Even the hot, humid weather is not enough to dampen people’s spirits at the 4th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference. Enthusiasm was in abundance Thursday afternoon while helping with the promo bags but last night after a delicious dinner at the Omni hotel, we went to check out the International wine tasting.

Wines of Chile, Wines of South Africa, Aveniu Brands, Vibrant Rioja, and Planet Bordeaux presented wines. Italian wines were also available.

Nine tables or so with dump buckets were available in the center of the room. Two large screens displayed tweets on Twitter. Everyone used hashtags #wbc11 and/or @winebloggerscon while tasting numerous international wines.

It was interesting to note that the tables with Chilean and South Africa wines included numerous amounts of brochures etc. to help tasters not only enjoy wines but also to learn much more about the regions. I suppose other regions figure that they are well known and don’t need to have information available.

One brand of wines from Italy was bottled in very unusual shaped glass bottles. One had to take a second look as in “Is there really wine in that bottle?” The look is unique but with a sophisticated elegance that may grow on the wine drinking public. Two of the wines we tasted were the Sparkling Pinot Gris, Voga. This sparkling wine was fun with a crisp taste and slight citrus. The other wine in the innovative bottle style was Moscato d’ Asti, Umberto Fiore. It’s fruity and excellent to sip just by itself.

For those who enjoy the tannins, those could be found in the traditional Cabernet Sauvignons and the Carmenere from Chile.

This introductory look at wines on the international scene was great. The event space was busy, one didn’t need to wait long before getting a tasting and asking questions. Everyone was congenial.

The Omni Charlottesville Hotel did an excellent job removing empty glasses and emptying dump buckets. The Internet connection for tweeting was quite good although I did lose my connection a couple of times.

Overall, I don’t see how the event could have been improved by much.

Today with the temperature reaching 101º, I’m glad we’ll be in air conditioning. We’re looking forward to the address by Jancis Robinson and the breakout sessions. If you tweet watch @wineabout and @winetrailtravel.

Cheers! Kathy