2019 NC Wine Bloggers Summit

The Van in Black recently had the privilege of sponsoring and providing transportation services for the 2019 NC Wine Bloggers Summit that was held in the Yadkin Valley region of North Carolina.  This was the second annual summit. The forum of the event was created to provide an opportunity for bloggers, digital influencers and those in the wine industry to meet face to face to primarily discuss ways to improve the North Carolina wine industry through blogging and digital media.   There were some other ancillary topics that were discussed but the most important by-product of this summit, in our opinion, was the fact that bloggers and wineries got together and discussed how they can help each other.

This year the summit was held at “The Studio” of Hanover Park Vineyard which is a 1930’s era farmhouse converted into an event venue.  This is a beautiful venue that was very fitting for the conference:

The Studio has a warm and comfortable atmosphere inside along with a beautiful view of the vineyard.  This is a perfect setting for talking about wine!

Of course there were many bottles of wine to sample throughout the day as all of the wineries contributed some of their best offerings for the event:

Ultimately, the day came down to a bunch of people who are passionate about the North Carolina wine industry getting together to share ideas, talk, present, listen, laugh, break bread and drink wine together.  Some new connections were made while old friends used the opportunity to catch up.  It was a wonderful day that has set the stage for some great things to happen throughout the year.  It is an exciting time to be involved with the North Carolina wine industry!  (Check out this recent mention of North Carolina wine from Men’s Journal)

As for the Van in Black, we were a sponsor and participant of the main event and provided transportation services for the pre-summit events held the day before.  For the pre-summit events, we took a small group of bloggers to two great wineries in the Yadkin Valley – Jones von Drehle Vineyards and Winery and McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks.  It was a perfect early Spring day that was welcomed and enjoyed by everyone in attendance:

The winery hosts provided a full tour of the facility as well as tastings for all of the bloggers:

Like all Van In Black winery tours, a fun time was had by all!  Both Jones Von Drehle and McRitchie Winery are places we frequent on tours, so it was nice seeing the familiar faces of the staff at each of the wineries.

The summit was organized and hosted by the NC Wine Guys who are probably two of the most passionate blogger advocates for the North Carolina wine industry.  The blogger summit was their vision and has nearly tripled in attendance from the previous inaugural year.  It was a great event that will continue to benefit the North Carolina wine industry as it continues to grow.  We were so happy to be a part of it and are already looking forward to next years event!

On a somewhat related note, the NC Wine Guys have a Podcast called “Cork Talk” where they talk with various wine makers around the state.  It is worth check checking out!