Drink Local Wine 2010 Conference: It's About the People

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
Photo courtesy of Dezel Quinlan

Despite the New Jersey Turnpike's best efforts, I made it home last night from a great weekend in northern Virginia where I attended (and spoke at) Drink Local Wine 2010.

I'm still gathering my thoughts about all the goings on at the conference, but this much is clear: the people were the real star of the conference -- just like every other blogger-heavy gathering I've attended. Meeting bloggers is always an extreme pleasure for me. The passion they have(and share) and the nuanced wine knowledge they exhibit about their niche of choice are both awe inducing and awe inspiring.

This is a picture of me with the crew I jokingly referred to as the Virginia Wine Mafia a couple weeks ago (the name has caught on by the way -- even some winery owners are using it). From left to right, we have John Witherspoon (Anything Wine), Dezel Quinlan (My Vine Spot), Me, Frank Morgan (Drink What You Like), Brian Kirby (The Other 46) and Warren Richard -- with Paul Armstrong behind the camera -- (Virginia Wine Time).

These guys have an amazing wealth of knowledge about Virginia wine and as I said during the social media session where I was a panelist, the Virginia wine industry is lucky to have them.

The blogging community is too. These are some of the good guys in the blog world, doing good work through earnest exploration of an under-appreciated region. I dig that.

My weekly story tomorrow will focus on the conference as well, but these guys (along with the other great bloggers and people I met) are deserving of their own little shout out. Who knows, some of them just might become the Lenn/Evan/Bryan for the Virginia Cork Report.

Comments

[VA Wine Diva]

Apparently I lack the requisite Y chromosome to be part of the VA Wine Mafia...sit one table over...you guys really need to get some estrogen mixed in there so you don't all choke on the unchallenged testosterone! ;-)

[Lenn Thompson]

You were left out of this post only because you desire anonymity!

It was a pleasure to meet you (and your partner in crime). I'll make sure I get you some Long Island merlot very soon.

[1WineDude]

Now there's a handsome bunch! :-)

Very cool meet up, looking forward to hearing about the conf.

[ask a doctor]

Nice smile Lenn.. They all look smart..

[Michael Gorton, Jr.]

Nice Baseball shirt Lenn!

[john witherspoon]

Good to see you in the Commonwealth Lenn! I am getting really jazzed about the idea of the VA wine mafia report. :)
See ya at Taste Camp.

[Frank]

Great to finally meet you in person!
Nice looking group... but I wonder why Lenn refuses to dress it up for the event...
@VA Wine Diva - "unchallenged testosterone"? Puleeze stop using these sorts of multi-vowel complex words/phrases that i have to look up. Oh, BTW, wikipedia has never heard of "unchallenged testosterone."

[Lenn Thompson]

Frank: See the thing is...the conference was labeled as "casual attire."

I just follow directions. So what if I was the only one in the entire place to do so?

[Tom Mansell]

I like the baseball jersey better than the T-shirt.

[Lenn Thompson]

That seems to be the consensus, Tom. The quality isn't where I want it to be though...so not quite ready for prime time.

[Dezel]

Lenn,

Nice to finally meet you bro - its been a few years :-) Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the conference too. Glad you enjoyed that CF - that and the Lenz Merlot made Friday night all that much better! Have a great weekend.

Dezel

[Brian]

Lenn,

A pleasure to finally meet you. I had a blast at the conference tasting some good (and some bad) wines, and look forward to enjoying some NY juice with you soon bro! And btw, cheers to the Virginia Wine Mafia and the Virginia Cork Report!