Jamie Knee to Speak at Sonoma County Tourism Annual Meeting
Wine as a Passport: Giving travelers a reason to stay, savor, and return. By Jamie Knee
Jamie Knee, Wine Travel PresenterÂ
I am honored to share that I will be speaking at the Sonoma County Tourism Annual Meeting on October 1, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country in Rohnert Park, California. As a wine travel speaker, global wine presenter, and founder of Petite Wine Traveler, I will be presenting my signature topic, Wine as a Passport: Giving Travelers a Reason to Stay, Savor and Return. My journey as a speaker focuses on both wine and travel bringing these passions together, making me a unique wine travel speaker for audiences who seek authentic connection.
This year’s event brings together tourism, hospitality, wine, and business leaders at an important moment for destination marketing. Not only will discussions cover industry changes, but the event will serve as a great gathering for anyone interested in hearing from a wine travel speaker about the future of tourism. Sonoma County Tourism has framed the Annual Meeting around transformation. In particular, it will cover how destinations can stand apart in a sea of sameness, respond to shifts in the wine industry, adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence, and build stronger relationships with today’s travelers. Get Tickets to Sonoma County Annual Tourism Meeting
Jamie Knee, Wine Travel Presenter, to present at Sonoma County Tourism Meeting
The Featured Speaker Lineup
The featured speaker lineup also includes Rick Steves, the beloved public television host, guidebook author, and founder of Rick Steves’ Europe. To be listed alongside a travel voice who has done so much to help people see the world with curiosity, openness, and cultural connection makes this invitation especially meaningful. While my work is rooted in wine travel and enotourism, I share the belief that travel is most powerful when it helps us connect more deeply to people, culture, and place. As part of this event, I’m proud to join the stage as a wine speaker representing the intersection of culinary adventure and travel journey. Visit Rick Steve’s Page
My presentation, Wine as a Passport: Giving Travelers a Reason to Stay, Savor and Return, will explore how wine can become one of the most powerful tools for destination storytelling. Wine travel and the perspective of an engaging speaker combine to show that wine is never only what is poured into the glass. It is landscape, agriculture, culture, food, hospitality, history, memory, and the human connection that turns a visit into something lasting.
As a wine travel writer, global wine presenter, Forbes Travel Guide Speaker, and founder of Petite Wine Traveler, my work sits at the intersection of wine, tourism, luxury hospitality, and storytelling. Sharing my experiences as a well-traveled wine speaker broadens the conversation about regional influence. I help wine regions, hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruise lines, and destination partners translate place into experiences that travelers can feel, understand, and remember. That matters now more than ever.
Travelers are not simply looking for another tasting
Travelers are not simply looking for another tasting, another beautiful room, or another scenic view. Instead, they are looking for context, connection, and a reason to care. They want to know why a wine matters, who made it, what grows around it, what belongs beside it on the table, and how it reflects the place they came to visit. For many, hearing from a wine travel speaker gives them even deeper context for their journeys.
For wine regions and hospitality brands, this creates a tremendous opportunity. A glass of wine can become a doorway into a destination, as highlighted by many a travel speaker focused on wine. A vineyard visit can become a deeper understanding of landscape. A pairing can become a memory. A story can become the reason someone stays longer, returns sooner, or shares the experience with others.
Sonoma County Tourism Board, Transformation
Sonoma County is a natural place for this conversation.
Sonoma County is a natural place for this conversation. With its vineyards, farms, coast, culinary culture, small towns, luxury hotels, wellness experiences, and deep agricultural identity, Sonoma represents the kind of destination where wine can connect travelers to much more than a tasting room. For those seeking insight from a wine speaker with travel expertise, Sonoma shines as an inspiring backdrop. It can connect them to a way of life.
I am especially excited to join this gathering during harvest season, when wine country is at its most alive. Harvest reminds us that wine tourism is not separate from the work of a region. It is tied to growers, winemakers, hospitality teams, restaurants, hotels, farms, and the communities that bring the destination to life. As a travel speaker, my role includes illuminating these connections through the lens of wine exploration.
This is the future of wine travel: not simply inviting people to taste, but giving them a reason to belong. In essence, each speaker who travels and shares about wine inspires authentic discovery. Even briefly, it offers a way to connect to the place they are visiting.
I look forward to sharing this conversation in Sonoma County. In addition, I will continue to help wine regions, tourism boards, hotels, restaurants, and hospitality partners create experiences that inspire people to stay, savor, and return. In the same spirit, my work as a travel and wine speaker aims to leave a lasting impression on all attendees.
Wine Travel Presenter Jamie Knee
Work with Jamie Knee
Jamie Knee is a wine travel writer, global wine presenter, Forbes Travel Guide Speaker, international wine judge, and founder of Petite Wine Traveler. Through writing, speaking, hosted tastings, wine travel experiences, and destination storytelling, she helps wine regions, tourism boards, hotels, resorts, cruise lines, restaurants, and hospitality brands connect travelers more deeply to place. If you’re planning an event and seek a passionate wine travel speaker, consider reaching out to Jamie.
For speaking engagements, wine travel collaborations, hosted experiences, media partnerships, or destination storytelling opportunities, please contact Jamie through Petite Wine Traveler. To book Jamie for your next event as a wine travel speaker, send your inquiry today.
