Get Prepared for Crush Season!

Brad has owned and published WineMaker Magazine for the last 22 years. WineMaker Magazine is available in both print and digital formats. He also runs the annual WineMaker Conference which includes: four days of winemaking seminars, workshops, and special events held in a different wine country location each year. In addition, WineMaker hosts the world’s largest wine competition for home winemakers, now in its 19th year. More recently, WineMaker has started offering online versions of their popular workshops as well as leading week-long winery travel tours in Europe and North America. To learn more about WineMaker Magazine, please visit winemakermag.com.

Christina Musto is a third-generation wine grape broker at Musto Wine Grape Company, home winemaker, and certified sommelier (WSET II). Christina has a Masters in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. Christina works at Musto Wine Grape Company in Hartford, CT as Head of Sales and Marketing. She is also a longtime member of the American Wine Society and is a Co-Founder of The Women Winemakers of New England. Christina is passionate about all things wine, winemaking, helping others start their own wineries, and supporting female-run beverage businesses. Christina also has a personal wine blog and writes for WineMaker Magazine, the American Wine Society Journal, and CTVisit.com.

Frank has been making wine from kits, juice, grapes and frozen must; for over 18 years. During this time he has developed his skills through his working habits and attending many seminars and classes, including WineMaker Magazine Conferences and Penn State classes to name a few. Frank also teaches several classes at Musto Wine Grape in Hartford, CT. The most popular class is called the “Bootcamp” winemaking class. It meets five Saturdays for 3-4 hours each week. Participants make wine together from grapes following the entire winemaking process with class lectures and hands-on experience. In addition to attending seminars and teaching classes, Frank finds the time to make wine at home. His entire basement is a winery with a tank room, barrel room, and a bottle storage room. Frank also consults at several local wineries. These wineries produce 3,000 – 14,000 gallons of wine each season.

Tom’s family started making wine in 1918 and still do so today. They annually make about 200 gallons of wine for family and close friends. Tom has over 10 years of winemaking experience. Previously, he has worked as a winemaker in Connecticut at Musto Wine Grape Company and he was also Head Winemaker at Chamard Vineyards. He joined Crystal Ridge Winery in South Glastonbury, CT as Head Winemaker in 2015, where he currently oversees the vineyard's operations. A fun fact about Tom, he enjoys flying airplanes! He first started flying as an Air Force pilot and later was a commercial pilot for United Airlines.

Casey is an experienced Applications Engineer at Hanna. She has extensive knowledge and a passion for the beer and wine industries, and even brews her own beer. Casey provides technical expertise to our sales team and customers, and can help across all of Hanna's full range of analytical instrumentation. She has a B.A. focused in Biology and Chemistry from Rhode Island College.