By Paolo Sabbatini and Jennifer Berkey et.al
Traverse City welcomed the Michigan grape and wine community on Aug. 21–22, 2025, for the fourth annual Dirt to Glass™ conference. Organized by Michigan State University Extension, Michigan State University AgBioResearch and Intentional Agriculture, this year’s gathering centered on the theme “From Intention to Impact,” a call to transform conversation into action across every part of the industry.
Day one: Knowledge shared, challenges confronted
The first day unfolded at the Cathedral Barn at Historic Barns Park, beginning with opening reflections from Amanda Danielson of Intentional Agriculture and Paolo Sabbatini, PhD, of Michigan State University. They reminded attendees that Dirt to Glass was created not just as a conference, but as a place to bring together soil science, viticulture, winemaking and the full spectrum of wine professionals, from distribution to sales. They stressed that the 2025 program was shaped by feedback from last year’s conference and developed with the help of a volunteer planning committee made up of industry leaders committed to delivering timely, relevant topics year after year.
The keynote address by Katie Nelson, vice president of Winemaking at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, provided a rare perspective into the dynamics of scaling a premium wine brand.
Source : msu.edu