Description
This technical seminar and tasting is built for you and your team to explore how everyday winemaking decisions shape the final result in the glass. We’ll walk through the impact of precision oak alternatives, enzyme selection, and key input choices, showing how small changes can lead to noticeable differences in style, structure, and aroma.
You’ll taste these differences side by side while we talk through what’s happening and why it matters. It’s a chance to compare approaches, ask questions, and pick up practical ideas you can take back to your own cellar.
We’d love to have you there to be part of the conversation, share your perspective, and connect with others focused on making better wine.
Schedule
9:00 am – 9:30 am - Welcome with coffee and pastries.
9:30 am – 9:35 am - Opening Statement by Andy Shillington.
9:35 am – 9:45 am - Introduction to Laffort and sister companies Nobile, Alma Vitis, Vintessentials, and Esencia – Shaun Richardson
9:45 am – 10:25 am - Unbarreled: The Precision Oak Roadmap – Jon Frost. Map the sensory impact of modern oak alternatives and engineer your custom blend. Tasting included.
10:25 am – 10:40 am - 15 minutes break.
10:40 am – 11:10 am - Enzymes: It’s About Time – Shaun Richardson. Compare the sensory impacts of enzyme choice and explore the science driving these differences. Tasting included.
11:10 am – 11:40 am - Same Fruit, Different Fates – Shaun Richardson. Taste for yourself how changing just a few key winemaking ingredients can drastically impact the resulting wine. Tasting included.
Lunch to follow.
Speakers
Shaun Richardson
GM Laffort USA, will be speaking about shaping your wines through different inputs “Same grapes, different wine” and Vintessential enzymatic assay kits.
Born in Melbourne Australia, Shaun entered early into a life of wine. Studying at the renowned Roseworthy Agricultural College in Australia developed his passion, leading to graduation as Dux of the Oenology class. A harvest in California in 1997 led to over a decade leading the winemaking, vineyard and facility departments at Clos Pegase Winery in the Napa Valley. He then completed the Sonoma State University MBA in Wine Business while also dividing his time between consulting projects for winemaking and winery equipment before joining Laffort USA full time in 2014.
Jon Frost
Technical Representative Nobile, will be speaking about “Precision Oak”
Jon holds a WSET Diploma and a B.S. in Accounting. After pursuing a career in music, Jon entered the wine industry and the “school of broom pushing” in 2009 to learn under UC Davis Alumni in the Livermore Valley. In 2015, he moved to Napa Valley for a winemaking position that introduced him to a community that opened him to opportunities to work with consultants, writers, WSET instructors, and the ability to trial new wine technology. Jon joined LAFFORT® in 2020 and brings his experience of inventive solutions for both large and small wineries and a focus on increasing quality at price points of all levels.
Date & Time
Wed, May 27, 2026 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Venue Details
Red Bird Brewing
1080 Richter StKelowna, British Columbia V1Y 2K5
