It’s crunch time here at the Spanish office of the European Wine Bloggers Conference. Every day a new issue, a new question, and the realization that we forgot to do something! That combined with a now ever expanding desire from non-delegates to join the already full ranks, is leading to us working long hours and wondering how we keep Catavino alive. All that said, we are having fun and learning a lot. The best part though is that this conference looks to be shaping up nicely and will lead to some new conversations that need starting. I’m sure the US based conference 2 months later will also lead to great new opportunities too, and we hope that both prove to be models for what wine bloggers can do to change the wine world.

So today, we want to point out a few things that we have been wanting to talk about but just haven’t found time to put fingers to keys yet!

Vinus TV Records the first EWBC for Posterity

For all of you who can’t make it to Rioja for the Conference, and for all you readers out there who are just curious as to what a bunch of wine bloggers might do if put in one room together, well don’t worry, VinusTV is here to help. During the entire conference, they will be recording and interviewing participants for you to see live. They have promised to try to even have the 3 roundtables on the web by the end of the day on the 30th. So though you won’t be there, you can participate. We’ll also have many people twittering away and I want to put up a live chat room on the …

Truth is, I’m a heretic. I’m going to say it, and I’m sure someone is going to call me on it, but I can’t stand watching Gary Vay-ner-chuck. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you know nothing of the online wine world. My sense is that Gary of Wine Library TV is a great guy, who I look forward to meeting one day; although I hope his interpersonal skills are better than the loud intros he’s renowned for in his videos.

That said, Gary is my hero as of late. Since the moment I first stepped on Portuguese soil, back in 2003 with Gabriella, I have been in love with their wines. I remember driving my Minnesota wine buyer crazy, upon my return, with requests upon requests for obscure Portuguese wines to sell. I knew then, and I still know now, that Portuguese wines are both amazing values and of great distinction. With so many new flavors, styles and unique characteristics, if you don’t love them, you just don’t know them.

And clearly, I’m not alone, as Gary is currently singing their praises as well. And what’s so phenomenal about his love of Portuguese wine is that Gary’s voice is 100 times louder than ours here at Catavino, not to mention that he’s reaching out to young wine lovers who are just beginning to learn about wine. (Congrats on the Revision3 gig!)

I remember when I was a young, impressionable wine lover, still forming my opinions about what good wine was to me. Many of those early ideas are still firmly implanted in my head, continuing to influence my ideas about the way in which I perceive wine. Now just imagine those very same impressionable minds hearing Gary shout, …

Last January, the UK based wine writer and Committee Member of the Circle of Wine Writers, Christine Austin, suggested that we apply to the organization housed in England. Having had several people offer a similar suggestion for over a year, it seemed ridiculous for us not to get off our hides and do something about it. So, we figured we’d experiment a bit, where I would apply and test the waters, followed by Ryan’s application soon thereafter.

As taken directly from their website:
The Circle of Wine Writers is an association of authors, broadcasters, journalists, photographers and lecturers who are professionally engaged in communicating about wines and spirits. It was founded in 1960 by the late Cyril Ray and now has more than 280 members and, although most of the membership is based in England, the Circle has members in countries around the world.

The objectives of the Circle of Wine Writers are:

* to improve the standard of communication about wines, spirits and beers
* to contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in wine
* to promote wines and spirits of quality and to comment adversely on faulty products and dubious practices
* to establish and maintain good relations with the news media and the wine trade
* to provide members with a strong voice with which to express their views
* to provide a forum for the exchange of information
* to provide a programme of workshops, meetings, talks and tastings

A month has now passed, as seen by the lush green blanket of leaves hanging right outside my office window, and …

I’m ticked off. I was supposed to be at the Meeting of Wine Creators in Ronda, Spain, this past weekend, but sadly, was unable to iron out the logistics to get there. It might seem like a trivial reason, but I would have needed to take a bus from the airport, and then transfer to a second bus in order to finally arrive in Ronda. I could have made it work, but for a two day conference, it seemed like a ridiculous amount of effort and wasted time traveling. Regardless, it sounded as if it was interesting, when considering the fascinating topics discussed. Top wine makers, wine writers and experts gathered in a who’s who of the wine world to discuss the issues related to the current state of the wine trade. Taken from their site:
WineCreator, the First International Meeting of Wine Creators, sprang from the unique concept of creating a debate between wine creators from all over the world and an international panel of experts on the current
situation of wine.

This meeting was prompted by the need to discuss the globalisation in terms of quality that has already reached the wine industry. The quality of wines today is quite high, not so much because of the imitation of styles and brands, but because of the generalisation of winemaking techniques and teachings.

For the first time, WineCreator, the First International Meeting of Wine Creators, will bring together the twelve most influential wine creators, chosen by a panel of experts made up of twenty of the most internationally renowned critics. The aim is to create alternatives to the models imposed through routine or through fashions in wine by taking a closer look …

I love talking to people who are off the “grid”, or at least off my grid. Sadly, and happily, I’m plugged into the internet more than most. Consequently, I have a drastically different view on Internet norms. For me, Twitter is an extension of my vocal chords, Gmail is an extra storage place for my brain, and Catavino is a soapbox for which I shout out from. And as a result of this online culture, a new language has been born. There are new verbs such as:
To Google: To search for something on the internet
To Blog: To write about something and publish is on the web
To surf: To wander about the web, often with the help of tools such as Stumble upon.

Interestingly, a few nights ago, we had some friends over for dinner and an interesting topic surfaced. Evidently, one of our friends had just left his first comment on a blog. I know most of you will at this point be thinking, “where’s this guy been the past 5 years?” But it turns out us web 2.0 junkies are still the minority, and the interactive nature of the new internet is still very novel to many. Feeling confident, my friend left a comment about a woman’s overly happy disposition on her video blog. What followed from that “comment” completely caught him off guard. At first, he was called a ‘troll’ by a fellow reader who didn’t like the fact he challenged this woman’s ‘life is beautiful’ attitude. Second, the blogger, in this case, a vlogger, responded, whereby creating …