“The popularity of the European Wine Bloggers Conference is growing so fast I am expecting it to be leading the voting on X-Factor next week. [...] Yet it is going through something of an identity crisis. … All fair enough, but if it is not in Europe, attendees come from all over the world and are not exclusively focussed on wine, blogging forms only 10% of content, and it is not really a conference, don’t we have a problem with nomenclature?”

To answer the question, I need to explain a little about the genesis of the event and the thinking behind it.

THE STORY BEGINS …

The European Wine Bloggers Conference was born out of discussions started on a Facebook group for Wine Bloggers in 2007. It was through this that I met Ryan & Gabriella Opaz (we are true “facebook friends”). To cut a longer story short, we decided that Facebook was not a good way to actually MEET bloggers, so we should organise an event to give us a chance to talk & drink together. Thus, the concept of the “Wine Bloggers” conferences was born. This is where our brand story begins.

The EWBC stands for …

EUROPEAN

We hoped to find a way to bring people together from more than one country. We were writing in English, but we wanted this to be international, but also close to the wine regions we are familiar with. The obvious, though maybe not far-sighted, solution was to call the event the “European” conference because it sounded more inviting to the people we were mainly trying to attract – the neighbours we had never met.

It was never the intention to limit either locations, participants or wines to Europe, and in fact the first event had participants from 11 countries including outside Europe. It should, in hindsight, really have been the “International” event from the start.

What defined the “European” event was that we had to deal with participants with multiple languages, from different countries, and an industry unaware of social media. This made it important that we focus on building COMMUNITY first. We couldn’t jump straight to wine tastings, or talking about communication tools without first finding ways to bring people together. This helped to lay a strong foundation for the event.

In 2012 this is particularly of interest since we will, in essence, be taking the event to Asia. One can argue whether Turkey is European, Asian or both (or neither), but the location will be an exciting blend of both worlds; taking place on the Asian continent, but in a modern city such as Izmir, while enjoying the foods, sights and sounds of a cultural legacy important to both Asian and European history, and on the subject of wine, a product arguably seen as more “European”. Turkey is certainly close enough to Europe to be in accession discussions with the EU.

After five amazing years, the community is what makes the EWBC so much fun, and it is a global community, so the “European” moniker is misleading.

WINE

Everyone who comes to the EWBC is passionate about wine. Wine is what brings us together, what we share in common despite differences in everything else we might do; professions, language, culture, communication channel, etc.

Yet, the event is not just about wine. This is not a Wine Tasting event with content tagged on.

The EWBC has always been a conference about “digital communications” where the common topic is wine, and as such there are many ways to achieve this. Few bloggers were exclusively wine writers. There have always been food bloggers, travel bloggers, marketers, consumers, developers, archaeologists, producers who also make olive oil, and so on. In fact, as organisers we strongly believe that to really promote wine we need to escape the “wine bubble” and get other people talking about wine.

We have been incredibly lucky to find sponsors in Rioja (Dinastia Vivanco), Lisbon (Wines of Portugal), Vienna (Austrian Wine), Brescia (Franciacorta) and now Turkey (Wines of Turkey) that understand this and have wanted to participate in this event to give their wine stories a context and to become part of the community so that we can both learn from each other.

In other words, the event has a strong wine message, but it is not JUST about wine.

BLOGGERS

In 2007 and 2008, when the event launched, if you created content online you were a “blogger”. There were other tools, but this was an exciting time to create your own content channel, usually on a blog platform. Facebook was a clunky, limited way to interact with people and build conversations. Twitter existed, but was not yet mainstream. Blogging was “it”.

The event also come out of the “wine bloggers” group, so it was natural that we should use this term to mean “online communication”.

However, we recall discussing this issue even at the first conference in 2008 in Rioja. There were other ways to communicate about wine and we started thinking that we wanted to ensure we also included those without blogs or those considering starting one. The event was started by bloggers, much of the conversation was about blogging tools, but it not was a condition of entry.

In 2011 using this term is almost quaint. There are many ways to create content, and blogging is only one part, but there is no easy all-encompassing alternative term. That is why we now use the tag “Digital Wine Communication”.

CONFERENCE

The main event has always been a 2 or 3 day “conference” programme including presentations, tastings, parties, unconference sessions, lectures, performances and more. However, the “C” in EWBC should always have been “Community” because the days of the event were really as much about the opportunity to meet face to face and share stories and wines as they were about traditional conference content.

Since the beginning the events AROUND the conference were equally important; there’s the amazing ‘United Nations of Wine‘ event that takes place just before the content where participants bring a wine to the “BYOB” to share with friends; there’s the exhibition area where we can meet wineries and wine related businesses and learn about their stories; there are also the post-trips to wineries, regions and tourist locations that are great opportunities to learn about the host venue.

This is not a “conference” in the sense that most people understand the term. It is an annual gathering, a community event, a learning opportunity full of potential to discover great things and make new friends. Does the term do it justice?

AND YET

And yet … even if we are neither just European, nor just about Wine, for more than Bloggers, and not simply a Conference, is there another name that captures the essence of the event that has emerged under the banner of “the EWBC”?

We have been thinking about this a LOT, and we think that the strapline “The Digital Wine Communications Conference” is a more accurate description of what we DO, … but “the EWBC” is who we ARE. We do not want to lose this legacy … and so for the time being we have kept the term even if we no longer think of it as an acronym, but more of a badge we are proud to wear.

So, in summary, for 2012 the event will be branded: EWBC, the Digital Wine Communications Conference

We hope you like it.

At the EWBC in 2011 we chose “Storytelling” as the theme. The idea was to create a programme that would be relevant to all participants, no matter what their background or chosen communication medium.

This theme allowed us to exchange stories and experiences in a new way,and explore the relationship of new media such as video and photography to tell the stories behind wine.

At the EWBC in 2012 we hope to do the same, expanding the idea to bring together wine, communications, food, travel and culture.

The theme for EWBC 2012 will be: ‘Source‘

The choice of Turkey as the host for the conference is particularly exciting for wine lovers, as recent evidence points to areas of Turkey being the original source of domestic vine cultivation and possibly winemaking. Several countries in the region make this claim, and we hope to explore what this ancient lineage can bring to the contemporary wine conversation.

However, it is not all about grapes. When it comes to the skill and practice of wine communication, there is an important issue to address.

With the explosion of networks, channels and number of content creators, comes the need for curation of information. It is no longer enough to be adding content about wine, but it is becoming increasingly important to create source of knowledge, or intelligence, either through original research or expert analysis. Content creators will be urged to “Become a Source” not just a disseminator.

With another dedicated stream, the EWBC will also explore the intersection of wine with food and travel online, through “freshly sourced” and the “resourceful traveller”, two worlds that are intimately related to the future success of wine.

The EWBC is celebrating 5 wonderful years in 2012, and in the years since it began, the landscape of online communications has transformed itself from a tool for excited pioneers, to an essential part of everyday life for wine lovers and the wines business.

2012 seems a good opportunity to look back at the origins of wine and wine communications online, as a way to plan for the future, and the continued success of online communicators everywhere.

See you in Izmir!

“Please, take some!” he said, almost laughing at my reluctance. I was only hesitant because I didn’t want this gentleman to waste wine on a stranger. But here we were, standing in a ballroom in Brescia, Italy, and that was precisely the point.

What an introduction to the European Wine Bloggers Conference. I liked Thomas Lippert immediately and not, it turned out, because of the wine. No, the wine was merely interesting. Thomas was instantly sweet and likable, not cloying but genuine. So genuine that he gave himself away without a fight after I said, “That’s awfully kind of you to share a rare wine.”

“I only paid one Euro!” he said, as if unable to allow a friend to carry any misconception, however small.

“Well, hell, I’ll take the whole bottle!” I replied, smiling.

Thomas added, “Well, the shipping was 60 Euro!”

I felt compelled to pour him a glass of the Finger Lakes Riesling I had chosen. He buried his nose in the glass, tasted it, then declared, “Germans have been saying that it’s about time the Finger Lakes stop making Riesling.”

“Huh,” I said, searching for the right words.

Thomas clarified: “That’s because the Finger Lakes is making it so damn well.” We laughed again, a preview to a weekend of wine exploration without affectation.

For me, it was a weekend filled with learning. From the probing discussions on how to become a more effective storyteller, to the introduction of new wines and new (to many of us!) wine regions, to the discussions about trends and customs and travel, well, there was a constant high from the learning.

There was also a deft balance, thanks in large part to a team of organizers determined to put content and substance first. In any conference of this size, sponsors are part of the fabric. That’s how it works. Sponsors are the engine. However, if the sponsors dominate the agenda, the attendees feel like they’ve been prostituted. Remarkably, I left Brescia without hearing a single writer complain about an inundation of sponsorship.

Now, that’s not to say that the format was perfect. Certainly there are ways to improve, and the organizers are clear-headed in that regard. I’d love to see even more interaction in the future; the conference reached a crescendo when the audience was electric with comments and questions during the story-telling panel on Saturday. I’d focus my critique on finding ever more ways to have such interaction, as opposed to complaining about food.

By the time I sat next to Thomas Lippert during the open mic-style story telling hour on Saturday afternoon, I felt comfortable with dozens of people I’d only just met. Thomas was simply the first. I shouldn’t have been surprised when his story about EWBC and his health moved me emotionally. When he returned to his seat I shook his hand and gave him a smack on the back. Next year I’ll return, no matter where the conference goes, and I’ll bring a prized wine with Thomas’ name on it. But I’ll force myself to spend no more than single Euro on it (though there will be no limit on the shipping).

Evan Dawson

Keynote Speaker at the 2011 EWBC

Blogger’s Stories – Storytelling in action from Vrazon on Vimeo.

Storytelling Technology w/Ryan Opaz from Vrazon on Vimeo.

George Taber Keynote Speech from Vrazon on Vimeo.

Defending Storytelling in Wine – EWBC 2011 from Vrazon on Vimeo.

But since we are in the middle of the madness, I just want to let you all know that we will be doing a few things so that if you are not here you can still join in.

• Follow us on Twitter with the hashtag: #ewbc – though we warn you that if you don’t have any wine while you’re watching, you may be mighty thirsty
• Follow us from time to time on the live stream: http://bit.ly/EWBC2011live
• We’ll be also uploading videos on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/vrazon

But for now, we’re going to get back to our bubbles!

Come back here later this week and hopefully we’ll have some more info for you about the conference.

Cheers from Italy!

Ryan, Gabriella, Robert

For this reason, we want to offer a new way to introduce yourself. If you have a product, project or service that you want highlighted, create a short video about it. Today is Ágnes Németh, Editor in Chief of Vince Magazine!