MR

MR

ViniPortugal

I know there is no reason focusing on this issue, as there is nothing to do now, but I was just trying, as Ryan was doing, to compare the “American” WBC with the European WBC. (They don't call it “American”, but they might just as well, and perhaps the next one will be a DownUnder or an Asian WBC! Wouldn't that be great!)

Re. your mention of activities to visit the wineries, that is essential, and obviously needs to be organized via our Commissions/Viniportugal, just as in California, the Sonoma and Napa Vintners Association arranged them for the WBC. Small wineries like yours and ours do not have a large purse to open to lavish on busses, and other expenditures involved to make it a worthwhile experience for the visitors, while Viniportugal, etc. has just that sort of funding. We need of course to communicate to them how important this event is, so that they realize it is a job that will need a high priority.

Cortes de Cima are organizing a pre-conference winery visit/wine tasting and lunch, which you can read about here – http://www.openwineconsortium.org/events/preewb...

cheers, Carrie
ps- no apologies needed for your english!

Regards,

I have noted in my own blogpost about the event, that we/the Portuguese wine industry will have a very tough act to follow, will we meet the challenge, and take advantage of the great opportunity? (http://cortesdecima.com/general/a-portuguese-bl...)

The Sonoma and Napa Vintners Association seized the opportunity, recognizing the importance of the many voices of the +250 strong citizen bloggers, and saw it for what it was – a great marketing opportunity for the Californian wine industry. Will the Portuguese wine authorities do the same? (sic. Viniportugal, and the various Commissions like our CVRA)

Can the Portuguese get themselves organized and offer the bloggers some really worthwhile experiences to write about in Cyberspace, promoting Portuguese wines to the world? Will they get past the politics and pick interesting wineries to visit, and organize interesting wine tastings with interaction from the winemakers at the conference itself? Or will it just be another lost opportunity? In the current extremely depressed economic environment the Portuguese wine industry is in, it cannot afford to loose this chance for so much cheap PR. It is not likely to come our way soon again, as for sure, the EWBC will have to stay European and change their venue to another country next time (sounds like the rotating EU presidency!)

The Californians rolled out the red carpet, showcased a great variety of their wines to get full bloggers coverage, and opened wide their winery doors, wined and dined us and told us their stories directly from the mouths of the winemakers and key winery personnel themselves. And all this on a summer weekend, when they are supposed to be recharging their batteries before the upcoming harvest! – (Poor people!)

There are a lot of difficult factors to contend with. The first and greatest is location. The WBC wasn't held in San Francisco, for a very good reason. From the conference location in Santa Rosa, hundreds of top-rate wineries fully geared to receiving visitors were all within easy reach. Lisbon is one of my favorite cities, but face it, the wrong choice for the conference. It could have been Evora, in the heart of Alentejo and a UN World Heritage City to boot! Oporto would have been an obvious choice, with Vila Nova de Gaia right there, and the Douro reachable. Coimbra, also a lovely city, offers both the Dao and Bairrada.

Last but not least, I strongly back your thought about online archiving of videotapes from the conference. For tech savy geeks like you people, it really must be a no-brainer, and I don't understand it wasn't done before.

It was a great pleasure to meet you folks. I had a very fine time putting faces to blogs, enjoying the immediacy of exchanges, the unscripted feedback on wines tasted.

I was thrilled when, as the eye-opening ViniPortugal tasting was coming to an end, that Doug Cook of the Able Grape was preparing to reprise his surprise tasting of older vintages from international terroirs. After being booted out of the original room by Flamingo staff, we wandered the halls of the motel searching for a place to continue our vinous education. What a sight! Fifteen to twenty people, many helping carry Doug's bounty, looking for a place to taste wine. It all worked out, we found a venue (let back in to the room where we began), but had the evening ended there, our lost tribe, with many wonderful wines yet to taste, it would have been worth it. Just to have been among that dedicated group was truly memorable. The episode now belongs to the ages!

The pre-Conference event at Twisted Oak was also a delight. Three groups were formed by the luck of the draw to design bottle art, a label, create a brand name, and most importantly, to blend the Spaniard, TO's flagship wine. I was very fortunate to be part of a group that included Oscar Quevedo and you, Gabriella. Naturally, we triumphed! Great fun.

Far better than last year's Conference, I can only wonder how Walla Walla will compare. Nailing down the tech requirements, the wi-fi, will be high on the list of priorities, I am sure.

Hope to see you two there.

Oh, and Ryan, thank you so very much for (much more than) a taste of Huerta de Albala's mysterious Barbazul. Fascinating wine.