Thursday, June 3 – WAWine World Tasting Event – #WAWine: One-hundred Washington Wineries and thousands of people will be simultaneously tasting Washington Wines. Wineries are looking forward to connecting with the wine bloggers attending the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. Register right away if you are able to participate that night either by physically attending or via Twitter or Facebook!

Sunday, June 6 – Taste Washington! Spokane: If you are from the area or happen to be passing through, Taste Washington Spokane is the ideal event to learn what wines you’ll love to drink. Taste Washington Spokane isn’t just about sipping marvelous wines in Spokane – approximately 25 regional restaurants will be on hand, pairing their favorite bites with your favorite wines.

Thursday, June 10 – A Virtual Wine Tasting with Paul Gregutt – #WAROSE: Join Paul Gregutt in a tasting of some of Washington’s finest dry rosé wines. This event is available for the entire world to take part live and online. Participants can share observations, join the conversation, post photos and ask Paul Gregutt and guest winemakers questions via TasteLive.

Friday & Saturday, June 18 & 19 – Vintage Walla Walla 2010: If you are from the area or if you are arriving in Walla Walla Wine Country a little early, be sure to join thirty Walla Walla Wine Makers for some live music and a Barbeque Under the Stars on Friday June 18^th. Then enrich your experience through private tastings, tours, and winemaker dinners on Saturday, June 19^th.

The third annual Wine Bloggers Conference is Sold Out. Three hundred wine bloggers and wine industry representatives are registered to attend the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington June 25 – 27. Registrations continue to be accepted and names are now being added to a Wait List. Participation is now being allotted on a first come first serve basis from the wait list as space becomes available.

If you are registered and realize you will not be able to attend, please contact us right away. Your registration fee  is 50% refundable through May 25. Perhaps more importantly, your space will be taken by an eager fellow wine blogger on the wait list.

The Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship deadline for applications is Friday, April 9th. Scholarships will be awarded the following week. The fund is still graciously accepting donations and there are ten wine bloggers out there who will very much appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who has supported the scholarship and worked so hard to make it happen once again!

The post-conference excursion to Red Mountain AVA is still accepting registrations. If you have already registered for the conference but have not signed up for the Red Mountain experience, you can do so by emailing us today at info @ winebloggersconference.org.  If you are adding your name to the wait list simply register for the post conference excursion as well and we’ll see what happens. The pre-conference excursion to the Yakima Valley is sold out.

If you have registered but have not made your travel arrangements yet, now is the time. The Marcus Whitman Hotel is sold out. There is space available at the suggested additional conference hotels and transportation to and from those hotels will be provided.

Thanks for making it a tradition.  The 2008 first annual event sold out at one hundred seventy-five wine bloggers and industry participants. In 2009, two hundred seventy-five attended. Each year boasted wait lists with close to seventy bloggers. The 2010 conference tops them all with three hundred wine bloggers and wine industry participants. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in beautiful Walla Walla Wine country. Cheers!

We were recently in Washington Wine Country scouting the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference Pre & Post Conference Excursions and we were thoroughly impressed. Considering the distance some of you will be traveling to attend the conference and explore the region, we think adding the Pre & Post Conference Excursions to your itinerary is a very good idea. Even if you are from the area, we assure you both excursions will offer a unique and premier introduction to each AVA.  As of today, there are already close to 50 bloggers attending the Pre-Conference Excursion to Yakima Valley and 40 will be enjoying the vineyards and wines of Red Mountain for the Post-Conference Excursion. Incidentally, there are now over 210 registered participants for the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference with space for 300 and we have a little over three months to go.

First, we spent some time with Barbara Glover of Wine Yakima Valley. We met Barb at DuBrul Vineyard where she introduced us to Hugh and Kathy Shiels. Hugh and Kathy are close to this land and they promptly showed us around their beautiful vineyards and shared the history of the valley and its terroir. Afterwards, Barb took us to Prosser’s, Vinters Village where we discussed the Yakima Valley Wines Grand Tasting Event that will take place here on the Pre-Conference Excursion. It was here that we ran into Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyards. Determining it was time for lunch, we invited Dick to join us and he suggested we meet him at the local brewery for some food and conversation. Dick first started experimenting with grapes here in 1977 and proved to be a wealth of information. Everyone in the valley proved to be well-versed in wine, grape growing, their own history and the terroir. It was a great visit.

After that, we traveled to the Red Mountain AVA and met up with Heather Unwin of Terra Blanca Winery and Estate Vineyards and also of the AVA. Heather’s energy and passion for the region and its wine was apparent from the get-go and immediately she thought it would be a good idea to travel around the AVA to meet a few of the folks we will be visiting on the Post-Conference Excursion. Right away the small size of the Red Mountain AVA becomes very clear but what it lacks in size is made up for by the terroir, climate, grape growers, wine makers, the wine and the view! From the deck of Col Solare with Wendi Warner, the tasting room manager, we determined that we needed to get out and walk through these scenic vineyards across this “shining hill”. From Col Solare to Hedges Family Estate, the vineyard walk traverses Red Mountain itself. Following the walk we sat down with Jim Holmes who first bought 80 acres of desert on Red Mountain in 1972 and planted grapes there three years later; winemaker and owner of Terra Blanca, Keith Pilgrim; and Heather over a very nice glass or two of Keith’s signature blend, the 2005 ONYX. Here we discussed the region, the wine, the people and the Post-Conference Excursion. We determined the right itinerary and timing and decided that we absolutely had to offer bloggers the opportunity to experience the sunset from the deck of the Terra Blanca Winery after the Post-Conference dinner.

For precise details on both the Pre & Post Wine Bloggers Conference Excursions click PRE & POST on the site. If you have already registered for the conference but have not registered for the Pre or Post, you can simply email us at info@winebloggersconference.org to let us know what you are interested in doing. If you haven’t registered for the Wine Bloggers Conference yet and want to do so and add on either or both excursions you can do so when you register by clicking on REGISTER. Space is limited on both the Pre & Post Conference excursion, as well as the conference itself, so if you are interested in making this happen, sooner is better than later. Cheers!

Reno Walsh and I just returned from Walla Walla where we were finalizing details for the upcoming conference. I am actually a Seattle-area native, visited Walla Walla a number of times, and remember it as a pleasant small town. I have to say, the wine industry has really electrified the city. And everyone we met was extremely eager to host the Wine Bloggers Conference.

The Marcus Whitman Hotel is a gem that Walla Walla is lucky to have. Opened in 1928, the hotel is historic and yet has modern comforts. The facilities are excellent and the service first class. Everyone we met at the hotel asked us “What can we do to make your conference better?”

As much as Walla Walla is lucky to have the Marcus Whitman, the area wine industry is lucky to have Elizabeth Calder. Elizabeth, who heads up the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, took Reno and me around to a number of different wineries and vineyards in the area to show us how Saturday morning of the conference will work. Conference participants will split into small groups of 20 and visit three separate properties to meet with local grapegrowers and vintners and to learn about the area.

The wine industry has really helped Walla Walla grow. The dozen or so downtown tasting rooms provide the town center with a sophisticated look. We’ll visit these on a Friday evening After Hours Party. A number of high-end restaurants have started in the area and we will have restaurants from the local area – and as far away as Seattle – at our Food & Wine Pairing session. The 100+ wineries of the area have had a big economic and social impact and we’ll be in the midst of it during the conference.

When we first broached the idea of holding the conference outside California, we were concerned whether another area would be large enough to host us and attractive enough to draw bloggers to what might be a more distant location. Those concerns are gone. The conference is 2/3 full and we are getting reservations every day from bloggers across North America. If you are deciding whether to attend, now is the time to commit!

- Allan Wright

The number of  2010 Wine Bloggers Conference registered participants has surpassed the total number of participants who attended the 2008 WBC!  Thanks to all the bloggers and industry representatives who attended the previous conferences and to those who have already registered or who are planning to register for 2010. You are making this happen!

