#DWCC14: the Jancis & José show – Grand Tasting

José Vouillamoz warming up the audience 

before the start of the tasting

Jancis Robinson MW 

José Vouillamoz

This time last week in Montreux the Jancis and José show otherwise known as the Grand Tasting provided the highlight of the 2015 Digital Wine Comunications Conference. 12 Swiss wines on show – six white, six red.

As one would expect it was an assured and authoritative performance from Jancis Robinson MW and Dr José Vouillamoz. It is fascinating to see how José has blossomed as a speaker and performer over the two years since I first saw him at the 2012 European Wine Bloggers Conference in Izmir. Then, after his starring role in Wine Grapes, he was new to the wine world and understandably less assured than he is now.  

Of the whites I was impressed by three wines : the racy 2013 Petite Arvine AOC Valais L'Orpailleur-Uvrier (Frédéric Dumoulin), the rich and complex 2005 Petite Arvine Maître de Chai Provins Valais (AOC Valais) and the stylish and citric 2002 Château Lichten AOC Valais Domaines Rouvinez-Sierre.  

The remarkable freshness of the 2002 was noted and it was suggested that this might be unusual. However, the 2002 Pouilly-Fumé from Landrat Guyollot that we took to the BYOB event on the Thursday was also wonderfully fresh as a number of the dry Loires are from this fine and beautifully balanced vintage. 

From the reds the smoky, complex 2011 Malanser Blauburgunder Reserva AOC Graubünden from Peter Wegelin was my clear favourite. It also turned out to be the audience's favourite by a narrow margin – 35 votes to 33 – over the 2009 Barbengo Balin AOC Tessin from Kopp von der Crone Visini

•••

 Jancis Robinson MW delivering 

her keynote speech@The Gala Dinner 

           

Later Jancis delivered her keynote speech at the beginning of the DWCC Gala Dinner. This was a decidedly difficult gig – the end of a long day, a lengthy wait in increasingly steamy and uncomfortable conditions before being admitted to the dining room plus it was the end of the conference. A time when most of the delegates were wanting to enjoy some wine, food and chat to friends. Sensibly Jancis opted to deliver a pre-dinner speech rather than a keynote though she did stress the great job Vrazon has done with DWCC (nay EWBC) and the need to keep on evolving in the fast changing world of communicating. She cited the recent update and relaunch of JancisRobinson.com  

Kudos to Jancis for attending and taking part in sessions throughout the Saturday and not just turning up for her gigs.   

 

#EWBC 12: featuring Randall Grahm and 'Charles Atkin' (details in full)

Randall Grahm (WineFuture HK)

Press release

The 2012 EWBC: Digital Wine Communications Conference in Izmir (Turkey) will feature American author and winemaker Randall Grahm of California's Bonny Doon vineyard as one of three keynote speakers.

Also participating at EWBC 2012 will be British wine journalists and IWC (International Wine Challenge) co-chairmen Tim Atkin MW and Charles Metcalfe, who will lead a technical tasting of regional wines as one of the conference highlights. Called the Grand Terroir Tasting, the goal is to present a broad and exciting picture of the region with wines from many lesser-known countries presented side-by-side.

Tim Atkin MW

Tim and Charles join speakers José Vouillamoz, a leading DNA expert who is collaborating with Jancis Robinson on her new grape book, and Dr. Patrick E. McGovern, a renowned American scholar and author of Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture, who will also be taking part at EWBC 2012. More keynote speakers and participants will be announced in May at the London International Wine Fair.

Charles Metcalfe

The fifth EWBC, sponsored by Wines of Turkey, will be held at the at the Swissôtel Grand Efes - Izmir , Turkey, on November 9 - 11, 2012. The theme of this year's conference is 'Source', reflecting in part the hypothesis that Turkey is the birthplace of vitis vinifera, but also the suggestion that wine communicators should aim to become sources of knowledge, not just disseminators of information.

The only international event dedicated to the convergence of wine and the web, the EWBC provides a platform for the global wine community to address today's online communication opportunities. 



This year's EWBC will include technical wine tastings and wine workshops featuring wines from Turkey and many other countries, as well as a number of communications and technical workshops focusing specifically on the skills needed by wine communicators in the 21st century and beyond. 



The annual, three-day event is helping to build an international network of wine communicators, and also encourages the acquisition of skills and information and the exchange of expertise across national, language and professional boundaries.

The EWBC is also very excited to announce the support of Pegasus Airlines, providing delegates a 30% discount on any roundtrip ticket to Izmir from anywhere Pegasus travels.

Delegates will be able to benefit from special rate bookings with conference partners; details of discounted hotel rates and flights, and the “Early Bird” delegate deal (ends February 29, 2012) are listed on the EWBC website

Sponsors

Wines of Turkey, Pegasus Airlines and Born Digital Wine Awards

Organizers

The EWBC is organized by Gabriella and Ryan Opaz and Robert McIntosh of the wine communications company, Vrazon.

About the EWBC Digital Wine Communications Conference:

The fourth annual EWBC was held in Brescia (Italy) from October 14-16, 2011 and was attended by 216 wine communicators from 34 countries.

EWBC 2008: La Rioja (Spain), 50 delegates

EWBC 2009: Lisbon (Portugal), 140 delegates

EWBC 2010: Vienna (Austria), 200 delegates

EWBC 2011: Brescia (Italy), 216 delegates

PRESS CONTACT

Louise Hurren@louisehurren@wanadoo.fr

skype: louise.hurren

+33 (0)6 17 66 02 53 (mobile)

EVENT ORGANISERS

Vrazon

http://vrazon.com/contact/

+34 656 432 417

                                                       

 

Born Digital Awards 2011

Ryan Opaz would like to hear from you!

The 2011 Born Digital Awards are now open for entries. There was some criticism of the first edition that some of the winners were well established writers. However, if emerging writers etc. are good they should be prepared to compete against the best. I hope that this second edition will attract lots of entries. Remember that this is not an Anglophone competition as entries in all languages are welcomed. Entries close at midnight (GMT) 31st January 2012.

The awards are organised by Vrazon (Gabriella and Ryan Opaz plus Robert McIntosh). I'm delighted that the Circle of Wine Writers is now a partner of these awards, showing our determination to value the contribution made by writers, video-makers etc who have blogs. Winners of all categories, except for Best Winery Content, will be invited to become a member of the Circle of Wine Writers free of charge for a year. This applies only to non-members and continued membership thereafter will be on the same basis as the rest of our members – that they continue to communicate about wine. 

Gabriella Opaz  in Brescia (4th European Wine Bloggers' Conference)

Details from the BDA site:

'Now in their second year the Born Digital Wine Awards are an attempt to give value to the new wave of online wine journalism. Each year, the best examples of electronic publishing, including videos and photography, from across the world will be reviewed by a panel of top industry professionals, with prizes awarded in a range of categories. The CWW is now a partner with these awards.

The inaugural year of the awards, received several hundred entries from 16 different countries around the world, culminating in an awards presentation at the London International Wine Fair, in May.  The judging panel were extremely impressed by the quality and breadth of content.  As the digital world advances rapidly, Born Digital will attempt to mirror this progress. Results being the addition of a new award category and an evolving panel of proficient and innovative judges.

All nominated content must first be published in an electronic format, online.  

These awards will be judged in English but the content can be submitted in any language. Each author submitting a story in a language other than English will be encouraged to submit a translation at the same time. For those who cannot afford to, or choose not to, the Born Digital Wine Awards will pay for a professional translation of the article to be submitted with the original.

A prize of 1,000 euros will be awarded to the first place winners, as well as a free pass to the 2012 European Wine Bloggers Conference and a one-year membership to Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages.  In addition, winners of all of the award categories* will be invited to become members of the Circle of Wine Writers with the initial year being without charge (assuming they are not already members).

2011 categories

Best Investigative Wine Story

Best Editorial Wine Writing

Best Wine Tourism Feature

Best Wine Themed Video

Best Winery Self Produced Content

Best Wine Photo Essay *** new category ***

Submissions for the 2011 Born Digital Wine Awards are now OPEN!

The 2nd Annual Born Digital Wine Awards is accepting submissions until midnight GMT on January 31st, 2012.

Judging Panel

Michel Bettane, Elin McCoy, Patrick Schmitt, Hervé Lalau, Fongyee Walker, Ulf Sjodin, Tim Atkin MW, Wink Lorch, Richard Ross and Jay Selman

Details of the judges here (http://borndigitalwineawards.com/judges/)

Robert McIntosh@Brescia

Welcome to a new era of wine communication...

