Next Friday (6/25) the 2010 edition of the Wine Bloggers’ Conference kicks off. This will be the first time that it will not be held in Sonoma and Napa. Walla Walla, Washington will be hosting the invading hoards of debauchery-minded wine scribblers this year. While the conference may not start until Friday, Amy and I will be flying out on Tuesday as the bacchanal extends well beyond the constraints of the 3 days of the actual conference on both ends. Oh, be still my throbbing liver!

We will post often about our adventures next week outside of the WBC in W3, but here is the agenda of the conference:
Agenda

Thursday, June 24 (Yakima Valley Pre-Conference Excursion)
11:30 AM Pickup at Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco
11:45 AM Pickup at Richland Hampton Inn on the Columbia River
7:30 PM Dropoff at the Marcus Whitman Hotel, Holiday Inn, and Comfort Inn in Walla Walla

Friday, June 25
10:00 AM Registration – Marcus Whitman Hotel Ballroom Lobby
10:00 AM Wine Tasting and Meet the Sponsors (ends 1:45 PM) – Ballroom Lobby
Noon Taco Truck Tasting lunch (ends 1:30 PM) – Ballroom Lobby/ North Entrance
2:00 PM Welcome and Conference Overview – Main Ballroom
2:20 PM Keynote with Steve Heimoff – Main Ballroom
3:00 PM Announcement and Presentation of 2010 Wine Blog Awards host by Alan Kropf– Main Ballroom
3:40 PM “About Wine Blogging” Attend one of three breakout sessions:
- Wine Blogging 101 with Colby Vorhees, Joe Power and Catie Walker- Lewis Room
- Advanced Wine Blogging with Joe Roberts, Jeff Lefevere and RJ Hilgers – Sacajawea/ Clark Rooms
- Wine Blogging and the Wine Industry with Craig Camp, Lori Narlock and Bob Silver- Renaissance Room
4:50 PM Live Wine Blogging – White Wines – Main Ballroom
6:30 PM Pre-Dinner Reception with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates – Renaissance Room
7: 00PM Dinner at the Marcus Whitman with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates – Main Ballroom
9:00 PM After-Hours Walla Walla Walkabout with the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance – Downtown Walla Walla

Saturday, June 26
6:30 AM Breakfast on your own
8:00 AM Terroirs of the Walla Walla Valley presented by geologist Kevin Pogue (limited seating) – Renaissance Room
8:55 AM Depart for visits to local vineyards and wineries – Ballroom Lobby/ North Entrance
12:30 PM Lunch with local wineries
3:10 PM Attend one of two Breakout Sessions:
- Growing Your Audience From Other Bloggers To Consumers with Andrea Robinson, Barbara Evans and David Honig – Main Ballroom
- The Washington Wine Industry with Paul Gregutt, Coman Dinn and Sean Sullivan – Renaissance Room
4:00 PM Attend one of two Breakout Sessions:
- Vlogging with Lisa Mattson, Andrea Robinson and Christian Oggenfuss – Renaissance Room
- What is the Future of Wine Writing with Steve Heimoff, Tom Wark and Ken Payton – Main Ballroom
5:00 PM Live Wine Blogging – Red Wines – Main Ballroom
6:30 PM Pre-Dinner Reception with Washington Wine Commission – Renaissance Room
7:15 PM Dinner with the Washington Wine Commission and Keynote with Lettie Teague – Main Ballroom
9:00 PM After Hours Fiesta with Rias Baixas Albarino and Wines from Spain – Renaissance Room

Sunday, June 27
6:30 AM Breakfast on your own and check out
8:00 AM Breakfast with Lettie: Discussion and Q&A with Lettie Teague (limited seating) – Renaissance Room
9:00 AM Attend one of two Breakout Sessions:
- Increasing the Conversion Rate of Your Blog with Craig Sutton – Renaissance Room
- More Effective Writing in Your Blog with Meg Houston Maker, Andy Perdue and Hardy Wallace – Main Ballroom
9:50 AM Attend one of two Breakout Sessions:
- Top Gun Blogging with Andrew Lazorchak, BenSimons and Joe Herrig – Main Ballroom
- Bloggers, Wineries and PR Firms with Beth Cotenoff, Grace Doyle and Michael Wangbickler – Renaissance Room
10:40 AM Food & Wine Pairing Seminar with chef Jeffrey Saad – Main Ballroom
11:10 AM Wine & Food Pairing Lunch with Winebow and Chef “Bear” Ullman – Ballroom Lobby/ Main Ballroom
12:10 PM Wrapup: Present and Future WBC Conferences – Main Ballroom
12:30 PM The End

Now, if you read all of that you may have recognized a name or two on the list of panelists presenting at the conference, including mine. I will be joining Colby Vorhees from Wine Peeps and the indomitable Wild Walla Wine Woman herself, Catie Walker to discuss Blogging 101, whatever the hell that is. It should be interesting to see how many beginner bloggers show up, but anything is possible. Considering who my esteemed panel members are, whatever we end up talking about, it should be a lively discussion no matter who the audience turns out to be.

On a related note, if you are going to be attending the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, we have two seats for the Red Mountain Post-Conference Excursion to give away. If you are an attendee that can use one or both of them, please let us know. We now have other plans and would hate to see them go to waste.