A new year and the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference

It’s the first week of 2010 and there is a lot happening in preparation for the June 25 – 27, 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. There are already 115 participants registered for this year’s event! Thanks to all those bloggers who have already signed up and for those who have not, our maximum capacity is 300 and the last two years have left over 140 on the wait list so registering sooner rather than later is a good idea. In addition, close to twenty are already signed up for both the pre and post conference excursions. These excursions are a great way see, taste, and experience more of Washington with a visit to the Red Mountain and Yakima Valley AVA’s. More details regarding the excursion’s exact agendas will be posted in the near future.

The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference is excited to already welcome some excellent sponsors from near and far to this year’s event. There are still sponsorship opportunities available. At the present, our sponsors include the Walla Walla Wine Alliance who is sponsoring our Friday After Hours walkabout and introduction to Walla Walla, while Rias Baixas Albarino and Wines from Spain is set to sponsor the Saturday evening fiesta. Jeffrey Saad will help us pair wines provided by the Click Wine Group with local foods.  The Washington Wine Commission will host Saturday’s dinner and we are excited to have  Ste. Michelle Wine Estates host Friday’s dining experience. The conference kicks off on Friday, June 25th with four hours of wine tasting and education provided by Hogue Cellars, the Meritage Alliance, the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association, the Indiana Wine Grape Council, Barnard Griffin Winery, and a Walla Walla Wine Woman to name a few. With that reception, we’ll pair a fun lunch sponsored by the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Center.

The agenda is coming together nicely too. In the months ahead, we’ll be asking you for your input and suggestions for the blogger’s educational Breakout Session content and keynote speakers. The Wine Bloggers Conference will once again host Tom Wark and the American Wine Blog Awards with 2009’s first announcement and presentation to the winners. Saturday afternoon will allow our bloggers to break into smaller groups and travel to and through local vineyards and wineries that will also be hosting lunch. This year’s Live Wine Blogging will feature separate Red and White Wine Blogging Sessions with several new and improved components that will only benefit the entire blogging and wine tasting experience. Finally, we’d like to note here that there will be WiFi, it will be strong, and it will be available for all and always!

Be sure to peruse the Wine Bloggers Conference site for more details and keep coming back to look for updates. If you are already registered, good for you. You might want to let your friends in the blogging community know that this year is not to be missed and that it is once again looking like it will sell out. If you are not registered, now is the time. We sincerely wish you all the best in 2010 and look forward to seeing you at the show. Cheers!