WBC13 Arrival

First day at the WBC was intimidating. We arrived in BC and met a group of friendly guys who we rode with to the hotel. (Lakeside Resort) Clean, friendly staff nothing to write home about except for the area. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The lake is amazing and the room I booked has a lake view so we get to admire it all weekend.
The reception was nice with a good amount of vendors. First stop were wines from Uruguay. Tannat is what they are known for and boy was it tasty. There was also a Tannat Merlot blend that was delish.
Next we tried a few Verdelho by Rueda. The pourer was obviously Spanish…..heavy accent. He was friendly. Was not head over heels for the wine we did taste but there was a lot more that I will explore.
We then stopped at a cracker booth; that was the highlight of the reception. It was called “Gone Crackers” currently they only sell in Canada and are based out of Vancouver. We chatted with two reps for a while about the US market. I encouraged them to get selling because the crackers were so delicious!
By this time it was time to hop on a bus to “Seeyalaterrach” the bus ride was about 20 min. We met a friendly reporter on the bus for the local newspaper who was a great conversationalist and gave us some local info. Again the views spectacular

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There I won a champagne bottle turning contest! I got a magnum bottle of champagne. We visited various tables with small bites and tastes of wine. The best wine, which shocked me was a local rosé. Refreshing with a hint of sweetness. It had a touch of muscat blended in. At the end I tried Ice Wine for the first time. Not impressed. Not sure if it was the maker or its just not my cup of tea so I will continue to investigate.
We ended the night with a group who we met on the bus ride from the airport one of which is associated with Paso. We met a native Canadian who was great to talk with we became fast friends.
So back to my first sentence regarding feeling intimidated. It was crazy listening to these people talk about Facebook me, tweet me, tweet that, blog this blog that and for me I barley created a Facebook page the other day and the blogging world is all new to me. I guess we all need to start somewhere and that’s part of the reason why we are here…..to learn!
So a great start with fun new friends! Lots to learn! Can’t wait for the rest of the weekend!!!

WBC 13 Day 1

wpid-IMG_20130606_184701_567.jpgTravel day. No real issues but word to the wise, do not believe the status board at Seattle airports. Better to ask an agent where your departing gate is. For some reason they do not update the board frequently, which means you could be left riding around on the airport tram between gates. Flying into BC you realize what an incredible area this is, hills and mountains that look painted and lake after lake. The drive to Penticton is more of the same, just up close. The welcome reception for WBC 13 was like an around the world tour of wine tasting with booths from Uruguay, Spain, South America, BC and Napa. Then on a bus to SeeYaLater Ranch. There we had food an wine tasting at 8 different booths from local wineries. No details, 8 different wineries after all, but very pleasantly surprised with some of the wineries. Looking forward to tasting some of the more boutique wines up here.

Side note, for this conference we have two goals. One is to meet others in the field an wpid-IMG_20130606_202656_044.jpglearn how to be better blogger for you, the other is to report on the BC area wines. Results from day one, the info we are getting and contacts we are making are invaluable, and BC is looking like a true destination for travel/wine. Hope to get more info on the food options while we are here.

WBC 13

wpid-wp-1370465665387.jpgWBC 13 here we come!!! Troya and I are leaving on a big jet air-o-plane tomorrow and no, its not a wrestling tournament. WBC 13, the Wine Bloggers Conference 2013, is being held in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Colombia, Canada. Three days of workshops, covering topics from social media utilization to how to be a wine tasting judge, excursions to various wineries and evening events that will likely include more wine. We will be posting from the event keeping you all up to date on our adventures and the status of our liver. More to come………………