The first thing to note is that the Wine Bloggers Conference took place during the record-breaking heat on the East Coast. Fortunately most of the events took place in the air-conditioned Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

Friday’s Events

Registration was as quick as picking up one’s name card. Then it was off to connect with the event’s sponsors that had displays and wines to taste.

Keynote Address: Jancis Robinson

Although I was aware of Jancis Robinson’s role in the wine industry, it was nice to have the opportunity to hear her speak so enthusiastically about the role that wine writers/bloggers play in the wine industry. Robinson’s keynote was motivational for many.

Several breakout sessions were available to choose from so Terry and I split them up so that we could cover more. I went to the “Millennial” session. This session provided wine bloggers with a list of dos and don’ts. I liked the suggestion that writers need to show not tell. The second session I attended was “The Legalities of Wine.” The most interesting question asked was “Is there any attempt to have a world wide universal wine label?” Of course with all the different governmental rules and regulations this seemed an idea way before its time. Terry attended a session on Aromas of Wines. This was an excellent learning opportunity to match wine aromas with vials of aromas and guess what wine was in the glass.

Many attending the conference participated in the Live Wine Blogging featuring white and rosé wines. Every five minutes at each table wine tasters were treated to a wine tasting with the opportunity to ask the winemaker, owner or presenter about the wine and the winery. This was fun and a quick way to taste and get an idea about the wine and winery. While tasting, the participants were also blogging. One has to concentrate about the wine and a tweet. Five minutes goes by quickly. For some the Internet connection worked well while others had difficulty tweeting about the wines.

For dinner we traveled to Monticello where a large tent had Virginia wineries offering wines to taste. The weather was incredibly hot and made the tasting of wines and enjoying appetizers difficult. But I never expected to have an opportunity to enjoy an event at Monticello. So for me it was worth it although I understand that some were not happy with the event being held outside that day. The key to dealing with drinking wine is to make sure to drink enough water.

The Other 46

The heat must have taken its toll on participants, as when we arrived back at the hotel for the last event of the day, not many were staying very long for it.  I also noted that although every state has a winery, few states were participating.

The tasting was nice but being that late in the evening after a day of panel discussions wine tastings and more wine tastings, I was tired too. Besides we had another full day ahead of us for which to prepare.

Cheers! Kathy