#DWCC14: Campaigns – one reason I blog

 Damien Wilson

The 'anti-blogging' session, chaired by Damien Wilson, at the 2014 DWCC was largely disappointing. Louise Hurren's presentation stood out as being interesting, useful and thoughtful. Evelyne Resnick appeared to be thinking that she was talking to a group of producers and the conclusions she presented following her three-year study into bloggers were rather banal and elementary. 

Louise Hurren

   

Evelyne Resnick

 

Etienne Hugel 

Etienne Hugel was interesting initially but his presentation was overlong, self-indulgent and became an embarrassing piece of self-promotion, including promoting his wife and her activities. The concluding presentation from Robert Joseph was sadly largely glib and facile.
 

The session did, however, make me reflect on why I blog.  

Robert Joseph

One of the strongest reasons is that it allows me to campaign. I use 'campaign' in a broad sense. Most obviously this applies to investdrinks, which exists to try to warn people of the potential pitfalls and to highlight companies from whom I would not buy wine nor the carbon credits, diamonds, graphene, plots of land etc. that some companies also punt as investments.

Campaigning is an aspect of wine blogging that gets very little attention. It certainly didn’t feature in the DWCC’s ‘anti-blogging’ session.  

Yet the Internet can be a powerful and very useful tool. Not only can the net be a means of getting information and warnings out but, equally important, it can be a brilliant source of information. Quite how brilliant only became clear after I set up my investdrinks website in 2000. I have frequently had an initial tip-off about companies on the ever-growing list from whom I would not buy. Often it is an enquiry about whether I have heard about a particular company, although sometimes I am given more details. Either way this then allows me to look more closely at a company - see who the directors are, when the company was set up and look at their website if they have one.    

Having the freedom to write about anything that interests me is a great plus. This means that when I visit a producer I can write about them irrespective of their size. I can blog about producers or events too small or too local to be of interest to a magazine. This gives me a lot of freedom when visiting producers as I can always write about them or include photos of them on Jim's Loire or possibly Les 5 du Vin. 

This freedom is equally useful when warning about dubious investment companies or wine companies such as 1855 that defraud their clients by failing to deliver wine they have ordered. Certainly magazines, newspapers, broadcasters etc. do run news stories on these companies and features on investment but there is limit to the number of times they can publish such stories or news items. With a blog or your own website there is no such restriction. For instance I can and have posted frequently about 1855’s fraudulent behaviour.

#DWCC13: a further selection of fotos from 26.11.2013

 

 Quantico - etna bianco 2011 with Benjamin Spencer: Etna Wine School  

 Christopher Cannan with his Priorat

 Remarkably strong these Priorat wines!

 Lizzie Shell (Chêne Bleu)

Franck Merloz 

Hande Leimer

Irene de Vette (above and below)

Paul Mabray and his Cristiano Ronaldo impression

Robert Joseph  (above and below)

 

RJ: "you are, of course entitled to your opinion...!!"

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW

Tyler Colman

above and below

Simon Woolf

Hands up for Hanni!

Tim Hanni MW

EWBC 13: speakers for the Rioja conference and other details

Dr. José Vouillamoz@EWBC12

Press release from EWBC organisers:

'EWBC - Digital Wine Communications Conference 2013 Announces Speakers

The EWBC Digital Wine Communications Conference (Logroño - Spain, October 25-27) welcomes speakers Julia Harding MW, Dr. José Vouillamoz, Doug Frost MS MW, Tim Hanni MW, Robert Joseph and Jesús Barquín.

The only international event dedicated to the convergence of wine and the web, the annual, three-day EWBC - digital wine communications conference provides a platform for the global wine community to address today's online communications opportunities. It aims to build an international network of wine communicators, encouraging the acquisition of skills and information and the exchange of expertise across national, linguistic and professional boundaries.

The theme of the 2013 conference is 'Flavour', reflecting the diversity of the world of wine, not just in terms of regions, grape varieties, wines and those who communicate about them, but also suggesting the multitude of shapes, forms and styles that the related communications can take.

Conference speakers
One of the highlights of the conference will be Saturday October 26th’s Grand Terroir tasting, lead by Julia Harding MW and Dr. José Vouillamoz.

Julia Harding MW with Harry Eyres@the awards ceremony for the 2012 André Simon Awards 

– Wine Grapes won the award

UK resident Julia Harding MW worked as a book editor specialising in languages and linguistics before turning her attention to wine. After five years with UK supermarket Waitrose in their wine-buying department, she became Jancis Robinson’s full-time researcher, co-ordinator and associate palate in 2005. She has worked on the most most recent editions of The Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine, contributes to www.JancisRobinson.com, and co-authored Wine Grapes with Jancis Robinson MW and Dr. José Vouillamoz. She lectures, mentors MW students and has judged many wine competitions around the world.