The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship Fund was put in place to sponsor selected recipients with funding to attend the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington.  This is a fund created and directed by wine bloggers and they are in need of support to help send those who can’t quite find the extra pennies to Walla Walla. Funds are generated by donations from participating wineries, PR agencies, wine business industry members, and individuals like you. If you wish to donate to this fund or if you think you know a likely candidate, please contact the scholarship fund. Skip that morning latte and donate to a needy blogger!  To contact the scholarship or donate visit the Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship Fund today.

If you have already registered for the conference or when you do, be sure to reserve yourself a room as well. The Marcus Whitman Hotel is holding 100 rooms for June 25 and June 26 at $129 per room per night. You can call 509.525.2200 or 866.826.9422 to make that reservation. Let them know you are with the Wine Bloggers Conference to receive the preferred rate.

Approximately 35 Wine Bloggers are attending both the Pre & Post Conference Excursions to the Yakima Valley on June 24 and the Red Mountain AVA on June 27. In the near future we will be posting final details on both excursions and when that happens, we expect to see even more wine bloggers get on the bus. These excursions were created to assure that bloggers make the most of their visit to this unique and beautiful wine region. When you register or if you have already registered, please be sure to reserve a room. The Richland Hampton Inn is offering Wine Bloggers a rate of $75 plus tax for June 24 and June 27. You can reserve those rooms by calling 509.943.4400. Just let them know who you are.

Stay tuned!

It’s the first week of 2010 and there is a lot happening in preparation for the June 25 – 27, 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. There are already 115 participants registered for this year’s event! Thanks to all those bloggers who have already signed up and for those who have not, our maximum capacity is 300 and the last two years have left over 140 on the wait list so registering sooner rather than later is a good idea. In addition, close to twenty are already signed up for both the pre and post conference excursions. These excursions are a great way see, taste, and experience more of Washington with a visit to the Red Mountain and Yakima Valley AVA’s. More details regarding the excursion’s exact agendas will be posted in the near future.

The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference is excited to already welcome some excellent sponsors from near and far to this year’s event. There are still sponsorship opportunities available. At the present, our sponsors include the Walla Walla Wine Alliance who is sponsoring our Friday After Hours walkabout and introduction to Walla Walla, while Rias Baixas Albarino and Wines from Spain is set to sponsor the Saturday evening fiesta. Jeffrey Saad will help us pair wines provided by the Click Wine Group with local foods.  The Washington Wine Commission will host Saturday’s dinner and we are excited to have  Ste. Michelle Wine Estates host Friday’s dining experience. The conference kicks off on Friday, June 25th with four hours of wine tasting and education provided by Hogue Cellars, the Meritage Alliance, the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association, the Indiana Wine Grape Council, Barnard Griffin Winery, and a Walla Walla Wine Woman to name a few. With that reception, we’ll pair a fun lunch sponsored by the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Center.

The agenda is coming together nicely too. In the months ahead, we’ll be asking you for your input and suggestions for the blogger’s educational Breakout Session content and keynote speakers. The Wine Bloggers Conference will once again host Tom Wark and the American Wine Blog Awards with 2009′s first announcement and presentation to the winners. Saturday afternoon will allow our bloggers to break into smaller groups and travel to and through local vineyards and wineries that will also be hosting lunch. This year’s Live Wine Blogging will feature separate Red and White Wine Blogging Sessions with several new and improved components that will only benefit the entire blogging and wine tasting experience. Finally, we’d like to note here that there will be WiFi, it will be strong, and it will be available for all and always!

Be sure to peruse the Wine Bloggers Conference site for more details and keep coming back to look for updates. If you are already registered, good for you. You might want to let your friends in the blogging community know that this year is not to be missed and that it is once again looking like it will sell out. If you are not registered, now is the time. We sincerely wish you all the best in 2010 and look forward to seeing you at the show. Cheers!