And in light of our mission [...]]]> This past week, we hosted a social media and blogging stand called, “The Access Zone” at the London International Wine Fair. 60 square meters dedicated to sessions on Facebook for Business, Blogging 101, Social Media Wine Tastings, Wine Fault Tastings and so much more.

And in light of our mission to spread the good word about Social Media, we decided to kick off the 2010 EWBC with a tasting of Austrian Wines spearheaded by Willi Klinger, President of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. Have fun watching the film, and don’t forget that we’re still looking for people interested in proposing a seminar or workshop at this year’s conference!

EWBC 2010 Launch from Ryan and Gabriella Opaz on Vimeo.

Time: 16:00 – 16:45 pm

Roundtable:

Theme: We will have just spent a day looking at where the world wine and online media have converged; how video is changing the [...]]]> Moderator: Ryan Opaz - Catavino.net

Time: 16:00 – 16:45 pm

Roundtable:

• Esteban Cabezas – The Wine Academy Spain
• Marcio Ferriera – ViniPortugal
• Evelyne Resnick – Wine Brands

Theme: We will have just spent a day looking at where the world wine and online media have converged; how video is changing the way we communicate about wine; how wineries and wine bloggers can communicate better. So to end the day, we want to look at the future, and what tomorrow will  bring us? Will we become more open, or will the inverse occur, creating virtual walls around individual content?

Questions:

• What role will blogging have in the next 5 years of wine communication?
• What importance will we place on video as we move into the next generation of wine communication?
• Do Twitter and Facebook serve a purpose or are they just steps in the evolution of wine communication?
• How can Generics better embrace the benefits of Social Media? And when will we see them doing more?
• The Social Wine world is highly personlized and time consuming at times. Is this method sustainable, or will we see less authentic forms of it in the future?

Cortes de Cima has been a supporter in the form of wine of both the #EWBC 2008 and [...]]]> Coming to Portugal for the EWBC in Lisbon? Cortes de Cima is inviting any interested EWBC  participants to a day’s outing to the lovely Alentejo on Thursday, October 29th - an opportunity not to be missed!

Cortes de Cima has been a supporter in the form of wine of both the #EWBC 2008 and the #WBC 2009, and we were also the first Portuguese winery to start a winery blog over 1 year ago.

I think my first post from our blog sums it up nicely as to why we believe so strongly in these events:

Cortes de Cima is renown in Portugal as a pioneer and even a renegade. Perhaps because we arrived here as foreigners 20 years ago (Hans the winemaker is Danish, and I, the marketing manager, am from California) we’ve always tended to do things differently, even sometimes, downright ‘illegal’. We were Portuguese pioneers in creating our winery website back in 1999, and again pioneers in being the first winery to sell online. By once again being pioneers in Portugal by starting this winery blog, we will endeavor to live up to the Bob Dylan quote, printed on the back label of our ‘illegal’ Syrah wine,’ Incógnito’ – ‘To live outside the law you must be honest’ . We hope to give you an ‘honest’ insight into the daily goings on here at Cortes de Cima, even when we are a bit ‘outside the law’…(more on that later!)

Where Your Adventures Begins

We will start off with a guided vineyard and winery tour at Cortes de Cima, to work up your thirst and appetite. As the olive harvest, is sure to have started, you should also have the chance to see olive picking first hand!

Next, we will serve lunch based on the local Alentejan specialties, local lamb, fresh goat cheese, stone oven bread, and of course Cortes de Cima’s own extra virgin olive oil!

To accompany the buffet lunch, we will open the full range of our wines and do a live wine tasting with the winemakers themselves on hand! You can log onto our wifi in our tasting room, and Twitter while you Taste! (Don’t forget to enjoy the breathtaking views from our tasting room across our own vineyards and the rolling Alentejan plains!)

Afterwards, we will visit a nearby village, Vila de Frades, where the Roman tradition is still alive of making wines in old clay pots, or ‘Talhas’ (like the pot we use on the Cortes de Cima label). Goat cheese artisans and bread makers using stone ovens are also nestled behind the picturesque village walls, for those who want to have a quick peek!

