Winners Announced for the All Expense Paid Trip to the EWBC!!!

By On August 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment · In 2009 - Lisbon

Viniportugal, the primary sponsor for the EWBC, has announced the winners for an all expense paid trip to the European Wine Bloggers Conference! Entry into the drawing was relatively straightforward: write a post on either Portuguese wine tasting hosted at Aldea Restaurant in NYC or the American Wine Bloggers Conference in California, or if you could not make it, write on ViniPortugal and the current state of Portuguese wines.

Winners Receive:

1st Place = All Expense Paid Trip to the EWBC

2nd Place = Case of Portuguese Wine

3rd Place = Charles Metcalfe’s book “Wine and Food Lovers’ Guide to Portugal”

Entries into the drawing were both numerous and exciting to read. The majority of entries admitted their lack of knowledge on this diverse and unique wine country, but also tended to fawn over the quality of wines tasted. With a good quality to price ratio, wines were said to be unique as a result of native grape varieties, bright in acidity and tasted of their specific terroir. However, not all was rosy and bright. Participants also suggested that Portuguese wines were difficult to come by, and that Portuguese grape names were a quite difficult to learn, remember and pronounce.

What’s so great for us is the fact that people are at least talking about Portuguese wine, and we can only hope that this conversation will not only become more prevalent but more profound in the months to come!

Enough said ;-) Let’s announce the WINNERS!

1st Place

New York: Andy Freedman of Wine and Dined

California: Ken Payton of Reign of Terroir

2nd Place

New York: David Flaherty of Grapes and Grains NYC

California: Susan Guerra of NJ Monthly

3rd Place

New York: Philip Kampe of The Wine Hub

California: Shana Ray of Breath(e) Media

We want to thank Viniportugal for graciously supporting the event, and for all of you for joining Ryan and I in New York and California, while taking the time to enter into the drawing. And with any luck, we’ll still see you at the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Lisbon come fall!!

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  • http://reignofterroir.com Ken Payton

    I am stunned! What an extraordinary honor! I shall do my very best to taste as widely as I am able, to speak with as many producers as my (now trembling) frame is able. This is a tremendous opportunity to add my voice to the growing chorus of those who now understand that Portuguese wines have arrived on the world stage!

    I shall work very hard to deserve this honor, of that you can be sure!

    Great thanks to Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino, the folks at VinoPortugal, Doug Cook… I'm going to need some time to wrap my head around this! Much more to come!

    • Susan Guerra

      Congratulations Ken and to all of my other co-winners! I too am honored and stunned and can't wait to break into my case of wine and start “exploring” the region again and again.

      Thanks also to Marcio, Gabriella, Ryan and to all the other talented and humble wine bloggers that I had the honor to meet and taste with at the WBC09.

      Sue

      • http://reignofterroir.com Ken Payton

        And congratulations to you, Susan! It all begins with the wine. If it ain't in the bottle, it ain't in the soul. Please post the names of wines you receive!

  • winedanddined

    Wow! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to have this amazing opportunity to travel to Lisbon for the EWBC. Ditto what Ken said above about working hard to be worthy of this tremendous honor. I look forward to expanding my horizons in the areas of Portuguese food and wine and meeting all the dynamic and interesting wine writers, winemakers, marketers and others who will be attending the conference. In the meantime I plan to celebrate this evening with a bottle of Quinta do Carmo, Reserva, 2004 from my local wine shop (Sherry-Lehmann) and a nice Portuguese dinner at Aldea (if we can get in).

    Ryan and Gabriella- Many thanks and I look forward to catching up and getting to know the two of you better in Lisbon.

    Márcio- You and your team are doing amazing things and we're happy we can be a part of it. Look forward to sharing some more good times and good wines with you all.

    Cornelia and the crew at Dunn Robbins- Thanks so much for reaching out to us and letting us get involved with the fabulous ViniPortugal events in NYC this year. We attend many wine tastings and events, and the ones you guys have organized are at the top of our list.

  • http://grapesandgrainsnyc.com/ David Flaherty

    Great news! I'm getting thirsty just thinking about the Touriga Nacional hitting my glass. I'm a huge fan of all things Portugal, especially those of the vinous nature, and its a great honor to be among the talented bloggers selected as winners.

    Much thanks to Ryan and Gabriella, Viniportugal, Aldea and all those who helped bring together such a great event in NYC. Also a shout out to Cornelia and the crew at Dunn Robbins; you all run a high-class ship over there and its great to have met you all, albeit briefly. Looking forward to many more…

    All the best in Portugal and congrats to my fellow winners!

  • http://twitter.com/cortesdecima cortesdecima

    Congrats Andy and Kenn for winning a trip to #EWBC09! Hope to see you at Cortes de Cima on 29/10

  • http://grapesandgrainsnyc.com/ David Flaherty

    Great news! I'm getting thirsty just thinking about the Touriga Nacional hitting my glass. I'm a huge fan of all things Portugal, especially those of the vinous nature, and its a great honor to be among the talented bloggers selected as winners.

    Much thanks to Ryan and Gabriella, Viniportugal, Aldea and all those who helped bring together such a great event in NYC. Also a shout out to Cornelia and the crew at Dunn Robbins; you all run a high-class ship over there and its great to have met you all, albeit briefly. Looking forward to many more…

    All the best in Portugal and congrats to my fellow winners!

  • http://twitter.com/ProjectYine Project Y-ine

    I look forward to learning more about Portuguese wines!

  • http://twitter.com/ProjectYine Project Y-ine

    I look forward to learning more about Portuguese wines!

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