2009 Wine Bloggers Conference

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend the North American Wine Bloggers Conference, or the WBC, which is the second annual conference that is attended by wine bloggers, wine industry, wine media and those just interested in wine. And, I am still trying to catch up on sleep from my weekend in Sonoma. It was three fantastic days of nothing but food, wine and blogging about food and wine. And the good news for those who have not heard yet, is that the WBC is coming to Walla Walla next year, June 25th through June 27th. I can’t wait to introduce some of the bloggers to our wines for the first time.

I started my journey to Sonoma Thursday evening, by flying out of Walla Walla and through Seattle on my way to San Francisco. It turned into quite the trip when I just about missed my connecting flight in Seattle because the boarding gate had changed from what was printed on my boarding pass in Walla Walla. A quick ride on the airporter and an even quicker run through the airport got us to the gate just in time to board for our final destination. Two hours later, an hour and a half flight and thirty minutes of circling, and we were in one of my favorite cities, San Francisco! Too bad I didn’t have a free day to spending roaming the streets.

It was up early the next morning so that I could catch my shuttle that would take me the two hours to Santa Rosa and the Flamingo, where the conference was being held. Upon checking in, it was time to meet and greet, catch lunch and do some wine tasting. Then, it was time for live wine blogging, which is basically sixty seconds to taste a wine and blog or “tweet” about it to the online masses. Next up was the 2009 American Wine Blog Awards and then dinner with Chris Alden as the keynote speaker. The day ended with the after-hours party hosted by the Russian River Valley Winegrowers. The after-hours party was really just Russian River Wineries showing up to pour their wines for us to taste. Every where I looked were pinots. It’s always fun to try something different and that we aren’t producing anymore.

Saturday morning was a fantastic day to be at the WBC. It started off with breakfast and seminars by Barry Schuler of Meteor Vineyards and Jim Gordon of Wines and Vines Magazine at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, or as it was called that morning, the Original CIA. Then it was time to play the lottery and board the shuttle for the days travels through Napa. I really do believe that it was playing the lottery, because each shuttle had a different route for the day. I think I lucked out when I got on to shuttle #2! I really don’t know how anyone’s day could have beat ours!

Lunch, for us, was at Stags' Leap where we had a beautifully catered lunch around their fire safe pond, while listening to Vineyard Manager Kirk Grace speak on “Napa Green.” After a quick walk through the vineyard we hopped back on the shuttle for our next destination, Palmaz Vineyards, where Palmaz, Madonna and Viader hosted us to a nice tasting and covered the topic of family-owned and generations in the wine industry. The facility at Palmaz is pretty spectacular. Carved out of the side of Mount George, the height of the wine cave is equivalent to an 18 storey building. Next stop on our day was at Quintessa for the Napa Grand Tasting, where 40 wineries showed up to pour their Cabernets for us. Thankfully, there were a few whites and bubbles mixed in, that helped me refresh my palate.

Final stop on the tour was dinner at Domaine Chandon, in the Etoile Restaurant, which was hosted by Parry Cellars, Louis M. Martini, O’Brien Estate, Newton and of course Domaine Chandon. We had a wonderful three-course meal paired with eight different wines. The meal was amazing! We were greeted at the door with a sparkling cocktail, made from their dry sparkling wine, ice and a little lime. Our first course was the corn chowder with Dungeness crab and paired with the O’Brien Chardonnay and the Newton Chardonnay. Next we moved onto the roasted beef tenderloin with summer legumes, chanterelle mushrooms and Umbrian black truffle all paired with the Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir, Louis M. Martini Lot No 1 Cabernet, Louis M. Martini Cabernet, O’Brien Merlot and the Parry Cellars Cabernet. We finished off dinner with a Valrhona chocolate pate with summer berries paired with the Domaine Chandon Pinot Meunier. I was so full I was afraid that they were going to have to roll me out to the shuttle. After the bumpy and curvy two hour ride back to the Flamingo, I must admit, that I had to skip the after-hours party which was hosted by ViniPortugal and the European WBC.

Sunday, I spent the day traveling back to Walla Walla, which I finally got in at 9:00. It had been a really long day, but well worth the trip! It was great to see the difference between Napa and Walla Walla. As much as I loved being down there though, it was so nice to see home. It made me really appreciate my little comfortable tasting room and lack of traffic on the roads. It was also good that I got to see how the WBC ran and what we were going to have to do to make WBC10 a success in Walla Walla next year. I know that I, for one, can’t wait until we are invaded by bloggers!

The Woody Team Rocks!

We always knew that the Woody crew rocked but let me tell you, they really ROCK!
Getting ready for and executing any event like Spring Release Weekend always takes coordination and a lot of work, but this year we also had a new building (our Reserve House - pictured above) to get open for the tasting and then the following Wednesday we hosted the Washington Wine Commission's export tour – 8 members of the foreign trade for lunch and then a tasting for 60 with 15 other wineries present.

The week of Spring Release we were pretty ready for the usual tasting, but due to the finishing of the floors we could not get into the new building until Tuesday – meaning no furniture was in place, appliances were still being installed and the building was very dusty.

Zero landscaping was in place too. Monday, Kiko and Manuel from the cellar and I hauled and spread gravel for the new garden and Jorge and Hermenegildo from the vineyard laid the gravel paths and prepped for the sod.

Tuesday morning dawned and it was raining cats and dogs, so absolutely nothing was accomplished in terms of moving into the building or installing the landscaping. Things were getting a little tense since the clock was ticking.

On Wednesday and Thursday it was all hands on deck! The cellar crew and vineyard guys laid sod like pros, moved plants from their temporary homes, mowed, trimmed, weeded and then got the tank room ready to great visitors on Friday. Rafa, our Cellar Master and Kevin took on preparing for bottling as well as moving furniture and doing whatever else was asked. Kellie, Tasting Room Manager, deadheaded daffodils all morning and then started in on cleaning the new building. Thomas, National Sales, helped assemble shelving, packed stuff around and stocked the buildings with wine for the weekend. Shari, Guest Services, cut cheese for hours, readied glasses and helped organize the new building as well. Marlene, Marketing/Web, held down the tasting room and handled the organization of the weekend while the rest of us ran in 50 different directions. Sue and Lori in Accounting/Compliance answered phones and Sue planted our barrel planters.

Friday morning, we were ready and open for tasting in both buildings; plants and lawn were in place and art was hanging in the new building!

Then we all poured wine for 3 days. Except for Kevin who poured wine for 2 days, flew to Chicago on Sunday, did a trade tasting Monday and flew back on Tuesday to finish preparing for bottling. Bob and Kelsey joined us on the weekend to haul and wash glasses and to pack up sold wine.

This Monday, the guys broke down the tasting tables and they and Tasting Room ladies got everything cleaned and put away. Sue crunched numbers for the weekend and Kevin resumed getting ready for bottling. On Wednesday, the tables went back up, glasses were set out and Thomas and the Tasting Room staff shopped for, prepped, and made wood-fired pizza lunch for 8 foreign trade members and our staff. More clean up, and then preparation for a tasting for 60, followed by working the tasting and more clean up.

WHEW! These guys are "awesome" to use Kellie's favorite word. They work their tails off, are willing to do a whole lot of things outside of their job descriptions and are fun to be around. Rick and I are lucky, lucky dogs – thanks everyone!

-Darcey