Dr. José Vouillamoz is a Swiss grape geneticist; he worked with the ground-breaking team of grape geneticists at the University of California, Davis, and is a botanist and grape expert of international reknown. With co-authors Jancis Robinson MW and Julia Harding MW he wrote Wine Grapes, which includes details about some 300 previously unpublished relationships between different grape varieties. A keynote speaker at EWBC 2012 in Izmir (Turkey), Dr. Vouillamoz comments: “EWBC is like a beehive for wine knowledge: everybody is willing to contribute with some pollen and nectar, to transform it into honey and to share it enthusiastically with the other workers. I am thrilled to be a bee at EWBC.”

Kansas City-based author Doug Frost MS MW writes and lectures about wine, beer and spirits (he is one of only three people in the world to hold both the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier titles). From jobs as a bartender, waiter and wine steward in the late 1970s he progressed to become a fine wine wholesaler for 14 years. He has published a number of books, including Far From Ordinary: The Spanish Wine Guide, the third edition of which was released in late 2011. A contributor to many publications including the Oxford Companion of Wine and Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine, he also provides consultancy to retailers, restaurateurs and wineries on marketing, merchandising, sales, education and sensory perception.

American Tim Hanni MW is a professionally-trained chef who has been involved with wine- and food-related businesses, education and research for over 35 years. His techniques for creating wine lists and retail wine programmes are combined with culinary philosophies on balancing food and wine flavours; these techniques were the foundation for creating Vignon, a flavour-balancing seasoning. Hanni is recognised for introducing the concept of the "umami" taste to the wine and food community; he lectures on flavour balancing, sensory sciences, wine and culinary history, and his latest book, “Why You Like The Wines You Like”, examines the physiological and psychological aspects of flavour preference. 

Robert Joseph@EWBC12

Robert Joseph developed an interest in wine while growing up in his parent's hotel in the UK. He spent six years in Burgundy, learning about its wines and working with US broker Becky Wasserman, before returning to the UK where he subsequently launched what became Wine International magazine, founded the International Wine Challenge competition, became wine writer for the Sunday Telegraph, and wrote some 30 books. He is Contributing Editor for Wine Business International, and has chaired over 50 wine competitions across the globe. His blog is The Joseph Report. 

 Jesús Barquín

Jesús Barquín is a leading figure in Spanish food and wine circles (in 2006 he was awarded the National Gastronomy Prize for his contribution to the diffusion of Spanish food and wine culture around the world). He has written and contributed to many books, magazines and newspapers in Spain, the UK, USA, Puerto Rico, and Chile, including The Finest Wines of Rioja and NW Spain, The World of Fine Wine and El Mundo. He is also involved in wine production, co-leading the Equipo Navazos who make the “La Bota de…” collection, a very-well received series of limited selections from Andalusian bodegas. Jesús won the 2010 edition of the Vila Viniteca Wine Tasting Competition for Pairs, and is member of the Spanish team, runner-up in 2009 and 2010 in the European Tasting Championship. His day job is as professor of criminal law at the University of Granada; he has authored several books and many articles on criminal law and criminology.

Details of other speakers will be announced in due course.

Content
EWBC 2013 delegates will attend a wide range of educational wine tastings as well as experience Riojan wine and food culture and hospitality in events, tastings, winery visits and tourism opportunities. They will also be able to taste a wide range of wines from other countries via sponsored tastings held during the event.

As well as discussion topics inspired by the ‘Flavour’ theme, the conference will look at developments in the years since the first event. The event will feature, as always, a number of communications and technical workshops on the skills needed by wine communicators in the 21st century.

Conference sponsors
The 2013 conference is sponsored be the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja*, and organized by Ryan and Gabriella Opaz and Robert McIntosh of social media company Vrazon in partnership with Catavino.net**, a site dedicated to Iberian food and wine culture.

2013 sees the EWBC celebrating its sixth anniversary (previous events have been run in Spain, Portugal, Austria, Italy and Turkey) and an enthusiastic return to Rioja, scene of the very first conference, held in 2008. The conference will take place in and around the northern Spanish city of Logroño, and in other towns of the wine regions of La Rioja and Alava, within easy travelling distance of many European locations.

Sign up and bookings
Delegates will be able to benefit from special rate bookings with conference partners, details of which will be published on the EWBC website.

PRESS CONTACT
Louise Hurren
louisehurren@wanadoo.fr
skype: louise.hurren
+33 (0)6 17 66 02 53 (mobile)'

95 people have already signed up for the October conference. 

2012 EWBC – Robert 'I'm not a blogger' Joseph invited to speak

Robert Joseph heading to Turkey in November 2012  

Robert Joseph 

'Just been invited to speak at EWBC (Euro bloggers Conf) in Turkey in Nov.. V honoured, tho I certainly don't think of myself as a blogger.' See facebook post.

Among Robert's many achievements and activities is his blog – The Joseph Report, – for the irreverent jottings of an unusually widely-travelled professional wino. It was launched in 2006.

The 2012 Digital Wine Communications Conference will be held in Izmir from 9th-11th November. To date 80 have signed up to go. Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon) is the other speaker so far announced.