II Annual European Wine Blogger Conference in Lisbon, Portugal

The second edition of the European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, between the 30th of October to the 1st of November 2009. Bringing together bloggers of all backgrounds including: winemakers, wine writers, marketers, retailers and distributors from around the world, this year’s conference will address, “The Future of the Social Wine Brand”.

The 2008 conference, in La Rioja, Spain, was the first international event for Wine Bloggers and the first of a growing series of conferences and events under the “Wine Bloggers Conference” banner. In addition to the annual European event, there is also an annual US event based in California and plans to include a series of local events beginning in 2009 and 2010. Our goal is to create a network of wine bloggers across the globe to spread information, broaden the culture of wine, improve industry standards, and above all else, create a physical space to communicate and share ideas.

The Social Wine Brand, is the sum of interactions and relationships created by a wine brand through social media platforms in order to improve its overall sales. Bloggers are key to this process and the EWBC will bring together bloggers, with different roles to play, to learn from each other – wineries who are creating the brands, reviewers who are evaluating and sharing them, and retailers who are delivering the brands to the customer and generating the revenue in this value chain.

The 2009 European Wine Bloggers Conference programme will include several “keynote” sessions addressing topical subjects for all online wine communicators, as well as several streams of smaller group sessions to generate and nurture some practical discussions.

The 100 wine bloggers expected at the EWBC 2009 will not only attend a wide range of educational sessions, but also visit several key wineries in and around Lisbon, in addition to a host of traditional Portuguese meals. The entire event will provide ample opportunity for bloggers to experience the food, wine and culture of Portugal, all while discussing issues pertinent to the future of the social wine brand.

That said, we’re expecting all of you to come join us!

We’ll have plenty of more information flooding the internet in the coming weeks, and months, but for now, go here for information on registration.

Cheers,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz