At this point, you all know that Gabriella and I love Iberia. Our new home, while challenging at times when trying to understand particular norm or custom, is nonetheless deeply tied to who we are now. For this reason, we are ecstatic…no, excited…no, Exhuberantastically stoked to be announcing that this year’s EWBC will be held in Lisbon, Portugal on October 30th to November 1st.

We first experienced Europe up close and personal 6 years ago when we took our very first cab ride from the Lisbon airport to our B&B. And from the moment we stepped off the tarmac, we completely fell in love! We spent 3 weeks wandering Portugal, and although Lisbon made a considerable impression upon us, we fell in love with the entire country. Hence, it’s even more exciting for Gabriella and I to finally have the opportunity to do a little show and tell with all of our wine blogging friends. We are so excited to share the fabulous smells, tastes and experiences we’ve relished over the years; and although 3 short days is far from ideal, we trust we’ll all have an incredible time together.

Next week, we head to Lisbon to set up sponsors, find hotel rooms and start the process of bringing you a very successful 2nd incarnation of the EWBC. We’ll have many diverse and unique wine tastings, fun winery visits, loads of traditional Portuguese food, a wide range of hot topics to discuss, and finally, options to register for extended trips for those of you who want to stay and explore Portugal.

For now, however, we kindly ask everyone to spread the word for us. Blog about it, Tweet about it (use #ewbc), and shout it from the rooftops! Then head over to http://winebloggersconference.org/europe to follow along as we start the conversation.

Other big news, as you can tell by the logo, is that we now have a closer relationship with the American Wine Bloggers Conference!! We’ll be working together to promote both conferences, which will eventually will lead to a stronger, more unified voice. And in the end, what more could you ask for?!

In the end, we understand that we have 7 months to go, but we’re confident that time will fly by as we get ready for the EWBC 2009 edition! Our only hope is that you can all join us!!

Cheers,

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz