For the second year in a row, Nomacorc is helping lead the way in wine closure recycling at the Wine Bloggers Conference. This year, Nomacorc will be collecting all types of corks during the conference, and they’ll be working with new partners to ensure that used closures are recycled and upcycled in the most efficient and effective way.

Partnering with retailers across the U.S. has allowed Nomacorc to regionalize recycling programs and focus on supporting local communities. For example, in Texas, they’ve placed bins at Spec’s Wine & Spirits’110 store locations to collect used closures, which are “upcycled,” or repurposed for other uses like crafting. All proceeds generated from this upcycling program are donated to a local breast cancer awareness program.

In Washington, Nomacorc has partnered with Total Wine & More and AtWork! to help streamline the cork collection process. Located just outside of Seattle, AtWork! is a highly supportive and innovative conduit between adults with disabilities and mainstream employers that provides customized jobs for AtWork! participants. After closures are collected at Total Wine, they are sent to AtWork!, where employees will separate and sort natural and synthetic corks, which are then sold to various recyclers. Currently, there’s strong demand for post-consumer synthetic corks, and most synthetic corks can be recycled and made into many plastic-based items including cell phone cases, park benches and outdoor plastic tiling. All proceeds generated from the sales of the used corks are donated back to the AtWork! program.

Based on our location, all closures collected during this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference will be recycled via the AtWork! offices in Bellevue, Washington.

You’ll also see new collection bins for the conference this year. In addition to our large collection bins, Nomacorc has created smaller, more convenient tabletop containers. Made from recycled plastic, these cube boxes will be placed on tasting tables throughout the conference, making it easier for pourers to recycle closures after uncorking. Each day, the cube containers will be emptied into the larger bins. At the end of the conference Nomacorc will recycle all used closures via the AtWork! center.

So, when you taste that crisp, refreshing glass of Okanagan Pinot Gris at WBC this year, do your part to be eco-conscious by dropping off used closures into one of Nomacorc’s Cork Recovery Bins. See you in Penticton!

The post Nomacorc Cork Recovery Program at WBC13 appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

In just a little over 3 short weeks, wine bloggers from across North America and beyond will descend upon British Columbia, and one of its jewel cities, Penticton.

Step outside the front doors of our host hotel, the Penticton Lakeside Resort, and you’re mere steps away from downtown Penticton. Cross the parking lot, and take a stroll up Main Street — yes, Main Street. Small town charm with a sip of sophistication awaits.

In the first block of Main, you’ll pass Gyro Park with its blue-sky band shell; this is the home of concerts and festivals all summer long, and base-camp for everything from Penticton’s Elvis Festival to the new Challenge Penticton triathlon.

It’s also home to the Downtown Penticton Association’s Breakfast in the Park. On Saturday morning, WBC attendees are invited to Gyro for a light, and portable, breakfast featuring tasty treats from some downtown cafes and restaurants.

This isn’t a sit-down affair; you’ll quickly be enthralled by the Penticton Farmer’s Market in the 100 block of Main Street, and then want to make your way to the 200-400 blocks for the Downtown Community Market, one of the largest outdoor markets in British Columbia.

Souvenir shopping will be easy with dozens of stalls featuring arts and crafts, clothing, jewelry, local artisan food and more. Pop into an art gallery, bookstore or coffee shop as you make your way through the market. Instagram a photo or two of sculptures you’ll pass by, or art created on the walls and in the alleyways as part of Penticton’s street art festival.

As you head back to the hotel, take a walk down Front Street for more market action, check out a few restaurants for later plans, and maybe pick up a cupcake.

Downtown Penticton is the heart of our host city, and the Downtown Penticton Association is its voice, bringing together merchants, residents, businesses, not-for-profit and social service agencies, arts and cultural groups, government, educational institutions and many other community groups to enhance the economic development and social fabric of Penticton.

The Downtown Penticton Association is a sponsor of this year’s WBC, and we want to thank them for their support, hard work, and advocacy to bringing wine bloggers to the Okanagan! And as they say,

“Welcome to downtown Penticton, we’ve got everything under the sun”.

Visit www.downtownpenticton.org , tweet @dtpenticton, or like facebook.com/downtownpenticton.

The post Breakfast in the Park – Welcome to Downtown Penticton! appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

The 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference will return to California for the first time since 2008 and 2009 when we held the conference in Sonoma and Napa. We are working with three excellent wine areas interested to host the 2014 conference and think all three would make fantastic partners.

Please help us decide which location will host the 2014 conference by indicating your preference in our online survey. Please see the official descriptions of each location below (presented in the order the bid was received) accompanied by our comments. You can then vote to indicate your preference here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WBC14locationpublic

We will combine four factors in choosing the host location: the public vote, a private vote of past and current WBC attendees, any restrictions on timing provided by the potential hosts, and the strength of each location’s bid from our point of view as conference organizers. We will announce the 2014 date and host location live at the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticton.

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Santa Barbara County

Nearly 200 wineries call the premium wine producing and wine grape growing region of Santa Barbara County home. Its unique topography and climate offer a diverse growing atmosphere, which would all be showcased during the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference. There are four official appellations (Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Sta. Rita Hills) and several other micro-regions within the broad Santa Barbara County designation. It is a region that offers a wealth of diversity featuring Burgundian-influenced Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Syrah, Mourvedre, and Sauvignon Blanc. The region also offers the potential for planned excursions/dinners in the vineyards and wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley (Buellton, Lompoc, Foxen Valley, Solvang).

Coincidentally, 2014 marks the 10-year anniversary of Sideways, the movie that propelled not only this region but also California wine in general into mainstream, popular culture. No doubt the local wineries will be planning for this anniversary, and our conference will benefit as well from their efforts.

Organizer’s Notes: The WBC would be held at the Marriott hotel in Buellton, which is located in the heart of the Santa Barbara wine region. The Marriott is large enough to accommodate the entire conference, including sessions and hotel rooms. Buellton is 40 minutes from Santa Barbara airport or 1:45 from Los Angeles.

Lodi

“Lodi Wine Country” has been one of California’s major winegrowing regions for over 150 years (yes – even through Prohibition!). It sits 100 miles east of San Francisco near the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta, south of Sacramento, and west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Here, wineries and farms run by 4th and 5th generation families operate in tandem with a new group of vintners who have brought creative winemaking and cutting-edge technology to the region. Lodi is home to a number of major wineries (Robert Mondavi Woodbridge, Turner Road Vintners, Sutter Home Winery, Bear Creek Winery, Michael David Winery, and Oak Ridge Winery) and more than 75 “boutique” wineries. You’ll would certainly visit a few of these on excursions out to wine country.

Grape growing is truly the center of the culture, and the Lodi AVA specifically has about 100,000 acres of winegrapes farmed by more than 750 growers to yield over 20% of California’s total wine grape production. In addition, its signature Lodi Rules accredited sustainability certification makes the region a leader in sustainability.

Organizer’s Notes: The main sessions of the conference would take place at the Hutchins Street Square meeting facility in the city of Lodi. We would negotiate group rates at a number of hotels within one to two miles of the meeting space. Lodi is located near three major airports: Sacramento – 35min; Oakland – 60min; and San Francisco – 90min. Given Lodi’s rich grape-growing history, we might align the conference with this by adding more content related to grapegrowing and vineyard practices.

Paso Robles / San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo County offers a shared opportunity to welcome the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference to Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. Conference and guest accommodations (as well as our general sessions, to be staged in an outdoor tent structure) would take place on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Pismo Beach / Shell Beach with excursions into both Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo wine regions.

Pismo Beach offers the perfect pairing of wine and waves in a warm an inviting atmosphere. Beautiful beaches and a taste of California wine country are at your fingertips with oceanfront hotels and distinct restaurants. Visitors can learn about the local culture and discover new varietals produced here in the historic winemaking regions of Edna valley, Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles, all of which are located just 10-30 minutes outside of downtown Pismo Beach and area attractions. Our wine country offers a refreshing perspective and insight on artisanal winemaking by some of the most respected winemakers in California.

Organizer’s Notes: There is no facility in Paso Robles or San Luis Obispo large enough to accommodate the WBC. This is a joint bid from both areas that includes accommodation and meeting facilities in Pismo Beach. Large group sessions would be held in a walled tent, which might present challenges but also potentially a fantastic environment. Pismo Beach is 3.5 hours drive from San Francisco’s airport, three hours from Los Angeles Airport, 1:20 from Santa Barbara’s airport, and only a short distance from SLO’s airport, which offers flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

The post 2014 WBC Location Vote appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

In a word, glorious. Standing on the winery patio, overlooking the rows of vineyard and the glimmering Okanagan Lake, with the rocky and arid rolling mountains encircling the scene, it is hard not to feel that you have the world by the tail.  There is a word for moments like these, which you’ll find aplenty while touring Kelowna’s Wine Trails: pause. As you stand here and take in the glorious view, you have essentially hit the pause button on life’s frenetic pace.

Kelowna, the  Okanagan Valley’s centre of commerce and cultural hub, offers bloggers the historical context for the valley’s wine industry. This is mile zero of the Okanagan Valley’s oldest wineries – indeed of BC’s first wineries – and the vineyards and orchards that stretch in neat rows throughout Kelowna’s pastoral countryside tell of the great vision and tenacity of the area’s Bacchanalian pioneers. Trailblazing North America’s northernmost wine region was no small feat, although today one would barely know it from the many international awards garnered by the wineries in this locale. Today’s Kelowna wine trails – all five of them with 29 wineries in this pocket of the valley alone – are a delight for discerning wine lovers who expect excellence throughout in the categories of wine, cuisine and culture.

Our Kelowna Pre-Conference excursion (sold out) will take participants to three of the area’s winery and vineyard pioneers, along one of Kelowna’s 5 Wine Trails: the Lakeshore Wine Route. Our first evening will unfold at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, where we will explore how aging wine and sparkling wine inside a 1/8 replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops can positively impact its flavours. As the sun sets over the lake, we will unlock the secrets of biodynamic farming as we enjoy an organic feast at the winery that has achieved Canadian Producer of the Year and Best International Sparkling Wine at the London International Wine & Spirits Competition in recent years.

Our group will overnight in 2 of Kelowna’s finest waterfront hotels: the heritage-style boutique Hotel Eldorado and the Manteo Waterfront Resort’s 2-bedroom villas with all the comforts of home.  Both properties feature locally-sourced menus in their well-recognized restaurants.

The following morning, we’ll find out what’s buzzing at Tantalus Vineyards, BC’s first and only LEED-certified winery (hint: there are many tiny, furry workers…) We’ll enjoy a sparkling breakfast in the stylish tasting room featuring floor to ceiling windows overlooking vineyards, the city of Kelowna, and Okanagan Lake. Here we will get to taste Riesling that has been lauded by wine reviewers such as Jancis Robinson for achieving the most perfect definition of Riesling from some of the area’s oldest vines.

A scenic drive along Kelowna’s breathtaking Lakeshore Road will take us to CedarCreek Estate Winery for a glorious vineyard-side luncheon.  This is one of BC’s first 8 wineries, twice named Canada’s Winery of the Year. Overlooking the majesty of Okanagan Lake, we will meet the players behind the scenes at this “Statesman” of Kelowna’s wineries.

We hope that you’ll feel enriched and enchanted, having learned about the historical context of the wines of the Okanagan Valley before your core conference. And with Kelowna’s growing culinary and farm-to-table offerings, we hope you’ll be intrigued to come back again soon to explore the array of foodie and oenophile experiences in this bustling, beachy city.

Tourism Kelowna is a supporter of the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference and host for this Pre-Conference Exursion.

The post Kelowna Pre-Conference Excursion: Discover the Birthplace of the BC Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

Today we are announcing the addition of a new page to our website, and one we think bloggers will benefit from – the WBC Media Page.

On this page, we are inviting wine bloggers who create content around the Wine Bloggers Conference (including content on our partners, sponsors, conference locations, and local wine industry) to submit their CATEGORY feed, which will then be syndicated on our site.

Visitors to the Media page of our website will read your post’s headline and the first few sentences from your post. If they click on the post, they will be redirected back to your website to read the entire article.

Our goal with this page is to showcase and share all the great content that is generated by wine bloggers who attend the WBC and to hopefully generate interest for you in your blog and writing.

To add your WBC Category Feed URL, please use the form at the bottom of this post.

A few instructions, rules, and tips for success:

1. If you don’t have a specific CATEGORY on your blog for Wine Bloggers Conference (or WBC), you need to create one. A Category URL is very different from a Tag URL, and simply submitting a url of all your posts tagged with WBC will not work. Then, when you write about any aspect of the conference, you will need to make sure you publish it under the WBC category.

2. To send us your feed, all you have to do is add “/feed” to the end of your category url.

3. We will moderate the content. A feed that ends up not having relevant content to the various aspects of the Wine Bloggers Conference will be removed. Please publish your content to your WBC category carefully.

4. The length of the preview showcased on our media page depends on the settings of your blog’s theme. Our preview will showcase up to 300 characters of your post. Make sure your theme is set to share at least that many.

5. Craft your headline and write a good opening paragraph! Make sure both of these include your main keyword for the post. If readers to the media page only see the headline for your post and a brief preview, make sure it sounds like an irresistible read!

6. Consider what your author name is. If you post as “admin”, there will be no indication on the media page preview who you are and what blog your write for. Consider using your blog name as author, your full real name, or some other unique identifier.

The page’s blogroll will list all contributing blogs and their corresponding category name, and it is scheduled to update every 90 minutes. Just like a typical blog, the most recent post will appear at the top. This is definitely a work-in-progress, so please leave your comments, ideas, suggestions below, and we’ll work to make the page better and more useful over time.

Cheers!

The post Wine Bloggers: Contribute to our Media Page appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

The Wine Bloggers Conference is once again thrilled to announce New Wines of Greece as a sponsor of the conference and participant in this year’s agenda.

Greece, one of the oldest winemaking region in the world, is now one of the most dynamic due to tremendous investments in modern technology and a passionate new breed of winemakers. The remarkable transformations in this ancient Mediterranean region spurred its re-branding as the New Wines of Greece.

Greece created the first “culture of wine” over 4,000 years ago, integrating wine into everyday life where Dionysus, the God of wine, played a prominent role. Elaborate cups and vessels were created to drink this divine elixir from the Gods, and wine was consumed at intellectual symposiums held to discuss philosophical ideas of the day.

From the beginning, the Greeks understood the important influence of terroir on the characteristics of wine and shipped their wines in sealed amphorae, becoming the first to create their own Appellations of Origin, a few millenniums before the French.

The Greek vineyard combines all of the elements necessary for the production of high quality wine. Its mild Mediterranean climate includes consistent climatic conditions: lots of sunshine, mild winters, dry summers and cool evenings. The soils range from moderate to poor fertility and vary from sand and rock to clay and limestone with most everything else in between–including the volcanic soils of some islands. Beyond its renowned island beaches, Greece has a dramatically diverse landscape with mountain ranges that traverse the countryside from north to south. Most vineyards are found on the slopes of mountains or on remote islands with a typical vineyard size being less than (1) hectare. With Greece virtually surrounded by water, many vineyards also enjoy the positive, moderating influence of the sea.

Home to over 300 indigenous grapes, Greece is a source of high quality, limited production wines that express the nuances of its unique terroir.  Moschofilero, Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro are the most predominantly produced, while international grape varieties also thrive, allowing Greece to offer an excellent range of varietal wines as well as some very interesting blends.

Like Greek cuisine, which is based on fresh ingredients, simply prepared, our wines are subtle yet complex–designed to compliment rather than overpower food – and offer a great ratio of price to quality.

New Wines of Greece will be hosting the Pre-Dinner Reception on Saturday, June 8th at 5:30pm.

Connect with New Wines of Greece on Facebook

Follow New Wines of Greece on Twitter: @DrinkGreekWine

The post New Wines of Greece to Host Saturday’s Pre-Dinner Reception appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

Con•stel•la•tion

A Collection of Stars: Opening Night Celebration
Thursday, June 6th, 7pm – 10pm

Prepare for an unforgettable night at Constellation – the June 6 opening night event is designed to showcase the best of BC’s wine country. Constellation – a sponsor of this year’s conference – represents the Great Estates of the Okanagan, an umbrella name for eight different and distinct wine experiences that span the Okanagan Valley from Summerland in the north to Osoyoos in the south.

The experience starts when bloggers hop aboard the #constellation bus, heading south from Penticton to an exciting elevation point revealing one of the most gorgeous viewpoints in the valley.

Catered by Okanagan culinary darlings, Cam Smith and Dana Ewart from renowned Joy Road Catering, conference attendees are in for a treat. Bringing their special brand of “cuisine du terroir” to the table, Joy Road Catering celebrates the best of local ingredients.

Winemakers and special guests will be on hand to share and showcase their insights on creating great wines in this special part of the world. Get to know what makes each winery unique, while enjoying interactive and highly sensory experiences. Immerse yourself in inspired food and wine pairings at eight stand-out settings spread across the grounds and vineyards of one scenic and historic winery.

More than just amazing food and wine there is some serious fun to be had!

Stay tuned for more details!
Charge up that smartphone. Come hungry. Wear comfortable shoes.

The Great Estates of the Okanagan include these eight distinct wine experiences:
Black Sage Vineyard
Inniskillin Okanagan
Jackson-Triggs Okanagan
Nk’Mip Cellars
Osoyoos Larose
See Ya Later Ranch
Steller’s Jay Brut 
Sumac Ridge Estate Winery

Liquid Gold

The Great Estates of the Okanagan is also presenting an Inniskillin Icewine session on Saturday, June 8 from 3:00 to 4:00pm. The session will provide a short and sweet look at what it takes to make a bottle of this globally recognized product.

Speed Dating Makes a Comeback

The wineries of The Great Estates of Okanagan will also be dolling themselves up for Live Wine Blogging June 7 and 8 where six of their reds and whites will be angling to win you over.

Tweet during the Constellation events using #constellation and your #wbc13 hashtags!

The post Opening Night with the Great Estates of the Okanagan appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

One of the ideas we have kicked around at Wine Bloggers Conference headquarters is creating a brand-new wine competition centered on the Wine Bloggers Conference with wine bloggers as judges. Wineries would send wines to be judged, interested bloggers would gather for 1/2 a day pre-conference to judge the wines, and then we would issue awards. We think the experience would be great for wine bloggers (who could take the experience and judge at other competitions) and the competition would be excellent publicity for the wine blogging community.

As a first step in this direction, we will hold a 2.5-hour session on Saturday morning at the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference as follows:

Learn to be a Wine Judge via an In-Depth Look at the BC Wine Industry: Learn the requirements and take the initial step to add wine judging to your list of qualifications, all while hearing from an eminent panel of British Columbia Wine Industry experts. This unique 2.5-hour session will use the concept of terroir and the importance of place, all focused on British Columbia, to guide us through how wine judges actually score wines.

The cool thing about this panel is we have a fantastic lineup of British Columbia wine experts, which means not only will we be learning about wine judging but we’ll be doing so via the theme of British Columbia terroir. I want to give special recognition to Kristof Gillese, who suggested the idea of incorporating BC terroir into the panel and who put the panel together, as follows:

• Chef Kristof Gillese, Moderator, The Chef and the Grape: Chef Kristof is a blogger best known for his writing at AStudentOfWine. While waiting to finish his Certified Chef du Cuisine program, Kristof has completed the ISG levels 1 and 2, is active in the French Wine Scholar program and will be progressing to the Bordeaux Master program late in 2013.
• Eric von Krosigk, Winemaker and Viticulturist at Summerhill Pyramid Winery: Eric co-founded Summerhill but also helped establish Red Rooster, Adora Estate Winery, and Victoria Estate wineries as part of EVK Winery Consulting. He is one of the most awarded winemakers in British Columbia.
• Sandra Oldfield, Winemaker, President, & CEO at Tinhorn Creek: Sandra is a Santa Rosa transplant and graduate of UC Davis, where she studied winemaking and Canadian history before moving north to Oliver, BC.
• John Clerides, Owner at Marquis Wine Cellars: John founded and has been running his Vancouver wine store, a pantheon in the wine importing and retail sales industry, since 1986. John travels the world mulitiple times each year to source top-level wines of all price-points that express their regions with passion and finesse.
• Harry Hertscheg, Executive Director of the Vancouver International Wine Festival: Harry is one of the premier players in the BC wine industry via his role leading the Vancouver International Wine Festival, considered one of the oldest and best wine events in the world.

We know you will appreciate this session and we hope you are enthusiastic about the idea of a future WBC Wine Competition.

The post Learn to be a Wine Judge via an In-Depth Look at the BC Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

In the southernmost part of the Okanagan Valley lies Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, where the summer sun is said to shine more than anywhere else in British Columbia.

The region extends from the southernmost point of Osoyoos (at the U.S. border) to the tip of basalt-faced McIntyre Bluff north of Oliver. From rolling vineyards to the glacier-sculpted faces of the bordering mountains, the land and the people that farm it make this region a beautiful and diverse place to visit.

