While the 2011 North American Wine Bloggers Conference is still months away, it is also fast approaching. In keeping with the tradition of asking wine bloggers to weigh in on what should be the content for your conference, we now ask for your recommendations.
To recommend a topic or speaker, please provide a comment with details on this blog post. (You can email us if you are shy about posting here.) You can recommend one of four types of content:
Educational Sessions: These are panels or speakers who enlighten, engage, and entertain us on a specific topic related to wine blogging. You need not recommend a specific presenter but if you have one in mind – or wish to present yourself – please add that too.
Keynote Speakers: We will again have two keynote speakers at the conference and are already working on this. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for speakers, why you think they would be good, and, specifically, whether you have any connection to the speaker. (We don’t think we can get Barack Obama, even if you suggest him.)
Moderated Unconference: We will again try an Unconference, as we did the first year back in 2008, but this year it will be “moderated”. That means we will select the topics and topic leaders in advance. You’ll still have the chance to wander around the ballroom to listen or participate in whichever discussions you wish. This is your opportunity to make sure wine bloggers are discussing items of interest to wine bloggers. Let us know if you’d be happy leading the session you suggest.
Ignite Wine!: Our final session on Sunday will be a fun, entertaining program called Ignite Wine! This is where conference participants can get up and spend five minutes talking about what they want to talk about. Topics and speakers do need to be confirmed in advance. The hitch is you need to spend exactly 15 seconds on each of 20 slides you prepare. Check out this blog post on Ignite Wine and let us know if you want to present.
How not to use your blog to reinvent the wheel? Don’t be a copycat of Gary V, Wine Spectator and others. Find your domain!
Russ
Blog to book. How to develop your style/voice, get feedback, credibility, and market recon to interest publishers.
Another good topic….
Russ
I like the topic of emerging wine regions: varietal selection for quality, identification of terroir, use of blogs to get the word out.
Russ
Hi Amy,
You make an excellent point.
What about a mix of how-tos and a selection of discussions led by Virginia’s food and wine cognescenti? What about someone from Edwards or the Virginia peanut people? It could include a sidebar on tips for writing about local food when traveling…
Given our proximity to UVA and Monticello, there is tremendous opportunity here to bring true depth to the Charlottesville conference. We would squander that chance by focusing on matters we could just as well discuss in California. I agree with Andrew regarding the importance of a sense of place and “speakers of authority”.
A friend who gardens at Monticello has recommended Gabriele Rausse as a resource. (Scroll for bio.) http://heritageharvestfestival.com/2010-festival/presenter-bios/ Has anyone contacted him for programming? I would love to see him speak, perhaps in conversation with California grower (for contrast). Let me know if I can help set it up!
As for the wine itself, we’d do well to drink in as much of the region as possible. Yet we’ll need a little something for comparison’s sake, right? I represent a Sonoma winery (…full disclosure!) so we will be providing just that.
Really looking forward to delving into the history and flavors of Virginia!
I’d love to moderate a talk during the Sunday session on either food and wine pairing in wine blogs or how to reach across the aisle from wine into beer and cocktails. I do both things on my blog and find some much interest in it. jasonphelps {at} yahoo {dot} com.
Jason
Talk about wine travel! Places to go and experience wine country and wine making regions. I’d be interested in learning about how the wine travel industry— how the economies in places like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa, Sonoma, Mendoza, etc are coupledwith the production of wine and people’s interest in it. And that amount of tourism that wine draws… Thanks!
Erin – thanks for the thoughts. I am going to shoot for Parker,
probably get rejected but whatever. It would be interesting to have
him there and eventually I think we’ll convince him eventually!
Hi Joel and Allan –
Looking forward to a great conference. I’d like to put in a vote for a session on food writing (as another mentioned below, recipe writing.) Including some local flavor a la Virginia’s own locavore movement (what area *doesn’t* have one?) would be wonderful. I am a west coaster and aim to learn more about east coast fare than pizza and chowdah. Are there local food and/or restaurant writers in the area willing to speak? That would kill two birds with one stone.
Also, as for a keynote, I too would vote for Parker. Since that seems unrealistic at this point, I’d like to put in a vote for Heather John. Not quite a big name (yet) but she is both a blogger and a wine writer for a major magazine. I think she’d have a lot to say.
There are some excellent suggestions in this thread. +1 for Andrew’s suggestion for intensely focused sessions (a la HdR) – those intense info sessions help create content.
Here are a few session topics (leaning towards the online side of things to balance all the wine content):
Analytics & Benchmarks – how to analyze what content results in the most interaction from readers, and how you compare to the big publishers (F&W, etc.).
Link Bait – How to craft enticing headlines to encourage RTs, Likes, and drive more traffic to your posts.
Syndication – How to prepare your blog for syndication, but more focus on which online outlets to target. Also: How to get published on Mashable, HuffPo, etc. to build your brand and extend your reach.
Branding (Personal or Otherwise): Identifying your strengths, focusing on a niche, appealing to specific audiences, and fostering relationships with subscribers/readers. Also: How to build influence.
I’d also like to pressure all presenters to include CASE STUDIES for every single topic. There is plenty of practice to support the theory… let’s start sharing success stories and reveal strategies – no more assumptions or suggestions without backup.
Thanks for asking,
Rick Breslin
Hello Vino
Thanks Mike. we got your email as well. We’ll contact you shortly once we aggregate topics and ideas.
