Last weekend I attended the 5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon and Oregon wine country, the Willamette Valley. It was information and tasting overload so there’s a ton to share!

First you may ask, what is a Wine Bloggers Conference? I was wondering that same thing when I attended the 4th annual last year held in Virginia. It’s a gathering of wine writers and bloggers, and other wine industry and social media professionals to meet, learn, and share.

Over the next several posts, I’ll share with you wine and travel tips you can use. (If you’re interested in the industry news/tips, I’ll share those on Idea Sandbox).

  • Visiting the Wineries: The Willamette Valley (pronounced like ‘damn it’) is Oregon’s largest AVA at 150 miles long and 60 miles wide. There area also six sub-appellations. I visited three wineries in the Willamette Valley…King Estate Winery, Pfeiffer Vineyards and Willamette Valley Vineyards. Gorgeous with some fabulous wines!
  • Visiting Portland & Eugene: Portland is an enchanting city with an eclectic vibe. If you’ve seen Portlandia, it’s not far off. I also did a pre-excursion to Eugene,  about two hours south, in Lane County at the bottom of the Willamette Valley. The county has skiing, whitewater rafting, salmon fishing, beaches and of coarse wine!
  • Wine Discoveries: The conference was an opportunity to discover Oregon wines and beyond. Via wine glass, we traveled across the U.S. and to Italy, Greece, France, Portugal, Argentina, Spain, Canada, New Zealand and more. I’ll share some of my favorites which will take a while but there’s lots of fun stuff for you to try.
  • Keynote Speakers: Randall Graham, founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard and his great site/blog Been Doon So Long, and Rex Pickett, writer of the novel Sideways, shared interesting tidbits and insights wine lovers will enjoy.
  • Wine Blogger Awards: The winner of the 2012 Wine Blogger Awards were also announced. They’ll offer you some great reads and views.

    • That’s a little taste of what’s to come. First up, a stop at King Estate Winery.

    Cheers to the 5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference and organizers Zephyr Adventures and the Oregon Wine Board.