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View from the Punt – Perspectives on TasteCamp from the Other Side of the Bottle, and a few Lessons Learned – Part I
TasteCamp 2012 is in the books! A yearly gathering of print and online wine writers, the fourth annual TasteCamp was held in Loudoun County, Virginia this past weekend, May 4 – 6. Like all of these wine events, TasteCamp was a blur — going so fast I barely felt like I had time to connect with anyone. This weekend reinforced the need for me to get back out on the Virginia wine trail and visit more wineries and spend time with winemakers.
True to form, all of the wineries that participated were enthusiastic about meeting the group of wine media influencers and sharing their wine and stories. I was proud of how Virginia wine showed and the hospitality extended to the group. The ~20+ Virginia wineries that participated in TasteCamp, represented the entire Virginia wine industry well!
After the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville last July, I posted two pieces (here and here) to share the opinions of those that made the event possible — the vintners and winery teams that produced and poured the wines we all tasted. Sticking with this theme of sharing the story of those from the other side of the bottle, I have collected feedback from a number of vintners that participated in TasteCamp, and from one or two that decided not to participate.
Boxwood Winery, situated in Virginia’s picturesque town of Middleburg, served as host for the official TasteCamp kick-off event on Friday afternoon. The Boxwood team graciously provided lunch for TasteCampers, catered by Ayrshire Farms, and followed by a grand tasting that included nine Virginia wineries. I can’t think of a nicer place than Boxwood to start an event like TasteCamp.
Rachel, Cat, Adam and the entire team at Boxwood spared no detail to make the official start to TasteCamp memorable. When our group arrived, the entire setup looked perfect, with nothing out of place, as if this is always the way the chai looks:
Unbeknownst to TasteCampers, there was a last minute behind-the-scenes weather-related logistics scramble to breakdown and relocation the entire lunch and grand tasting setup.
This event will always stand out for me; and I’ve done a lot of them. I’ve never seen anything like what went on yesterday. We had lunch set up on the cursh pad, and the tasting in the chai. Then the wind started, and 15 minutes later, heavy rain. All hands on deck moved the tasting to the cave and the entire luncheon set up into the chai in less than half an hour when they were expected in only 45 minutes. And we did it: made it look as if it had always been that way.
Then, during lunch, the sky cleared, and the cave was less than ideal anyway — would have been too tight for the tasting — so we executed another move to get the tasting event set up (for the third time) now, out on the press. We owe the guys from Rappahanock Cellars a cocktail when we see them because they too jumped in and helped us get it done. ~ Cat Coughlin, Marketing Manager, Boxwood Winery
The Boxwood team handled the last-minute changes with poise and grace. I would like to sincerely thank Rachel, Cat, Adam and the entire Boxwood team that worked so hard to make the TasteCamp kick-off luncheon and grand tasting a memorable event. Team Boxwood rocks!
First off, I want to say that personally we were excited to have been invited. We work hard to make nice wines and look for any opportunity to increase folks’ awareness of Hume. As far as taste camp is concerned, I must say I was quite surprised to see the majority of bloggers swallow (!) all their tastings at each and every table. Makes me wonder how one could be in any position to do a serious evaluation of the wines they tasted when they got to the 8th table (and probably the 30th wine!). This aside, it was nice to hear lots of comments on the part of folks on how surprised (!) they were by the quality of the wines they tasted. This says more about us as an industry then them: namely that Virginia does a poor job of getting the word out to the rest of the country about how good our wines are (although we are very good WITHIN Virginia at patting our own back). Only time will tell what the impact of this type of events will be on raising the awareness of the Virginia wine industry outside of our own boundaries, but I can only hope that it is a step in the right direction. Now I just want to see all those writeups to gauge the level of analysis. ~ Stephane Baldi, HUME Vineyards
Stephane makes a great point here, and one that I also heard from a winemaker on Saturday as well. This winemaker asked me if the event was called TasteCamp or DrinkCamp because so many at the tasting seemed to be drinking vice spitting. Spit cups and buckets were aplenty so I’m sure most TasteCampers were spitting, as is customary at trade-type tastings.
As always, its a pleasure to “press the flesh” with the passionate wine blogger community and I felt honored to represent Southern Virginia wineries at the event, since most of these things take place in Northern Virginia or Charlottesville. Perhaps in the future it might be worthwhile to have a gathering of some sort in Southern Virginia or the Shenandoah Valley to show visiting bloggers the breadth of winemaking styles and the gorgeous countryside. I realize that when you get away from the familiar and make travel a bit more difficult, participation will decline. If the organizers of an event wanted to “split the difference” on Southern Virginia (since there are relatively few wineries compared to other parts of the Commonwealth), I would suggest a meeting in a place like Scottsville, Virginia on the James, which is close enough to both Central Virginia wineries and Southern Virginia wineries for them to easily participate.
