline the process for businesses looking to start or relocate in the area. She is dedicated to promoting local agriculture-based businesses and enhancing the economic stability of rural communities. Sarah's efforts include initiatives like community branding, which supports rural communities in developing and establishing their unique identities, placemaking, and economic development education for rural areas.

With a passion for development and a commitment to fostering growth, Sarah plays a crucial role in ensuring that the rural areas of Greater Iowa City thrive and maintain their small-town charm while embracing new opportunities.

Tyler Ackerson

Tyler Ackerson serves as the Legislative Liaison for the Iowa Department of Revenue, representing the Department on tax, alcohol, and lottery policy matters before the Iowa legislature and with constituent groups, government agencies, and the general public. Mr. Ackerson previously served as an Executive Officer with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, drafting legislation, managing the agency’s administrative rules program, and providing education and outreach to

stakeholders in the areas of alcohol licensing and regulatory policy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree

from the University of Iowa with a double major in journalism and political science. He is also a graduate of Drake University’s nationally accredited Certified Public Manager program.

Chuck Crabtree

Chuck Crabtree serves as a member of the alcohol licensing leadership team with the Iowa Department of Revenue's Alcohol and Tax Compliance Division.  He is the licensing team’s subject matter expert on wineries, breweries, and distilleries, along with all beer and wine wholesalers.  Chuck has over 4 years of experience working for the state in alcohol licensing, operations, administrative actions, and education.  He comes to the state after 5 years of experience as a Chief Business Officer/Head Brewer for an Iowa brewery and 10 years with Indian Hills Community College as the director of Iowa BioDevelopment and the Regional Entrepreneurship Center.

Dr. Aude Watrelot

Dr. Aude Watrelot is an Assistant Professor and Extension specialist of Enology in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University. Dr. Watrelot’s research area is fruit, grape and wine tannin and polysaccharide chemistry and their relationship with wine quality. Dr. Watrelot graduated with a PhD degree in Food Science from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the University of Avignon in France. Following graduation, Dr. Watrelot moved to California both at CSU Fresno and UC Davis to keep conducting research into polyphenol-macromolecular interactions on red wine chemistry. At ISU, she is currently conducting research and developing Extension programs on understanding viticultural and winemaking practices that could maximize phenolics extraction and improve wine quality. She had developed extension programs such as webinars, workshops, field days, articles to answer the growing wine industry in Iowa and in the Midwest.  She is currently serving as the chair elect for the American Society of Enology and Viticulture – Eastern Section (ASEV-ES) and as the vice-president for the Groupe Polyphenols.

Jon Frank

Jon Frank has been a student of the soil for the last 40 years. In the past 2 decades Jon has been a soil consultant and a citizen scientist. During this time he has made thousands of fertility recommendations for gardens, greenhouses, market gardens, specialty crops, fruit trees, and field crops. 

Through trial and error, and a fair share of mistakes on the way, Jon clearly proved the cascade that starts with soil health and impacts plant health, food quality, animal health and performance, and culminates  with human health and vitality.

Jon lives in southern Minnesota with his wife Rebecca. They have the joy of 5 children and 4 grandchildren. When not busy with work Jon loves to spend time with family, do some gardening, and manage the trees on his property.

Justin M. Glisan

Dr. Glisan has an extensive background in atmospheric and climatological research, with expertise in the analysis of extreme temperature and precipitation events. He earned his B.S. (2005) and M.S. (2007) in meteorology at the University of Missouri, where he concentrated on droughts and heat waves. In 2012, he completed his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State University with a research concentration on the dynamical causal mechanisms of precipitation and temperature extremes. While at Iowa State University, his research had a strong academic collaboration across a broad range of federally funded projects. His work experience includes advanced atmospheric research techniques, large data machine learning, and statistical analysis.

As State Climatologist of Iowa, his responsibilities include quality control of Iowa weather observations, weekly recommendations to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and weekly and monthly climate summaries for state stakeholders. Iowa weather and climate observations go back to 1872 and represent the history of weather across the state. These observations help tell the story of Iowa agriculture and how resilient and innovative the state’s farmers are and have been. Looking at how trends in precipitation and temperature are changing and applying this climatological analyses through the lens of agriculture is also a very important part of the position. Dr. Glisan advises the Secretary of Agriculture on climatological matters impacting the agricultural sector.

Sara Pirtle

Sara Pirtle is the Wine and Beer Education Specialist for the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute at Iowa State University. An ISU Culinary Food Science graduate with several years of experience in the food and craft beer industries, as well as a foray in small-scale vegetable and native woody plant production, she now supports winemakers through troubleshooting, outreach, and resource development.

Erin Norton

Erin joined the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute in December 2015 and is currently the Associate Director.  Erin’s background in chemistry eventually led her to studies in viticulture and enology and before coming to Iowa she worked 7 harvest seasons around the world. Erin finished her PhD in food science in 2022 at Iowa State University.  At the MGWII Erin is responsible for all research and outreach activities.

Becca Ritz

Rebecca is passionate about the wine industry and making it easier for businesses to achieve their goals.

In 2008, she blended two of her loves – design and wine – and began to focus on helping wine brands tell their brand story. Rebecca specializes in integrating this brand story and strategy into print, packaging, digital marketing, and website design and development to stand out from the

competition.

She prides herself on providing tangible takeaways that owners and marketing managers can apply to their specific winery. When not speaking, she partners with wineries and vineyards around the country to create unforgettable brands with strategy and heart.

Her free 7 week email course entitled “Sell More Wine” has helped hundreds of wineries discover how branding and digital marketing can play an integral role in increasing their bottom line.

Bauerhaus Design is a member of the Wine Industry Network, Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association, and the Women of the Vine & Spirits, an organization dedicated to the support and advancement of women in the alcohol beverage industry.