The 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference

By Michael Kaiser

This past weekend, the fourth annual Wine Bloggers Conference was held at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia.  It was a great opportunity for wine bloggers and others in the industry to really be introduced to the wonderful world of Virginia wine.  Virginia wineries really delivered and they illustrated why the state has become so respected in the wine world. 

WineAmerica had the honor of being asked to speak at the conference.  Cary Green and I discussed the Legalities of Wine.  Not the most exciting of subjects, but an important one.  Cary discussed the CARE Act and the current state of wine distribution laws in the states.  I handled the TTB regulatory discussion.  It was a varied topic and we had some lively discussion with those in attendance. 

The two keynote speakers at the conference were Jancis Robinson, the wine correspondent for the Financial Times, and Eric Asimov from The New York Times.   They provided a good bridge from traditional wine writing and the relatively new medium of wine blogging.

Friday nights event at Monticello featured more than 30 Virginia wineries showcasing one red wine and one white wine.  It was a great chance for me to meet some people face to face that I have been talking to for five years now.  Despite the oppressive heat, the event was a huge success.

Saturday featured winery visits and a dinner that featured food pairing with some excellent Virginia wines. 

The world of wine blogging is a relatively new world.  As someone who reads wine blogs on a daily basis, I find them to be a unique way of learning about the wine industry from a different perspective.  The medium will only continue to grow.