Climate wise, it is warm in Oliver Osoyoos; in fact its warmer there than anywhere in Canada. The sun shines for more than 240 hours each month between May and August, with even more light intensity than California’s Napa Valley.  Daily summer temperatures average 29C (84F) and climb as high as 40º (104F).

Oliver Osoyoos has three distinct benches: the loamy east-facing bench of the Golden Mile, the sandy west-facing Black Sage Bench, and the sun-soaked Osoyoos Lake Bench. The extreme desert climate, providing long hot days and cool nights, along with multiple elevations and contours, create microclimate pockets that allow a vast range of grape varieties to flourish. Many of the wineries here produce small lots allowing for a lot of exploration by the wine lover

Once home to prolific fields of cantaloupe, Oliver Osoyoos’ first vines were planted in the 1970s. A selection of hybrids, but also vinifera like Riesling and Schonberger, were early test subjects. Some of these vines remain, but most hybrids have been replaced. The region’s journey of self-discovery really began in the early 1990s, and today there are more than 5,100 acres under vine, dozens of varieties planted, and over 28 wineries.

This part of the Okanagan Valley is devoted to agriculture of all kinds, but it is a diversity of grapevines that especially thrive in the dry desert climate. Here you will find fresh aromatic whites are grown within a mile of bold, ripe Syrahs and Cabernet Sauvignon. The top planted varieties in our vineyards are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir also thrive here as well as Tempranillo in the Osoyoos Lake Bench and even Ehrenfelser in the Golden Mile region.

Oliver Osoyoos Wine Region is a sponsor of this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference, and they are inviting the WBC13 bloggers to experience their region. They will be hosting some cool events during the conference so bloggers will get to experience Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country firsthand – and Uncork the Sun.

The post Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country: Uncork the Sun appeared first on Wine Bloggers Conference.

On Wednesday, June 5th, a cohort of WBC attendees will load onto a bus at Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport and head on an overnight excursion to the Lake Chelan Wine Valley prior to heading up to the conference in Penticton.

Up until recently, the Lake Chelan region was agriculturally known only for its orchards, and though wine grapes were planted as early as 100+ years ago, it wasn’t until 1998 that the first vineyard was planted in lieu of an orchard for commercial production.

AVA distinction didn’t come to the Lake Chelan Valley until very recently in 2009. There are currently 20 wineries and nearly 300 acres of vineyards that surround the lake that are a part of this American Viticulture Area – Washington State’s 11th such AVA.

View Larger Map

The lake itself is a narrow, 55-mile long lake with deep waters located in north central Washington. It was formed as a result of a massive glacier with a sloping elevation of up to 4,500 feet above the current lake surface. This glacier that formed the lake also protected the region from the Missoula Floods, a massive geological event from the last ice age. As such, the Lake Chelan Wine Valley’s soil composition is much different from other Columbia Valley wine growing regions.

Participants of the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference who were lucky enough to hear Dr. Kevin Pogue‘s session on the geology of the Columbia Valley may remember his insights into terroir of the region as a result of the Missoula Floods. In an email dialogue, Dr. Pogue gave these insights into the Lake Chelan Wine Region and its terroir:

Lake Chelan is the only sub-AVA of the Columbia Valley AVA that has bedrock that is not dominated by basalt. Instead, the rock consists of much older metamorphic rock and granite typical of the North Cascades. The soils are also quite different from the loess-dominated vineyard soils of the Columbia Basin. They are derived from a mixture of glacial till (rock debris deposited by the alpine glacier that carved the valley that hosts the lake) and volcanic ash erupted by the Glacier Peak volcano. Climate-wise – the climate of the vineyards near the lake is moderated by the deep water, which cools the area in the summer and warms the air in the spring and fall, reducing the risk of frost and freeze events.

If variety is the spice of life, then the wineries of the Lake Chelan Wine Valley are having a ton of fun making all sorts of varietals within their relatively little AVA of 24,040 acres of land. A look on the Lake Chelan Wine Valley AVA Wine Awards page reveals they are seeing great success with everything from Rhone Varietals like Viognier and Syrah to Riesling and even Pinot Noir.

It will be a fun and educational exploration for the WBC participants who will be embarking on this Seattle-Penticton road trip. If you’re interested in joining us, there are still a few seats left on the excursion through the Lake Chelan Wine Valley June 5-6. Check out our excursion page for details and how to register.

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