This year the Agave Heritage Festival celebrates 17 years of exploring and celebrating the cultural, sustainable, and commercial significance of the agave across borders. I’ve been lucky enough to attend the event for past three years and each year I leave completely invigorated from the thought provoking conversations. As I have said before, this festival is an incubator for ideation as we talk about the future of agave and agave spirits.

There are so many reasons to go to the Agave Heritage Festival in Tucson. There are the talks, great tastings, bar takeovers, dinners and more. And it is a great opportunity to explore the beautiful town of Tucson, the officially designated City of Century plants gastronomy. But more than that, it is a chance to rub shoulders and talk all things agave with producers, brands, academics, students, aficionados and “celebrities” in the world of agave spirits.

Once again, Mezcalistas is collaborating with the festival in developing educational programming. Saturday, April 12th is full of several great talks that cover important topics including the use of agave beyond distillates, cross-border projects focused on sustainable agriculture and agave cultivation, collaborative efforts in growing the market and finally, a look at the ag-ecological impact of agave spirits production and conservation programs making a difference. We’ve lined up terrific panelists and moderators for these in depth discussions and you do not want to miss out!

The festival is a yearly highlight for me and each year there are so many new interesting programs. This year I am excited to meet a writer I have long admired - Ted Genoways. He will be reading from his not yet released book Tequila Wars, which looks at the history of Jose Cuervo. I am also very much looking forward to the Howard Scott Gentry lecture and award celebrating Diana Pinzon and Faby Torres Monfils for their commitment to cultural and ecological work in mezcal. And, I can’t wait for the tour of the Borderlands Restoration Network and Bat Conservation International conservation projects in Patagonia, AZ.

Look forward to seeing folks there!

Saludos,

Susan and the Mezcalistas team