Please provide us with your suggestions for keynote speakers at the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference. Each year, we generally have two keynote speakers (we see no reason to limit this to one) and have had some fantastic people as keynote speakers over the years, including:

• Gary Vaynerchuk (founder of Wine Library TV)
• Alice Feiring (wine writer and blogger)
• Chris Alden (CEO of Six Apart, a blogging tech company)
• Barry Schuler (ex-CEO of AOL and a vineyard owner)
• Jim Gordon (editor of Wines & Vines magazine)
• Steve Heimoff (blogger and writer for Wine Enthusiast magazine)
• Lettie Teague (writer for the Wall Street Journal)
• Jancis Robinson (wine writer for the Financial Times and more)
• Eric Asimov (wine writer for the New York Times)
• Randall Grahm (winery owner and blogger)
• Rex Pickett (author of Sideways)

To suggest someone, please either leave a comment on this post or send an email to allan at winebloggersconference.org. Please keep in mind these realities:

• We would love to have at least one Canadian speaker for our first-ever Canadian-based WBC, so pull out your “famous Canadians” suggestions.
• It is not necessary but much more helpful if you have heard speak or actually have a connection with the person you are recommending. We have invited Robert Parker to speak at the conference every year and have never been successful, so the person who pulls that off will get a standing ovation.
• We generally look for a speaker who has a connection to blogging, writing, or technology in addition to wine.

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide!