How many articles have we written on the importance of wineries creating a strong Internet presence? Half a dozen, a dozen?

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We have begged, pleaded, and gotten on both knees trying to convince the Iberian wine community to take notice, but it seemed as if our voices were merely bouncing off of brick walls, only reaching the chosen few who really were open to change.

So we tried another route, creating an Internet marketing company to provide wineries the support and tools they needed to launch themselves into the new Internet. It seemed to work, but our reach was rather limited. A dozen here, a hundred there, but nothing on the scale that we knew was necessary.

In turn, this led us to co-creating the annual European Wine Blogger Conference, in hopes of not only bringing together the vast array of wine bloggers around the world, but to also bridge a previously held gap between wineries and online journalists. The results were incredible, allowing all sides to find ways in which we could communicate and collaborate more effectively through the internet. (Note: more details on the 2009 conference coming very soon!)

A bit of self promotion coming up. Ryan here, and come the last week in January, I will have the pleasure of speaking to a crowd of wine industry professionals about the Internets and wine, and more specifically, how to use the Interwebs to promote oneself to drum up some business. From the Wine Pleasures website:
1ST INTERNATIONAL WINE TOURISM CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP

Port Resort Sitges 24th - 27th January 2009

The first Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop in Sitges next year promises to be very exciting. We plan to provide you with a Catalan flavour and a very memorable experience.
I’ll be focusing on some of the ABC’s of wine and technology. Here in Spain, we have Webblogs SL and a vibrant Beer and Blogs culture, but our wineries are woefully behind the times when it comes to harnessing the power of the Internet. Well, maybe not “behind the times”, so much as “before the times”. For most Spanish wineries, “web”sites are those annoying white lacy things found in your barrel room that either need to be removed, or in the case of Lopez de Heredia, support elements for the architecture. As my US “geek” readers will note, California wineries are waking up fast, and as witnessed by this last weekend’s Wine Blogger Conference, the industry knows they need wine bloggers to pay attention and I have seen a move to websites that function, rather than just flash.

Is there hope for Spain? I think so, but first let me rant a little bit more.

The other point I want to make is a bit more controversial. The best way for a Spanish winery to do something innovative and effective when it comes to optimizing their online presence …

I like the winery, so this will not be a tell all post. This post is only to show you that electronic media is not a strength in our Iberian home.

Today I received this email:
Dear Sirs, dear Partners, dear Friends,

Here are the last comments received from Stephen Tanzer:

90 points
xxxxxname of winexxxxxxxxxx

(A 50/50 blend of garnacha and carinena) Bright ruby.
Strongly mineral aromas of vibrant cherry, blackberry, graphite and cracked pepper.
Brisk and sharply focused, with racy cherry and mineral flavors and fine-grained tannins.
A clean, brisk wine that offers impressive clarity and energy for the money, finishing with lingering cherry skin character.
Let’s not talk right now about the stupidity of sending an email that directs me to the reviews and scores from someone else, when my job is to review and talk about wines. This doesn’t give me any new information, nor an idea of what your wine is worth. I like Tanzer, but I AM NOT GOING TO PUBLISH HIS REVIEWS! Surprisingly, that’s his job!

Now what is more interesting to me is what I found attached at the bottom of the email:
This message goes exclusively to its addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If the indicated addressee is not you, be notified that the use, spreading and/or copy without authorization are prohibited by law. If you have received this message by error, we request to immediately communicate it by this same mail and comes to its destruction.
So you just spent time sending me something that #1. I would not publish if you paid me, and #2. is a crime to tell anyone about it? WTF?

If you enjoyed this post, please let us know. We have several others up our sleeve if they …

Editors note: Starting today, we will be highlighting an Iberian wine, or winery, every Friday. It may cover a single one, a project or a winery. We’ll try, in most cases, to choose wines that are widely distributed, but this will not always be possible. Hope you enjoy.

About a year and half ago, I stumbled across a wine website that had a link to an Iberian winery blog. Clicking the link, I was taken to a page with about three posts and no comments enabled. At the time, there were approximately three other winery blogs out there, and I was excited to see another pop up. However, this “blog” didn’t allow comments. Thus, in my world, it wasn’t a blog. Long story short, earlier this month, I made contact with Andrew McCarthy through a friend, and was able to help him with a little Blogspot coding to remedy this problem. Today Castro Martin sits at the 8th place in our sidebar list of Iberian winery blogs, and I’m glad to have them there. I have loved Castro Martin’s wines for quite some time, and today, both Gabriella and I would like to recommend their great Albarino’s from the popular region of Rias Baixas.

Seriously, these are some nice wines: full of body and pure fruit, they are both complex and easy to understand. The Castro Martin Albarino is straightforward pure flesh fruit with some zesty acidity. It is a 2006, and if you noticed, we’re almost to the end of 2008; meaning that for it to have this kind of zestiness is a credit to the winemaker or the grape. I’ve been lectured by winemakers who work with Albariño that contrary to popular …

Sitting in front of the computer preparing to sum up my experience at the European Wine Blogger Conference, I literally feel speechless. Are there words for my emotions, my feeling of warmth and excitement for what’s occurred, along with a touch of sadness and depression I’ve been feeling now that the conference is over? It’s like using an instant camera with the intention of capturing the breadth and beauty of the Grand Canyon. Unless you were there, feeling the hot canyon winds come across the 1,218,375 acres that dip down an average of 4,000 feet deep; smell the rich evergreen and sandalwood aromas in the air; or touch the blazing hot iron soils which kick up fine, red dust under your feet, pictures nor words can never fully describe your experience.

On one hand, I feel a warmth in my heart that has lasted for four days, and I expect it will last well into the future. To see 40+ people from all over the world come together and bond in literally, moments flat, was something we wish would happen among nations everyday. From Friday to Sunday, voices were always raised, bubbling with curiosity and excitement; because how often do you get to speak with someone who blogs in another language as to their perceptions, desires, hopes and fears about wine blogging? For me, not often enough. Instead, I am typically caught in a whirlpool of voices from my own culture, an incestuous conversation that circles around the same view point over and over again. But to have so many different ideas as to what wine blogging is, what we need to do to better our profession, how we can solve our …