Also in Vila de Frades, and not to be missed, are the amazing ruins of S. Cucufate, one of the largest and best preserved Roman villa in the Iberian peninsula.

If you are driving, plan to stop in Évora on the way back to Lisbon, a unique UNESCO world heritage site!

Transport: If you have your own wheels, it’s a 2hr drive from Lisbon. http://cortesdecima.com/tourism/visit-us/

Alternatively, take the train (www.cp.pt) and we will arrange a pickup and drop-off from the Cuba train station, 15 mins away.

• Lisbon – Gare do Oriente Departure: 09h10 Arrival to Cuba: 11h19
  • • There is also an option of leaving the Entrecampos station, near to the VIP Grand Lisboa at 9:21. More info here)
• Cuba – Departure 17h33 Arrival to Lisbon – Gare do Oriente: 20h36

If you would like to join us, simply sign up on our Open Wine Consortium Event page.

And if you need any additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: wine at cortesdecima dot com or on twitter at @cortesdecima

In Portugal there is still a considerable amount to discover. Historically, Portuguese wine has slowly gained traction outside of the country’s borders, but as a result of a new generation [...]]]> At DOC- DMC we are not winemakers, but we are wine lovers. We believe that whoever loves wine, also loves to discover!

In Portugal there is still a considerable amount to discover. Historically, Portuguese wine has slowly gained traction outside of the country’s borders, but as a result of a new generation of winemakers rediscovering the many autochthonous grapes which give a unique character to Portuguese wine, our fame has begun to spread like wildfire.

Our team at DOC-DMC has come a long way in organizing events, incentives and trips. This know-how combined with traditional gastronomy and the beautiful countryside makes wine trips to Portugal an irresistible choice.

This is why we are sponsoring the EWBC. We are fully aware that Portugal needs all the help it can get in spreading the word about our local treasures. From our varied and distinct traditional cuisine to our vast and changing landscapes, we can only hope that you as bloggers will fall equally in love with our wine, food and culture as we have.

And how do we convince you of our unique treasures? We will bring you on a full day adventure on Sunday through the wine regions of Setubal and Terras do Sado, where you will visit 3 wineries varying in size and style, a traditional tile factory and dine on a vast array of traditional Portuguese foods. It is our hope that by the end of your trip, you will not only have a fundamental understanding of these two regions, but also a desire to come back and visit again. Full Schedule of Sunday Trip is listed below

What else can DOC-DMC offer a passionate wine lover?

• Gastronomic trips to Portugal for individual travellers or small groups to all well known DOC Areas from the Minho to the Douro and from the Dão , to the Ribatejo, Alentejo or the recently “re-animated” Algarve.
• Offers for weekend stays combined with a round of golf, or even a relaxing day spa.
• Events related with wine: team building and wine courses, eno-gastronomic dinners or wine tastings in charming settings.
• “Winelands of Portugal “, are travel books which will allow you to discover the best wineries, cellars or other selected tasting venues of the most important DOC areas, as well as a choice of restaurants in order to enjoy the best of local gastronomy. Based on the suggestions of “Winelands” you will also be able to make your own itinerary choosing from the suggested venues, enjoying wine tasting, lunch or dinner using the vouchers included in the travel book. This product will be available on the internet this year and is currently sold in the reception of over 30 of the best hotels of Portugal.
• Moreover we are the exclusive dealers of the Enomatic Wine Serving Systems in Portugal, a technology we import from Italy which is a leading product for conserving and selling wine by glass.
• Our small selection and distribution of “Vinhos de Quinta”, wines with an excellent price – quality relationship produced by smaller wineries. Similar to a boutique sales, “Vinhos de Quinta” has found clientele among Lisbon’s best restaurants and hotels who love to introduce and discover new brands and tastes of Portuguese wines.
• Clube Doc aims to promote the Portuguese DOC Areas and wines to people in Portugal. Be it a gastronomic dinner to discover flower and fruity notes in red wines, an excursion to the unknown wine area east of Lisbon, or a trip to the wine harvest in Douro, the Clube Doc Calender organizes monthly gatherings!

