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5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference, Portland, Oregon is Next Week

Ready to revel in Oregon wine country.

The 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference (#WBC12) is August 17-18, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. This will be the fifth annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference and my third time attending a Wine Bloggers Conference. These Conferences are unique opportunities to learn about and discuss the intersection of wine with the world of new media, including blogging, social media, marketing and more. Yes, there will be a lot of wine too.

Oregon. What do you think of when you hear the name Oregon? The TV series Portlandia? Scenic Oregon coast? The Ducks? Wine? Pinot Noir in particular? Hmmm?

I instantly think of Pinot Noir when I think Oregon Wine Country. Pinot Noir is one of the oldest grape varietals cultivated for wine, it is the grape of the wines of Burgundy. Pinot Noir of Oregon is considered world-class by many of my wine friends. In just 40 years Oregon has evolved into a wine growing state with 15 approved wine growing regions, and more than 300 wineries producing wine from 72 grape varieties. Most Oregon wineries are relatively small, producing on average only 5,000 cases a year. Source: www.oregonwine.org

Photo: Allan Wright and William Pollard at #WBC10.
Allan is president of Zephyr Adventures.

This summer, I started a New Zealand wine blog, “Kiwi Daydreaming”, along with my new friend Juli Crompe. We're using Kiwi Daydreaming to focus our obsession with New Zealand  and New Zealand wine. You cannot be passionate about New Zealand wine, without being passionate about New Zealand Pinot Noir. I have grown to embrace New Zealand Pinot Noir this summer. I find this a bit humorous, because it's a varietal I have never been fond of, until this summer. One of the reasons I'm excited to go to Oregon – is for all the Oregon Pinot Noir I will be exposed to (as in going to drink). It will be very interesting next week, to compare my New Zealand Pinot Noir experiences to Oregon Pinot Noir. Very interesting.

Photo: #WBC11 Wine Blog Awards Dinner.

A lot of wine information is going to be tweeted and blogged from Portland, Oregon. I’m looking forward to contributing to that wealth of wine information. It’s exhilarating to attend an event like the Wine Blogger Conference. This will be an amazing opportunity to learn and share with other wine bloggers from around the world. You can follow the action on twitter via the hashtag: #wbc12

Pinot Noir Smell and Flavor Descriptors used by UC Davis
Fruit: cherry, strawberry, raspberry, ripe tomato
Floral: violet, rose petal
Spice: peppermint, rosemary, cinnamon, caraway
Herbal: rhubarb, beet, oregano, green tomato, green tea, black olive
Terroir: mushroom, earth, barnyard, truffle, leather, meat
Oak (light): vanilla, coconut, sweet wood
Oak (heavy): oak, smoke, toast, tar

Stay tuned for a steady stream of information from Oregon. I will be tweeting via @wild4wawine – comments will show up here.

Cheers!
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