Thanks Patrick! we’ll add this to the list of potential topics.
Hey…this is Mike Madigan, of mikeslognoblog.blogspot.com, and I was hoping to give a talk, or whatever, on Creative Wine Writing in the Blogosphere!!! You guys into it??? I have everything ready, just give me the word…
Peace
Speaker/Topic suggestion: There seems to be a great deal of misinformation about wine bottle closures. I think it would be great if there was a seminar that would help the bloggers get the real facts about natural cork, screw caps and plastic closures. Not just the issues regarding wine quality but the issues concerning the environmental impacts as well
Hi guys,
I would love to hold a session about recipe writing. For bloggers who want to include food in their posts, as the the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, I’d be happy to share the nitty gritty details of how to conceive, write, test and rewrite a recipe. It seems every time food is mentioned, people get a jump in hits so knowing how to make a recipe foolproof would be valuable. Let me know if you want more info. Lori Narlock
I second Gene’s recommendation for having Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson at WBC11. I believe Bill still works here in Colonial Williamsburg as ‘the’ Thomas Jefferson impersonator, and would add a unique element to one of the sessions if he covered the early history of wine in Virginia.
Hi – I learned a lot from ProBlogger’s book, especially about building content and monetizing a blog – would love to hear from those guys. Also, some of the bigger travel blogs/sites (wine country visits = travel), such as World Hum (Rolf Potts), Nomadic Matt, etc., about building audiences. Also interested in research related to travel/wine blogging. Thanks for asking!
First off, a kudos to you guys for making this so democratic and for trying to appease the masses.
In reference to Walla Walla and learning from the prior 2 conferences.
The biggest thing missing was a real concentration on the local site of the conference. I came back from WA and was asked what was your favorite WA wine. While we did get to taste some #WAWINE, in hindsight I wish there was a deep seminar on Eastern WA Wine and why Cab Franc or Merlot or Malbec could be seen as notable varietals for the area. Why the terroir of Red Mtn or Horse Heaven hills is noteworthy, and to have several flights that support it. If the WBC is going to travel to regions, it should do the service of really giving a sold foray in to the wine from that region and not get run amuck by wines that are broadly available. If I travel to VA and taste a blended CA wine, that would be a major loss for all of the Mid-Atlantic wineries and there history and efforts to date.
Also, you guys should take some cues from the HdR seminars which are intense, intelligent, and not marketing related – just a serious focus on a specific topic with speakers of authority. My most favorite wine seminars I have attended to date.
Thanks & super excited!
and IF he does come, he is a getting a lesson on how to use Twitter instead of run on Tweets :p
can’t say I will cry he won’t š
Its becoming an annual tradition to get rejected by him but we’ll keep
trying! He’ll embrace the blogging community sooner or later. Or maybe its
just me. š
Thanks Allan. I figured that I wasn’t the only one to suggest this, but I was hoping that with his apparent change in demeanor towards wine blogging, that maybe we’d have a chance this year. Here’s to hoping!
Robert Parker would be fantastic. I have sent him emails over the last several years, inviting him to the conference. Last June we sent a specific invite through one of his connections asking him to be a keynote speaker. He responded and declined. So, unfortunately, we don’t have the pull at this point to get him. If anyone else does …
Allan
Being relatively close to Baltimore, I think Parker would be a great idea. Talk about something that would generate content. Would also love his perspective on VA wine. Other ideas: Jancis Robinson, Kevin Zraly, Gary V. redux, Mark Oldman.
For topics: interviewing (not that I do any) would be interesting. Something on public domain, usage, copyrights, legal, etc. “How to write” might be good. Debate would be neat as well. Top Gun Blogging part 2 š
Hey, guys,
Several years ago I heard Bill Barker speak at a Thomas Jefferson tribute event in Seattle, WA. Barker is an amazing Jefferson impersonator who captures the essence of that great American statesman, who of course, was one of Americaās first great wine advocates (several books have been written about Jefferson and his love of wine).
Since the 2011 wine bloggers conference is in Virginia and includes a visit to Monticello, Barker may be persuaded to speak in Jeffersonās āvoiceā about his love of wine. Iām sure Barker would be totally fascinating. When I saw him in Seattle, he had so completely immersed himself in Jeffersonās life that he was able to answer all questions with authority and conviction. He totally embodies Jefferson. If he were willing to speak about wine and its history in that region, it would be totally fascinating.
Hereās a link to Barker and Jefferson:
http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biojeff1.cfm
Thanks,
Gene Stout
Hereās my story from last yearās conference:
http://www.genestout.com/index.php/walla-walla-wine-bloggers-conference-featured-rock-stars-of-washington-wine/
Hi Allan & Joel,
Thanks again for gearing up to what sounds like yet another wonderful conference! As in previous years, I think having a biggie keynote speaker would be awesome…for instance, Robert M. Parker Jr. Yes, the flashpoint topic is there, yet he has clearly changed his stance in recent years, as proven by Joe Roberts’ outstanding interview. I personally have never disliked the man and quite respect him as the original blogger. And hey, he’s not too far away from Charlottesville! Thought I admit, he’d be a hard sell to convince to come and speak. š
But, to again spark heated discussion, you could have Anthony Dias Blue for many of the same interesting discussion reasons.
Or go the more blogger friendly route and have Jancis Robinson or Hugh Johnson (great humor in that man). Anyhow, those are my thoughts. Thanks again and cheers!