Or Lynchburg, which offers lots of great restaurants and proximity to Southern Virginia, Bedford County and parts of the Shenandoah. In the Shenandoah Valley, Lexington is a great destination, with interesting history, restaurants, etc. I imagine the bloggers might get tired of “the usual suspects” that you can find in the bigger wine shops and grocery stores. I’d push for a change of venue (though I must say Boxwood was a spectacular place to have the lunch/grand tasting).
It was great to see familiar faces — the local bloggers we’ve met at other events — but I would like to see two things handled differently:
1. Being arrayed at tables with tasting stations as if we were at a festival isn’t really conducive to getting to know the bloggers personally. I think something akin to a “cocktail hour” where we can have conversations rather than presentations might be more effective if the goal is to promote personal connections. For example, at the Virginia Vineyards Association annual meeting they do that, and everyone brings wine to share. It’s very easy to grab your own bottle during a conversation, and present it to a compatriot: “Try this and tell me what you think.” The physical separation of the table limits interaction and dialogue.
2. I think it would be helpful to provide the participants with information on the participating wineries. As far as I could tell, this was not done only because of having to tell our “story” again and again to everyone we did not know. Perhaps something like that would not be read, but I do recall that the Virginia Wine Marketing Office provided a booklet at WBC11 that listed the wineries and had tasting notes that I think was consulted when it wasn’t being used as a fan during that ungodly heat wave. At that event, there was more discussion of the wine and less explaining where we were from. ~ Stephen Ballard, Annefield Vineyards
That ‘non-harvest party‘ in October sounds like a great time for such a gathering!
Stephen makes a great point about educating TasteCamp attendees about each of the wineries prior to the event, and vice versa. Not providing attendees with basic winery information — winery overview, website address, Twitter handle, winery point of contact, etc. — was the local organizer’s fault. Unfortunately, I thought about this on Friday afternoon as I heard someone ask one of the winery folks if they were on Twitter. Definitely a lesson learned for next year.
I thought Taste Camp 2012 was a great experience and super well organized. I wish there was an equivalent event for winemakers! The passion these bloggers bring to the table both as consumers and reviewers helps to energize the whole industry. Its also a huge relief to be pouring for a group that is well informed, knows what they are tasting, and what questions to ask. I was very impressed with the level of feedback. ~ Rachel Stinson, Stinson Vineyards
I thought it was a great event. The bloggers were very complimentary. Showing just two wines I think was helpful in allowing the bloggers to get to more tables. ~ Lisa Champ, White Hall Vineyards
I agree with Lisa about limiting the number of wines to allow attendees to visit more tables and meet more of the winery folks. Since the grand tastings are generally limited to just 90-minutes, perhaps this suggestion should be considered for TasteCamp 2013.
I found the bloggers to be sincerely interested in learning all they could about our wines, our story and our region. They were busy tasting, asking questions, taking copious notes and learning as much as they could about the many wines and wineries present. They are obviously passionate about what they are doing, many having come from the Northeast, Canada and points west and south, giving up precious time to learn more about the experience of Virginia wines. I personally enjoyed meeting them, putting faces with names and sharing our personal story and our wines with them.
The reality for many micro-boutique wineries whose production is very limited is that distribution to distant locales, especially out of the country, does not make feasible financial sense. But the beauty of this circumstance is that it emphasizes the unique and sometimes rare opportunities to partake of local wines in the land of their “birth”. We all know wine is more than a taste. It is the experience and the setting that creates the magic of the memory, and sipping a wine on the earth from which it came makes it all the more real, authentic and memorable. Hopefully the bloggers will take our stories back home with them, write about them and pique the curiosities of their readers enough so they will want to come to our region and create their own special memories as they sip Virginia wines and experience a true sense of place.
The organization of the weekend seemed extremely well thought out. The size of the group was very manageable, giving the wineries a chance to enjoy a thorough visit with nearly every blogger. Hats off to Lenn, Frank and all the others who played a role in putting it together. Bravo! ~ Christine Vrooman, Ankida Ridge Vineyards
Rachel Stinson, Nathan Vrooman, Christine Vrooman at Friday afternoon Grand Tasting at Boxwood.
