Below is the agenda and, below that, the content description for the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference. Please note this agenda is subject to change.
2012 WINE BLOGGERS CONFERENCE AGENDA
Wednesday, August 15
We will add a variety of two-day pre-conference excursions throughout Oregon. Details to come. $100 extra price includes one night lodging, three meals, local transportation, and winery visits.
Thursday, August 16
7:30 PM Welcome Reception provided by the Oregon Wine Board
Friday, August 17
10:00 AM Registration and Tradeshow (ends 12:15 PM)
12:20 PM Conference Opening
12:30 PM Keynote Speech
1:20 PM Live Wine Blogging – Whites & Roses
2:30 PM Depart for winery visits including dinner – details to come
8:30 PM Depart wineries for DoubleTree host hotel
9:30 PM Night of Many Bottles
Saturday, August 18
9:30 AM Three Blogger-Led Discussions
11:00 AM Breakout Sessions
12:00 PM Lunch on Your Own
1:15 PM Three Breakout Sessions
2:25 PM Three Breakout Sessions
3:35 PM Keynote Speech
4:30 PM Live Wine Blogging – Reds
5:30 PM Break or Pre-Dinner Reception (to be determined)
6:30 PM Wine Blog Awards and Dinner with King Estate Winery
8:45 PM International Wines Night
10:15 PM Unofficial Post Parties
Sunday, August 19
9:30 AM Q&A with Wine Blog Awards winners who are present
10:45 AM Ignite Wine!
11:30 AM Discussion of 2012 Conference & Preview of 2013
12:00 noon Conference finish
PROGRAM CONTENT
- Pre-Conference Excursions: We will be working with a number of Oregon regional winery and tourism associations to set up overnight visits to area wineries. Excursions will cost an extra $100 and include one night hotel, three meals, local ground transportation, and winery visits. Details to come.
- Thursday Welcome Reception: On Thursday evening from 7:30 to 9:30 PM we will have an optional pre-conference Welcome Reception courtesy of the Oregon Wine Board. Taste a fantastic selection of Oregon wines to kickstart your weekend, meet your fellow attendees before the conference starts, and have a great time.
- Registration, Wine Tasting and Trade Show: Registration starts at 10:00 AM and runs through 12:30 PM. After you have registered, meet all our fabulous sponsors one-on-one. You will have the opportunity to taste wines from a select group of winery sponsors in addition to meeting and learning more about other sponsors and their products and services. We hope to be able to provide a casual lunch as well.
- Friday Keynote: We will solicit input from wine bloggers and work with our blogger advisory board to determine keynote speakers. If you have suggestions, please let us know!
- Live Wine Blogging: Bloggers will taste, review, and blog or Tweet about wines, all while hearing directly from the vintners themselves. The conference will be divided into tables of approximately seven participants and each winery will have five minutes to pour, give a short explanation of the wine, and answer questions while bloggers are recording their thoughts (live). Wineries then rotate to the next table. It’s a fast process (although slower than speed dating) but this format allows winemakers and conference participants the opportunity to interact in a small group setting. We will have separate Live Wine Blogging sessions for white and rose wines (Friday) and red wines (Saturday).
- Friday Wine Country Visit: New this year we will move our wine country visits to Friday, allowing you to enjoy the area and meet other conference participants on the first day of the conference and focus on the academic portion on Saturday. Attendees will break into eight groups to visit eight local vineyards and eight local wineries. Groups will then join together to participate in four excellent wine pairing dinners. This is always a highlight of the conference as you can learn about the local area; meet with local winemakers, grape growers, and winery owners; and taste some delicious local wines. The wine country visits will be organized by the Oregon Wine Board.
- Friday Night of Many Bottles: Also new this year we will have an official bring-your-own-wine-to-share night called Night of Many Bottles. Please bring one bottle of wine to share. It can be from your local winery, a bottle you have had cellared for too many years, or simply your favorite wine. Bloggers and conference veterans Christophe Smith and Drew Lazorchak have volunteered to coordinate this party. It should be a highlight!
- Blogger-Led Discussions: We will have three discussions running simultaneously, similar to Breakout Sessions but with no panels and with the ability to have you enter and exit each discussion as you please. This was a highlight of the conference in 2011 so we have increased the time allotment to 80 minutes and moved the sessions to Saturday, the prime day of the conference.
- Saturday Breakout Sessions: We will have three one-hour breakout sessions, each consisting of three separate topics. Yes, this means you have to choose your topic and can’t see all three. But it allows us to bring in more content suitable to more attendees. We will solicit input from the blogging community and work with our blogger advisory board to determine the breakout sessions.
- Saturday Keynote Speaker: We will solicit input from wine bloggers and work with our blogger advisory board to determine keynote speakers. If you have suggestions, please let us know!
- Saturday Wine Blog Awards and Banquet Dinner: The 2012 Wine Blog Awards winners will be announced live at the conference during dinner. If you would like to participate in a group that will help determine the presentation structure, please let us know. The Saturday Banquet Dinner will be presented by King Estate Winery, a Eugene, Oregon-based producer of fine wines including Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and limited amounts of Chardonnay
- International Wine Night: On Saturday evening we will have a number of sponsors pouring international wines. This is an excellent opportunity to taste wines from around the globe. Please see our Sponsors tab if you are interested to pour wines this evening.
- Unofficial After Parties:We know our winery friends like to throw unofficial parties at the Wine Bloggers Conference. Please respect the conference agenda, our speakers, and our sponsors by scheduling any after parties after the official content. We are purposefully ending the Saturday evening activities at 10:15 PM to make this possible without staying up too late!
- Q&A With Wine Blog Award Winners: Per a suggestion from a 2011 conference attendee, we have added a session where you can hear from and ask questions of 2012 Wine Blog Award winners who are present at the conference. This is your opportunity to learn from several of the best wine bloggers out there.
- Ignite Wine: This is a fast, fun event that will give eight bloggers the opportunity to present on a topic of their choosing. Each presenter has five minutes and must time the talk to coincide with 20 slides, automatically advanced on 15-second intervals. We want to hear what you have to say – but say it fast! See the Ignite Wine! blog post from last year for more info.
- Wrapup: We’ll take a little time to review the conference and discuss plans for the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference.
