Back in 2012, First Pour Wine was growing like gangbusters. Month over month, traffic grew, I received more wines, and had more fun blogging. It was about this time that I started looking to get better connected into the wine world, and first stumbled upon the Wine Bloggers Conference. The first year I planned to attend was in Portland, but unfortunately, I just didn’t have the means or time from work to be able to travel that far. I was, needless to say, disappointed.
Fast forward to last month, when I attended my first Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi. I can’t even express how much I regret not going in 2012.
While I could go through a blow by blow of the weekend, I’m going to keep it high level and focus on the some key takeaways!
Wine Bloggers Conference Take Away #1: There Will Be Wine… (and it will be freaking everywhere)
I know, I know, this sounds completely obvious, but really, until you see the sheer volume of wine, it’s not something mere mortals comprehend. I haven’t the foggiest how many wines I tasted, but it seemed like there were no less than 300+ different official bottles of wine hanging around. Many people, and wineries, and brought in their own wines to share beyond these (looking at you Naked Winery & Wagner Vineyards, so much love)!
Reds, whites, sparklers, bootlegged bottles of ciders, and delicious ports all showed up at one point or another. While Lodi was clearly the star of the show, other regions had presence, including sessions from Yealands in New Zealand, Urban Wineries in Oakland, and plenty of Italian and Alsatian offerings.
If you happened to be sick of wine, you might be lucky enough to find a spirits lounge run by none other than the Wizard of Whiskey himself, Justin Koury. The incredible spread of samples he brought spanned at least 20 feet with the bottles standing shoulder to shoulder. A particularly delicious Brown Sugar Bourbon earned top marks among those in attendance, and made for a refreshing change of pace.
Wine Bloggers Conference Take Away #2: Spit.
Seriously. Spit. You do not survive that many wines if you don’t spit. This is especially true during the speed blogging [dating] sessions, where a new wine is presented at your table every 5 minutes.
Also, remember to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. There’s plenty of time at the end of the day (or perhaps after) to enjoy some wine with your fellow enthusiasts!
Wine Bloggers Conference Take Away #3: Prepare For Some EPIC Networking
With a Key Note from Andrea Robinson, a panel featuring Deborah Parker Wong, Jameson Fink, Debra Meiburg MW, and Randy Caparoso, a boatload of Lodi growers, and a whole host of industry professionals and wine bloggers, it’s a variable who’s who of people to get to know. The amassed wine knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious, as are the opportunities to connect via social media.
The winemaker dinner is a clear stand out event. Our Rack Pack event featured a trip to Lucas Winery, where we got to have dinner with a collective of impressive Lodi Growers including Bob Lauchland of Robert Lauchland Vineyards, David Lucas and his daughter Mitra, and Micheal McCay of McCay Cellars. The growers and winemakers aren’t the only impressive folks to rub shoulders with though. My little section of the table also boasted Thaddeus Buggs of Minority Wine Report, Erin Bailey representing Wagner Vineyards (from the other Lodi in New York), and had a surprise appearance by none other than Debra Meiburg MW. With company like that, it’s a dinner I’ll not soon forget!
The best part of all this networking? Everyone is super chill and approachable.
Wine Bloggers Conference Take Away #4: Lodi is AMAZING
Shortly before heading to Lodi, I stopped by Napa to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery and delicious wines. Napa’s incredible status as one of the best places to enjoy a view and some Cabernet Sauvignon has become reflected in it’s prices for both wine and accommodations. A hotel room in Napa easily goes for well over $200, and the wines tend to be in the $60+ range, and go much, much higher. Spend a few days there, and you can end up feeling like you might need another job just to get home (although I can’t imagine why you’d want to leave…).
Napa is far from the only place in California that makes amazing wine. So where are they hiding it? Well, there’s lots of answers, but perhaps one that we should all start using more often is Lodi. While the hills are more gently sloped than Napa, there’s a quaint and charming feel to Lodi that makes it instantly more accessible. Though it has great views like Napa, the true star in Lodi is the wine.
Lodi is old. Not old in the context of the world, but ‘old enough to have seen almost half of US history’ old. From the beginning, Lodi has been an agriculture town. The sort of place where you could throw almost any kind of seeds, and get back an amazing crop. At separate points in the San Joaquin Valley history, where Lodi is located, has boasted the titles of the wheat growing and watermelon growing capitals of the world. The soils were just that good, and the climate, is perfect for grapes.
While the original darling grape of Lodi isn’t nearly as prominent any more (Tokay, a table grape laced into the history of Lodi itself, but that’s another blog post), there are still tons and tons of really old vines in Lodi. We’re talking 100 year plus, seen both world wars, prohibition, and some stuff you can’t even (or don’t really wanna) fathom Zinfandel and Carignane vines. As a result, you get some mind blowingly concentrated wines, packed with beautiful jammy fruit flavors, rich texture, and complex noses. With the greatness of the wines and vines, it’s arguable that Lodi is the Old Vine Zinfandel capital of the country, if not the world.
While the area produces amazing Zinfandel, there’s also plenty of great red blends and experimentation being done. Falling more into the later category are wineries like Bokisch Vineyards, who are utilizing Spanish varietals like Albariño, Graciano, and Verdelho. Don’t forget the whites as well, with brilliant examples made by Chardonnay from Lucas Winery and Mckenzie Vineyards, and wonderful Viognier from McCay Cellars.
The best part? Most of Lodi’s wines fall in the $20-30 range, with some of the top end examples hanging around in the $50-60 range. Lodi wines are massive value for money.
Wine Bloggers Conference Take Away #5: Wine Bloggers Are Awesome, Awesome People
To say I was nervous about attending my first Wine Bloggers Conference, and doing it sober, was an under statement. As it turns out, it was no big deal, and most people I talked to were genuinely concerned about the underlying medical issues. Not only did most of them have huge hearts, but they represented great blogs and brands.
While there are too many folks to name one by one, I wanted to highlight a few of the most awesome folks I met:
- Rob Frisch of Odd Bacchus was one of the most entertaining and delight folks I met. His blog, Odd Bacchus is focused on unusual grapes and spirits, which he represents with his massive heart and personality.
- Joanna Snawder & Gabe Manzo of Wine Is My Favorite Snack were fantastic company at the after party, and a great couple to spend time talking wine with.
- Thaddeus Buggs of Minority Wine Report who’s larger than life personality gives him gravitas when talking wine. He’s an entertaining live blogger as well!
- Kelly Cohen of Off The Beaten Glass who was a wonderful dinner companion for the final dinner! She’s also been gracious enough to cellar a bottle of Scotto Cellars Masthead, a wine created with the help of the WBC bloggers. We’ll crack it open next year at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa!
- I really can’t even say enough about the love from the Canadian contingent! Special shoutouts to Josh (Josh Likes Wines, he’s a wicked entertaining writer ), and Leeann Froese and Sujinder Juneja of Townhall Brands, who were all amazingly supportive after my luggage was stolen. They’re wonderful people, and it was an honor to get to spend the time with them!
With so many amazing people, and with such a great depth of experience, I can’t recommend the Wine Bloggers Conference enough to anyone who’s in the business of wine. For me, it was so much fun, I signed up for next year as soon as they opened the registration. Cheers to great memories from 2016, and hope to see everyone (and more, like those of you reading) at 2017 in Santa Rosa!