A few weeks prior to the DrinkLocalWine.com conference, a few of us tossed around the idea of a Twitter Tweet-Up in Virginia.  Jennifer Breaux Blosser, Director of Sales and Hospitality at Breaux Vineyards, jumped on board and rolled out the red carpet for our small group this past Saturday.  Anyone who follows my blog, knows I’m a big fan of Breaux Vineyards (read more here) and I always plan a visit when I’m in Virginia.  The 404 acre estate has over 100 acres planted in 18 different grape varieties, making it one of the largest growers in the region, and a popular venue for events and gatherings.

Breaux Vineyards DLW10 Tweet-Up

Our group was treated to a behind the scenes tour of the bottling room and barrel tastings courtesy of the winemaker, Dave Collins.  The 2007 Malbec and Petit Verdot blend impressed (a future Cellar Club release), with it’s balance of tannin and fruit.  We then made our way to the tasting counter to sample the current selections of white wines.  The 2008 Viognier and Barrel Select Chardonnay scored high on my tasting sheet along with the Syrah Rosé with it’s strawberry and cranberry notes.

After our tasting, we headed back to the barrel room for a tasting of Breaux reds paired alongside a fabulous lunch prepared by Grandale Farm Restaurant.  And if that wasn’t enough, we were joined by Paul Breaux, President and CEO of Breaux Vineyards.  We chatted about the history of the vineyard and winery along with his vision for the future.  Easily the highlight of my visit.  And what about those reds?  My favorite Virginia wine, the 2002 Reserve Merlot, took first place followed by the earthy, 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Elegant and reserved, a beauty drinking fabulously well.  The surprise of the tasting, the 2001 Nebbiolo, was a favorite around the table (I regret not reserving a spot for the Nebbiolo vertical tasting that same day).

What makes Breaux so special, aside from the great wine, is the people. From top to bottom, the team welcomed us and made our Twitter Tweet-Up an event to remember.  Bravo Breaux!

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The second annual DrinkLocalWine.com conference has come and gone, but the friendships formed are here to stay.  Held in picturesque Loudoun County, Virginia, the 2-day conference included a reception/winemaker dinner on Saturday night (invitation only) followed by Sunday’s activities which included a series of panel discussions and the popular Twitter Taste-off featuring some of the best pours across Virginia and Maryland.  The brainchild of Dave McIntyre (Washington Post) and Jeff Siegel (Wine Curmudgeon), the conference proved to be a big hit and helped to spotlight the wines and people that have helped put Virginia on the global wine map.

Conference aside, the real treat for me was meeting the people and hearing the stories behind some of the best regional blogs and wineries. Over the next few days I’ll recap the conference, along with the stories and wines that have firmly cemented Virginia’s status as a premier wine growing region in the United States.

Virginia Wine Mafia (Photo courtesy of Dezel Quillen)

The dedicated and passionate group of wine writers led by Dezel Quillen (My Vine Spot), Lenn Thompson (New York Cork Report), Frank Morgan (Drink What You Like), John Witherspoon (Anything Wine), and last but certainly not least Paul Armstrong and Warren Richard (Virginia Wine Time) or otherwise known as the Virginia Wine Mafia are helping to fill the void of local wine coverage so often neglected by mainstream media.  A great group of guys and quoting Lenn Thompson during the social media panel, “the Virginia wine industry is lucky to have them”.  I second that!

Of course, any trip to Virginia isn’t a trip without jumping on the wine trail.  Stay tuned for more on the conference, the wines, and wineries that represent the heart and soul of Virginia wine.  Cheers!

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“The Virginia Wine Board is pleased to sponsor the second annual Drink Local Wine Conference,” says Rock Stephens, the wine board chairman. “In 1979, Virginia had only six wineries and today we have well over 150. From the Shenandoah to Jefferson’s Monticello to George Washington’s birthplace to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, we are proud of the diversity and quality of wines produced in Virginia and look forward to providing attendees the opportunity to experience, as well as, sample some of our outstanding vintages.”

The conference is a great opportunity to showcase the wineries, winemakers, and people helping to put Virginia wine on the global wine map.  I’m hearing a rumor a few Maryland wines will also be on display.  Yours truly, TheOther46.com has already made travel plans!  For more information or to register for the conference call (978) 276-9463 or send an email.

The analyst in me, thought it would be interesting to collect the data and slice it into a few charts (thank you Google Charts).  The tweets are in and a quick visual recap is below:

It’s easy to see the wineries that made the biggest impression at last nights reception and winemaker dinner at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Dallas, Texas, led by Flat Creek Estate Vineyard and Winery, Brennan Vineyards, and Llano Estacado Winery.

Interestingly, TweetDeck was the Twitter client of choice for attendees.  I plan on adding more charts later this week as I make my way through the data.  I also wanted to take the opportunity to include a few tweets that stood out from the rest…

VintageTexas: #DLW09 Equation for TX – 5th in wine production; 4th in consumption, 170 wineries and 4000 acres of TX grapes – Need more grapes!

mwangbickler: John Griffin: Wrong writers have been targeted to review TX wines.

VintageTexas: #DLW09 #Wine Biggest change in past ten years – Susan Coombs TX Ag Comm – winery sales in dry TX counties; Qlty improvement What Grows Best

mwangbickler: All I can say is: HOLY SHIT! They can make wine in Texas!

The action continues this evening with live play by play from the Texas Twitter Taste-Off along with a tasting of Texas wines!

The conference follows the success of the Web site’s Regional Wine Week last fall, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada wrote about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.

Texas is the fifth-largest wine producing state in the country, with 177 wineries and 280 commercial vineyards. The Texas industry has made important strides this decade, focusing on Italian, Spanish and Mediterranean varieties. As presenting sponsor, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program sees the conference as an opportunity to tell the Texas wine story.

“Local wine is no longer a novelty,” said Dave McIntyre, wine columnist for The Washington Post and co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com. “The conference will show that Texas – along with at least a dozen other states like Virginia, Missouri, New York, and North Carolina – produces quality wine.”

For registration and schedule information, go to DrinkLocalWine.com. For more information about the Texas wine industry, go to www.GOTEXANWine.org.