I appreciate Christine’s kind words about the organization of the event, but helping organize TasteCamp served as confirmation that I have no future in event planning, and should leave planning/organizing such events to the professionals. 🙂
Overall, everyone — wineries and attendees — seemed pleased with the event. Since I have not attended past TasteCamp events I don’t have a basis for comparison to determine the success of this year’s event relative to past TasteCamps, but I consider TasteCamp 2012 Virginia a huge success.
Major thanks and huge kudos to Jennifer Breaux Blosser, Lawrence and the entire Breaux Vineyards team for organizing and hosting Friday evening’s dinner! Hat tip Chef Patrick from Tuscarora Mill restaurant for an amazing meal.
Thank you to Doug, Lucinda and Jim at Fabbioli Cellars for your time Saturday morning — the vineyard walk and tasting was very educational. I would also like to thank Jordan Harris at Tarara Winery for hosting our group for a vineyard tour, lunch and grand tasting. A special thanks to Ben Renshaw, winemaker/owner of 8 Chains North Winery, for sharing his time to take our group on a vineyard walk the day after his wedding! Saturday evening’s dinner would not have been possible without the hospitality of Mark and Vicki Fedor, owners of North Gate Vineyards. Thank you both for sharing your time and opening your winery to the TasteCamp group. Last, but certainly not least, a special thanks to Stacey Sheetz at Visit Loudoun and to each winery that took their time to pour for us. Each of your respective, and collective, contributions is appreciated!
Part II of this series and detailed day-by-day TasteCamp recap posts are forthcoming.
Be sure to check out these TasteCamp posts:
- From Kirsten at Cellar Blog
- From VWD and GEG at Swirl, Sip, Snark
- From Remy at WineCase
- From Anthony at Virginia Pour House
- Nice piece from Hagan, the LocoWino
- Notes on (Taste)Camp, from Stephen Ballard, Founder of Annefield Vineyards
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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here
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Drink What YOU Like 
Great piece Frank! Neat to hear from the wineries on their perspective and some good ideas for the next one. Thanks again for coordinating a fabulous event and look forward to sharing lots of content from the weekend on my site for my readers!
Thanks, Shannon. Was great to hang out and catch up some. There will be many different perspectives on TasteCamp 2012 shared in the coming weeks, so I wanted to provide a forum for the winemakers to share their thoughts as well. Realize everyone is busy, but hope others will take the time to read the thoughts of those that made TasteCamp possible. Look forward to your updates as well!
Frank, you asked about wineries that made the decision not to participate in taste camp. I don’t speak for all the wineries but most of us really want this type of exposure and want to interact with the writers however for many of us this is a decision of economics. We run on a small staff and the weekends are important to the operation of the winery. Its a difficult decision deciding to go to events or not. Taste camp was a difficult decision to make since we are 3 hrs away. We could make that drive and leave the tasting room with just one person to man the shop and risk alienating regular customers with very poor service. Let several customers have a bad visit and they trash us on yelp. Sometimes we have to go with the option that will keep sales coming in. The exposure with writers would be great but there are likely no direct sales results. Many wineries are faced with these same decisions. Congratulations on a great event and hope we can join in the future.
DC: Since I do not own or have capital invested in a winery, I’m certainly not qualified to second guess any of the wineries that chose not to participate in TasteCamp. Given the economic constraints, I can totally understand the decision to opt for keeping resources at the tasting room. I was disappointed in a couple that could not participate, however, I realize that bills need to be paid and consumers ‘in’ the tasting room generates revenue. One vintner emailed me (who I hope will post a comment here) to apologize for not being able to participate, but explained that they can guarantee a certain amount of tasting room sales on that Saturday based on average weekend sales, and though pouring for 40 writers is appealing, this exposure will not generate revenue that they need right now. I totally get it. Exposure from writers is great — especially from this group — however, I doubt no amount of coverage would move the sales needle much, if at all in the near-term. All the best!
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Thanks for the write-up Frank. I like when you do these types of posts, getting the perspective of the winemakers as it provides some good insight.
I do have a couple comments (this is the comment section after all)! 🙂
I guess I’ll start with Stephane from HUME regarding spitting. I’m sorry that they got the impression that people weren’t spitting. I personally was getting “spit-backs” from the spit buckets because they were so full, and resorted to spitting in the grass, rocks or drain if there was one some of the time.
Second, regarding Stephen’s comments about the logistics/setup of the event – comparing it to a festival. As someone who has worked at festivals for my families winery and attend and put on professional trade tastings (in my work life), with the amount of people and wineries involved there is really no way to get around the “table set-up”. The difference is, at Taste Camp and professional trade tastings you have people that are sincerely interested in the wines and the people pouring them, versus the fact that 80% (my estimate) of people at festivals are there for the party and to get toasted. I didn’t have or notice anyone having trouble interacting with the winemakers/owners as actually it was quite the opposite. People were so engrossed in dialogue; they were having trouble getting to meet everyone. (me included)
Thanks again to everyone who came to, put on and helped make the event great. Once I get my thoughts together, I’ll be slappin’ some posts up.
Cheers!
Thanks for commenting, John. I too was getting some splash backs from the buckets, but that could also been from dumping. I noticed several folks not spitting, but didn’t consider it unusual as we all have different tolerances in terms of intake. As long as no one passed out in the corner I consider consumption ok. 😉
I totally agree with a lot of what Stephen wrote. I was most excited to put “press to the flesh” as he so aptly stated! This supports the other comment he made, which was in regards to having a more intimate arena established for winery managers/makers to be able to interact. Coming from a relatively new (to most) viticulture area, I welcomed the opportunity to represent it; however, since I did not want to dominate their time or the schedule, I could not really go into much detail. I do not necessarily disagree with the table arrangements; perhaps if the bloggers/writers knew those of us wineries were going to be hanging around, they could have come back to taste and talk. I also heard a lot of them remark that they had not eaten much so were hungry and did not want to ‘taste’ too much before eating. Overall I thought that logistically and aesthetically, the event was a success, at least from my small part of it!
I could not agree more with what Christine stated in her comments. I loved this comment, “But the beauty of this circumstance is that it emphasizes the unique and sometimes rare opportunities to partake of local wines in the land of their “birth”. We all know wine is more than a taste. It is the experience and the setting that creates the magic of the memory, and sipping a wine on the earth from which it came makes it all the more real, authentic and memorable.” So true and so very well put!
Thank you joining us, Terri and representing the Northern Neck. Ah, I may have been one of the tasters talking about lunch — I seem to be in a constant state of hungry, always on the lookout for my next meal. Saturday was no different. After the tour at Fabbioli and at Tarara’s vineyards, I was starving. Perhaps timing needs to be adjusted slightly next year. I’m glad you consider the event a success. And, I hope that you will stay connected with the folks you met during the event. Cheers!
A big thank you to Lenn and Frank for letting me participate in TasteCamp. VWG-Online’s mission is to connect wine lovers with the types of wineries most likely to please. This unprecedented access gave me a wealth of material to share with readers and allowed me to meet the people behind the wines, important of course because VA wine is all about the passionate people who pour their hearts and souls into each bottle.
Sante!
Mary Ann
VWG-Online
Nice round-up Frank. It’s always nice to get feedback on the event.
I have to admit that I’m a bit perplexed by the two somewhat-negative comments from winemakers though.
Re: spitting — as far as I could tell, everyone was spitting if not all of the time, at least most of the time — which is why I personally was so thirsty for some wine by the time Friday and Saturday night rolled around.
Re: festival comparison — I have to respectfully disagree with this categorically. TasteCamp is about immersion — getting as many people and wineries in front of the attendees as possible. Tastings like these are the best way to do that. We could have a ‘cocktail hour’ as suggested, but that would likely mean fare fewer wineries pouring or make it more likely that writers would get “stuck” talking to only one or two producers rather than being exposed to the 10-12 we had at each tasting. At the end of the day, it’s a swell idea, but we only have one full day and two half days to try to show a new region to these folks, concessions need to be made.
I’d like to thank all of the wineries that poured for us — the feedback I’m getting is overwhelmingly positive — as well as Frank, John and Remy, who helped with the planning of this year’s edition.
Thanks, Lenn. TasteCamp 2012 was an excellent event — the group managed to see, taste, and learn a lot in 2 days. I wonder if everyone else was as tired on Monday as I was.
I don’t view either of the comments by Stephane or Stephen as the slightest bit negative. Their comments, are, well, their thoughts on the event and I appreciate their perspectives.
Like you, I too was jonesing for some wine by the end of each day because I spit (out of habit) most of the day. I didn’t watch everyone else tasting so can’t say for sure, but I did see many drinking, as well as spitting (thanks to the person that will remain unnamed who spit red wine on my cream-colored right shoe!). Clearly no one over consumed so I didn’t see a problem even if they were drinking. But, the lack of spitting was noticed by two of the winemakers (don’t think either really framed it as negative per se).
The format is a tough call — hard to balance time for connecting and trying to taste all the wines (maybe extend grand tasting by an hour?). It’s clear the wineries want to connect more with ‘us,’ so consideration should be given to trying a different format that will allow more one-on-one interaction. Again, this may be difficult since there are so many different wines to taste and people to meet. I took note of this for planning future events, and hopefully you guys will consider for next year’s TC.
I’ve been thinking about Lenn’s comments (above and from a brief interaction we had on Twitter) about the interaction aspect, which in part was my reaction — perhaps frustration — in not being able to spend a little more time interacting with participants. I was by myself, whereas most wineries had two or more people there. Those with two or more had the luxury of one person pouring while the other could talk. I distinctly recall seeing Christine Vrooman on the blogger’s side of the table engaging in lively conversations. So perhaps my reaction was more personal, and not the fault of the setup (or the organizers). It wasn’t criticism, though possibly it could have been perceived that way since the wine “festival” is a sensitive subject for some. Still, I would welcome a less structured opportunity to interact.
DC’s comments about the decision of whether or not to participate because of the distance and the economic calculus does argue for future events in other parts of the Commonwealth. Here’s an idea for a future Virignia TasteCamp — select a region as the focus and limit participation to wineries from that area, though that presents some difficulties and some would have to be combined — for example, the Eastern Shore has but three wineries, as does Hampton Roads.– but combine that with Rappahannock Bay and Northern Neck, you have a critical mass with a common theme: all border the Chesapeake and are influenced by a maritime climate.
Thanks for the additional context, Stephen. Indeed, pouring and trying to interact with the group solo presents a challenge in terms of limiting interaction. (although I thought our interaction during the event was great). Even if you couldn’t spend all the time you would like with each attendee, your wine certainly ‘spoke’ to several as they had very positive comments about Annefield wine. I like the idea of a region specific Taste Camp type of event in the future. Would October a good time for a similar event in Southern, VA?
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I looks like you guys had a wonderful time… This #winelover is so sorry he missed it… 😦
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In terms of showing a wine in the best possible light, Breaux did it right with their reception and dinner. Four wines at pouring stations for the brief reception with passed hors d’oeurvres gave us a chance to slowly slip into the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Nine wines with the four course dinner may sound like a lot, but you must understand the vertical of Nebbiolo with the cheese course as “one wine’.
To alleviate the “wine festival atmosphere” maybe we could increase the winemaker-to-attendee ratio next time! Spread us out a little more!
But for me personally, the best way to get to know a wine or wine region is through a formal, seated tasting. There are any number of themes that could work: VA Meritage, Loudoun Cab Franc, C’ville whites, etc. But I’m pretty geek-ish that way.
Frank
Great write up. Thanks for soliciting the perspectives of the wineries, as theirs are utterly important.
Looking forward to your (and others’) follow-on posts
LW
Frank,
I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer (it’s always great to taste, and dine, at Breaux), but am glad that the feedback from wineries and attendees was positive. Boxwood personnel did a fine job of gracious hospitality, and it was good that the crushpad was covered to keep us and the wines shaded!
I thought it was good to have folks like Ankida Ridge and Annefield pouring alongside N. VA wineries so the attendees could get a very diverse range of the industry in that focused tasting environment. I was surprised to hear how many of them were swallowing, but I suspect lack of space had something to do with it (I just turned around and spat on the pavement).
Despite the poor quality of the 2011 vintage, whites and roses aren’t bad, with vibrant acidity and the 2010 reds of course are stellar. Lots of nice diversity in the wines poured.
I hope participating wineries felt the exposure to writers/bloggers was worthwhile.
Cheers,
Richard Leahy
Frank! An event in Southern Virginia in October? I’m putting out feelers and will get back to you on that next week.
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I posted most of my thoughts from this post and the second one on Part 2 to make it easier for myself.
Now that said, I have to speak to Richards comments about 2011. While I never want to go through 2011 again, we have just gone through our white barrels to make up our final blends and I have to say that some of the Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauv Blanc we have in barrel is some of the finest whites I personally have ever made. I am not completely sure how it happened, but they are damn good. There is better balance, great finesse and elegance, more complexity instead of overwhelming fruit and better expression of terroir. I think the growing season leading up to harvest really helped with these earlier varieties and lower yielding vineyards (our Estate Nevaeh was cropped just below 2 tons per acre and is the best of the bunch) were able to get some early great flavor development without being overblown. I have also tasted a few early release whites that I have been hugely impressed with. Hume’s Viognier definitely comes to mind.
Later reds will be a whole different story, but overall 2011 is no where near as bad as it is being made out to be and is certainly no where near 2003. We did have a great growing season. It was simply hurt by potential dilution and pressure at harvest (obviously the most critical time), but there is some great stuff out there. In 2003 the whole season was awful so nothing developed.
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