Wine, Health and Public Policy: A Provocative Keynote at the ASEV National Conference

DAVIS, CA — May 8, 2025 — Currently carrying out an education campaign based on peer-reviewed science that acknowledges both the potential health benefits and risks of moderate alcohol consumption, noted physician, researcher and author Dr. Laura Catena will provide the keynote address at the 76^th American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) National Conference in Monterey, California on June 18.

Titled “Reviewing Alcohol and Health: Perspectives on the 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, Recent Reports, and Flawed Comparisons to Tobacco,” Dr. Catena’s keynote promises to ignite essential dialogue at the intersection of science, public health and wine policy.

A Harvard and Stanford-trained biologist and physician, Dr. Catena is best known in the global wine industry as managing director of her family’s historic winery in Mendoza, Argentina, and as the founder of the Catena Institute of Wine, a leading research institute dedicated to advancing wine quality through science. With 27 years as an emergency physician in California, Dr. Catena now uses her dual expertise to challenge misinformation about moderate alcohol consumption.

Her recent initiative, In Defense of Wine, has garnered international attention for pushing back on increasingly one-sided public health narratives that ignore credible science around moderate wine consumption. From major press outlets to federal dietary panels, Dr. Catena has emerged as a powerful voice advocating for balanced, evidence-based public health messaging.

“Dr. Catena’s credentials as both a physician and a winemaker make her an ideal voice to address the science and rhetoric around alcohol consumption and human health,” said ASEV Technical Program Director Hans Walter-Peterson. “In an atmosphere of conflicting information and increasing regulatory pressure, it is essential for our industry to better understand the science of the potential risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. As a scientific community, we believe that policy decisions should come from research-based evidence, and that is what Dr. Catena will bring to our conference. This presentation will be of interest not just to the grape and wine industry, but also to health journalists, nutritionists and policy experts across the country.

For more information on the ASEV 2025 National Conference, which will take place from June 16 to 19 at the Portola Hotel and Monterey Convention Center, including a full schedule of events, visit the ASEV National Conference page.

ASEV is an international community of wine and grape professionals that promotes industry vitality through the exchange of information and support of research and education. ASEV hosts the National Conference in June and co-hosts the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in January. ASEV publishes the online American Journal of Enology and Viticulture (AJEV) and awards scholarships to students pursuing a degree in enology, viticulture, or in a curriculum emphasizing a science basic to the wine and grape industry.

MEDIA NOTE: Media are invited to attend the keynote, which will take place on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. at the Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Center. Journalists will have an opportunity to speak with Dr. Catena following the address.
To request a press pass or to schedule an interview with Dr. Catena, please contact Muriel Banares at muriel@brownmillerpr.com.