Featured
Napa Valley Vintners — AI Symposium
Moving Forward in the Wine Industry with AI
Featured-session panelist alongside moderator Geni Whitehouse (BDCo), Aimee Arnold (Brown Bacon AI), and Kia Behnia (Scout).
Speaking
An operator's perspective on AI — for rooms that want substance.
John speaks from inside the build: three AI ventures, an exited services firm, 150+ winery conversations, and a habit of saying the quiet part out loud.
Topics
- 01
Vertical AI: why workflow context beats model size
Related essay: Why the Moat Is the Workflow, Not the Model →Founders · investors · product leaders
- 02
Wine · hospitality · ops leaders
- 03
From research report to persistent customer intelligence
Related essay: From Research Reports to Persistent Customer Intelligence →Marketers · brand & insights leaders
- 04
Enterprise AI automation, without the theater
Related essay: Decision Systems, Not Dashboards →Enterprise transformation buyers
- 05
Founder-market fit, learned in a vineyard
Founder communities · accelerators
Formats
Keynote
30–45 min, with Q&A
Fireside / panel
Moderated or co-presented
Executive workshop
Half-day, hands-on AI opportunity mapping
Podcast / interview
Remote or in-person in Napa
Talks & Appearances
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Selected talks, classes, and conversations.
Speaking & teaching
Napa Valley Vintners
Empowering Wineries with ChatGPT
Taught practical AI tools for smarter winery operations to NVV members.
Napa Valley Hospitality Forum
AI Seminars & Classes
Ongoing partnership delivering AI seminars and hands-on classes for forum members.
AI in Wine Meetup (Sonoma)
AI in Wine Meetup
Speaker on practical AI adoption for the wine industry.
Podcasts & media
Freshly Pressed
From Harvest to High-Tech: Bringing AI to the Wine Industry
On the path from a Larkmead harvest to building AI for wineries.
E.N.G. Media
Building an AI Platform After 150 Customer Interviews
How 150+ stakeholder conversations shaped the product.
Pro Capital Wealth Management
Bringing AI to Napa: How CorkVision is Transforming the Wine Industry
The CorkVision thesis for the wine business.
PVAI Podcast
Enterprise AI, Personas, and Customer Insight
On building defensible AI for consumer insight.