Wine Bloggers Conference – North America

Agenda (Subject to Change)

Friday, June 25
10:00 AM Registration – Marcus Whitman Hotel lobby
10:00 AM Wine Tasting and Meet the Sponsors (ends 1:45 PM)
12:00 noon Taco Truck Tasting lunch (ends 1:30 PM)
2:00 PM Welcome and Conference Overview
2:20 PM Keynote Speaker (To Be Determined)
3:00 PM Announcement and Presentation of 2010 Wine Blog Awards
3:30 PM “About Wine Blogging” Breakout Sessions
4:50 PM Live Wine Blogging – White Wines
7:00 PM Dinner at the Marcus Whitman sponsored by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
9:00 PM After-Hours Walla Walla Walkabout sponsored by the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance

Saturday, June 26
6:30 AM Breakfast on your own (included for Marcus Whitman Hotel guests, $13 for non-hotel guests)
8:00 AM Geology of Walla Walla presented by Kevin Pogue in Renaissance Room at Marcus Whitman Hotel (optional breakfast lecture)
8:55 AM Depart for visits to local vineyards and wineries
12:30 PM Lunch with local wineries
3:20 PM Live Wine Blogging – Red Wines
4:45 PM Wine & Food Pairing Seminar with Jeffrey Saad
5:30 PM Wine & Food Pairing Hors d’Oeuvres
7:00 PM Dinner at the Marcus Whitman sponsored by the Washington Wine Commission
9:00 PM After Hours Fiesta with Live Music and Dancing sponsored by Rias Baixas Albarino and Wines from Spain

Sunday, June 27
6:30 AM Breakfast on your own (included for Marcus Whitman Guests, $13 for non-hotel guests)
9:00 AM Breakout Sessions
11:10 AM 2010 EWBC Introduction &  2010 WBC Conference Discussion
12:00  noon Conference Ends
12:30 PM Depart hotel for optional post-conference excursion to the Red Mountain AVA ($35 cost)
8:30 – 10:00 PM Dropoff in Richland, Washington at Hampton Inn on the Columbia River

Program Content

• Registration, Wine Tasting, Meet the Sponsors, and Taco Truck Lunch: On Friday, June 25th registration starts at 10:00 AM and runs through 2:00 PM. After you have registered, meet all the fabulous sponsors one-on-one in the Sponsor Room. Here 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. From noon through 1:30 PM, participate in a comparative tasting of Walla Walla’s famous Taco Trucks. Blog or Tweet about the tacos from El Taco Loco, La Monarca, Los Taquitos, or Tacos Zapatan.

• 2010 Wine Blog Awards: For the first time, the 2010 Wine Blog Awards will be announced live at the conference. Winners in attendance will receive their prizes and say a few words about how they achieved their success.

• “About Wine Blogging” Breakout Sessions: We will divide into three groups for a presentation and discussion about wine blogging.  Novice Bloggers will learn the basics of blogging, including blog platforms, choosing a subject, adding graphics and video, economics of blogging, etc. Advanced Bloggers will discuss high-level topics such as dealing with burnout, measuring your visitor statistics, interviewing subjects, and more.  Those who are not blogging will participate in a session on Working with Bloggers that focuses on how wineries and other wine industry professionals can improve their collaboration with bloggers.

• 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 ten 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. This year we will have separate Live Wine Blogging sessions for white wines (Friday) and red wines (Saturday).

• Dinners at the Marcus Whitman Hotel: Friday’s dinner will be sponsored by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Saturday’s will be sponsored by the Washington Wine Commission. More details including keynote speakers to come soon.

• After Hours Parties: We will have after-hours parties on both Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday half a dozen Walla Walla tasting rooms will open especially for our group, allowing you to wander the streets of downtown Walla Walla, enjoy wines, and meet local vintners of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance. Saturday evening will be a Spanish fiesta with a band, dancing, and tasting of Spanish wines sponsored by Rias Baixas Albarino.

• Geology of Walla Walla with Professor Kevin Pogue: Dr. Pogue is a professor of geology at Whitman College in Walla Walla. He is currently involved in research on the geologic and geographic controls on the terroir of the Walla Walla Valley AVA and the Quaternary clastic dikes of the Columbia Basin. The geology of Walla Walla is fascinating and this optional breakfast lecture is your chance to hear from an expert.

• Saturday Morning in Wine Country: Situated in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the southeast corner of Washington State, the Walla Walla area is home to over 1,600 acres of grapes and 90 wineries. On Saturday morning we will get into the vineyards and wineries.  We will split into small groups with each group visiting a local vineyard to learn about Walla Walla’s specific terroir, visiting a winery to hear from a panel of local vintners, and visiting a second winery for lunch. This is your chance to ask the locals anything you want, so come prepared!

• Food & Wine Pairings: Special guest Jeffrey Saad, The Next Food Network Star runner up, 25-year food industry veteran and restaurateur will coach you in the art of match making – from exquisite to everyday – followed by a pairing of delectable small bites with complementary wines from around the world. If you have ever thought about expanding your blog to include pairings, now is your opportunity.

• Sunday Breakout Sessions: The Sunday breakout sessions will be presentations by industry professionals who are experts on blogging and social media. We will specifically include content geared towards both bloggers and those in the wine industry who wish to begin learning about how to use blogging and social media. There will be two 40-minute sessions running simultaneously (you need to choose which to attend) for three periods  in a row. Breakout sessions are attended on a first come first serve basis and are not assigned or registered for in advance. Sessions details coming soon.

• 2010 EWBC Introduction &  2010 WBC Conference Discussion: We‘ll take a little time to introduce the 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference and wrap up by asking what you think about next year’s format, activities, tastings, etc.

• Pre-Conference and Post-Conference Excursions: We have partnered with Wine Yakima Valley and the Red Mountain AVA to offer optional pre-conference and post-conference excursions. Please see details by clicking on the separate menu tab above.