The Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 is taking place this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., a great coup for Virginia’s burgeoning wine industry, as it is the first time the conference has been held off the West Coast.
Never mind that the forecast is for 100+ degree heat and humidity this weekend, I’m sure the Friday evening reception and dinner at Monticello will be just dandy. Thomas Jefferson invented air conditioning, didn’t he?
The conference highlights will be keynote addresses by Jancis Robinson of the Financial Times (does she even need that attribution?) and Eric Asimov of the New York Times. I hope he likes Virginia Sauvignon Blanc more than Napa’s!
I will be speaking on a panel Friday afternoon addressing the “Drinking Local” theme. The panel will be moderated by Frank Morgan of the Drink What You Like blog, and will feature Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report and Quebec-based Remy Charest of The Wine Case It should be a fun and thought-provoking panel discussion.
This will be a great opportunity for me to meet some of the bloggers who are clearly the next generation of wine writing. (It pains me to type that, because it makes me an old fogie.) Many of them will be experiencing East Coast wines for the first time, and their time in C’ville may shape their views of these wines for some time to come. I hope to post updates from the conference (and tweets @dmwine and #wbc11) if time and energy allow.
I hope someone’s bringing lots of ice.
Wow. Eric Asimov and regional wine. Who’d have thought it? Be sure to ask Jancis about the Haak Madiera, Dave.
Remember to Mention PA & MD for local drinking,
I don’t know why the PA and MD wineries are not particpating where Missouri and Indiana are?
Maryland was here for last night’s The Other 46 tasting. Black Ankle, Boordy, Bordeleau, Elk Run and others were being poured.