We are elated to have you join us, and hope that we can be a resource for you if you should ever have questions about the wine, food and culture of Portugal!

Sincerely,

The DOC-DMC Team

Schedule:

09:30 – Pick up

10:15 – The Day will start with a visit of the prestigious winery “Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal”, which is the result of nearly 82 years of dedication to the production of wine. The innovative character of this winery is the combination of tradition with state of the art technology, which results in an annual average production of nearly 12 million litters of wine. This magnificent winery is part of the “Grupo dos Sete” (Group of Seven), a unique organization which gathers seven of the most significant private companies of the Portuguese wine industry. The winery is owned mostly by one of the most important Portuguese patrons of modern art, José Berardo and has a large art collection spread all over the property. Finalizing the visit you will have the opportunities to taste some of the renowned Bacalhoa Vinhos.

11:30 – We will next visit the historical and traditional winery José Maria da Fonseca, a family run business established in 1834, with a background of two centuries in the art of wine making. Piriquita is their most famous brand, in fact ,the first of all table wines produced in Portugal. A further hightlight of the visit will be the Moscatel Wine cellar with thousands of precious well aged bottles or this sweet fortified wine. This winery indeed has some stories to tell !  A tasting of several of their red wines and of course Moscatel  will follow the visit, accompanied by the no less famous cheese and the traditional bread of this charming village.

12:30 – Our next stop will be by the “São Simão” workshop, where the ancient tile painting tradition is still carried on to this day. We will be able to see the artists at work and thereby learn some of the secrets of this trade. The exhibition rooms display glazed tile panels and porcelain pieces decorated with the patterns and colors of the 18th century.

13:30 – A fantastic buffet, prepared by the famous restaurant Alcanena, is awaiting us now. On the table you will find a selection of Portuguese cheeses, sausages and smoked meats, 16 traditional cold salads, various soups as well as several different Portuguese meats and fish, such as hare with white beans, partridge pie, pork meat Alentejo style, duck rice, fried entrecote with rice and beans, seafood “açorda”, spiritual codfish, calamari Algarve style and many others. But the meal is only finished after the dessert: egg pudding, milk cream, chocolate mousse, almond cake, orange cake and cheese cake are some of the delicacies we will be able to taste.

15:30 – When this superb meal is finished we will proceed to the nearby winery “Horácio Simões”, in order to taste the Moscatel de Setúbal and the Moscatel Roxo, still made in traditional grape presses, as well as the Aguardente Velha.

16:30 – Return trip to the hotel.

Originally, we had warned that prices would increase on September 1st. But as Europe is only now waking from its restful summer slumber, having been drinking mojitos under swaying palm trees, we felt it was only fair to extend [...]]]> On October 1st, ticket prices for the European Wine Bloggers Conference will increase!

Originally, we had warned that prices would increase on September 1st. But as Europe is only now waking from its restful summer slumber, having been drinking mojitos under swaying palm trees, we felt it was only fair to extend the date of registration before prices increase.

But that doesn’t mean you should wait until last minute to purchase your ticket. As businesses and families alike get into their normal routine, we anticipate registrations to increase dramatically!

Don’t let September get the best of you without registering for the EWBC. Sign up TODAY!!

What does your ticket include?

• Discount on a hotel room (which includes breakfast) at the VIP Grand Lisboa – location of the EWBC
• 2 sponsored lunches
• 2 sponsored dinners
• 2 sponsored grand tastings
• A full day of winery visits in 1 of the 3 Portuguese wine regions: Setabul / Terras do Sado, Ribatejo or Alentejo
• A full day of sessions on everything from monetizing your blog to videoblogging 101
• Enormous amounts of networking opportunities
• A chance to taste wines from across Portugal
• An opportunity to attend the Douro Boys Press Junket trip to the Douro after the conference
• And much much more!

So go HERE and reserve your space before someone else does!!