Winners of the 2010 Born Digital Wine Awards

Many congratulations to the winners of the first edition of the Born Digital Awards:

Today, the much anticipated results of the Born Digital Wine Awards 2010 are unveiled. The inaugural awards proved an instant success, with an enthusiastic number of entries (in excess of 200), coming from 16 different countries across the world. The aim of the awards is to give value to writers and videographers who are successful at creating wine content online – it must be “born digital” to qualify – ie be published first online.
The panel of judges comprises of leading figures both in wine journalism and general publishing, renowned here in the UK and internationally:

• Jancis Robinson MW
• Evan Schnittman
• Elin McCoy
• Patrick Schmitt
• Robert Joseph
• Hervé Lalau

Here’s what some of the judges said…
“I enjoyed reading through the entries and found the submissions both entertaining and educational, particularly those from the winery and investigative categories. Without the constraints of print, particularly strict word counts and savage sub-editors, the internet provides a free rein for full and opinionated analysis of current topics. It was interesting however that the best entries tended to be from those with a background in traditional media. ”
Patrick Schmitt 

“It was a true pleasure to judge the first vintage of the Born Digital Wine Awards! I was impressed by both the high quality (of writing) and the lively diversity (of topics and voices), especially in the Editorial and Investigative categories. Those really showed the strength and importance of online wine writing. I found entries from Wineries, on Tourism, and the Videos much more mixed, with some entries far exceeding my expectations; others falling short, but showing potential. In the future, I’d like to see blogs from more wineries show up in the list, more surprising and compelling wine tourism stories, and better production values in the videos. That being said, there were a few stunners among them all.”
Elin McCoy 

The judges had a tough job indeed and it was a very close call….but without further ado…..
The winners of the Born Digital Wine Awards 2010 are:

Best Wine Tourism Feature

1. Wink Lorch Wine Days Out in the French Alps
2. Tom Fiorina Corsican Wines and Corsica, a twenty-year journey of discovery
3. Joe Roberts Endangered Species: Santorini Wine Fights for Its Survival

Best Editorial Wine Writing

1. Tim Atkin Towards a New Chile (Part 1)
2. Blake Gray The 10 Most Overrated Wines
3. Jamie Goode Wine Tasting: Subjective or Objective

Best Winery Self-Produced Content

1. Randall Grahm On a Mission: The Germ of an Idea***
2. Bernhard Fiedler Alkohol-Zunahmi
3. Brian Overstreet Hubris – It’s Not Just for Icarus Anymore

Best Investigative Wine Piece

1. Richard Ross Phylloxera– the English connection
2. Blake Gray : Sustainable Wines and Whole Foods Market
3. Alder Yarrow The Coming Carnage in the California Wine Industry

Best Wine Themed Video

1. Jay Selman The Scent of Black
2. The Quoff Boys Palm Trees & 100 Year Old Port
3. Adrian Franklin Opening a Bottle of Port with a Feather

The winner of each category receives 1,000 Euros, a Jancis Robinson Purple Page membership and a pass to the 2011 European Wine Bloggers Conference!

Entries for the 2011 Born Digital Wine Awards should be submitted between 1st December 2011 and 31st January 2012 for work first published on the net during 2011.

Editors’ notes:

The Born Digital Wine Awards (BDWA) are the brain-child of Vrazon, a company specialising in Social Media in the drinks industry and a fusion of Catavino (Ryan and Gabriella Opaz) and Thirstforwine (Robert McIntosh).

The Awards are international, with entries welcome from around the world and in any language. For the 2011 BDWA Awards the content must have been published during 2011; the maximum for written pieces is 3,000 words and for videos, 10 minutes.

***

Further announcement from Vrazon Global:

'George Taber: Keynote Speaker for the 2011 European Wine Blogger’s Conference

winebloggersconference.or

We’re very excited to announce our first keynote speaker, American journalist and author George M. Taber! A reporter and editor with Time magazine in the US and Europe for 21 years, Taber reported on the famous “Judgment of Paris” tasting where California wines were ranked alongside France’s best in an event that revolutionized the world of wine. His four-paragraph story about the tasting has been called “the most significant news story ever written about wine”. In 2005 Taber published a book about the event and more recently has also written, “To Cork or Not to Cork” and “In Search of Bacchus”.

The EWBC 2011 will take the theme of “storytelling” and online wine communications, and also include several streams of smaller group sessions to generate and nurture practical discussion. Guest speakers will host these hands-on workshops, which will focus on the four disciplines of video, photography, writing and oral reporting.

Taber will speak on the topic of Telling Someone Else’s Story and draw on his many years’ experience as a reporter, editor and author to inform and inspire some 200 wine communicators who will travel from around the world to attend EWBC 2011.'