Aside from the obvious perk of getting to stare at a women’s breast under the pretense of looking at their name tag (inside joke, come on people) I quite enjoyed my first bloggers conference. Held this year in the scorching heat of August in the Finger Lakes it was none the less a raving success. During the several days of speed tasting, seminars, excursions and dinners I met some amazing, hard-working, funny and eccentric bloggers; all who seems excited that they could exchange ideas and drink with their comrades in a laid back environment.

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Walking the grounds with Steve Fulkerson who’s family arrived in the Finger lakes in the late 1700’s you get the feel that they know what they are doing in the wine business. Tasting the dozens of exceptional wines you know that the Finger lakes as a whole kicks ass and most likely will only get better. I have been a fan of FLX wine for years but had never been, now I cannot wait to go back. The new and hopefully continual home of aromatic whites the Finger lakes of New York are are stunning example of how far American wine has come in a short time.

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I thought it would be blood sport; there is no one on earth more opinionated than a wine writer but it was tame and an noncompetitive nature seemed to dominate the while experience either by design or the caliber of attendee. The overall friendliness of everyone I met seemed unending and I look forward to next year’s conference in Lodi, CA which is 20 minutes from where I live for those who are spiritually included. (Pun intended)….
All in all Zephyr Adventures put together one hell of show and I will return as often as I can.

A personal note; I was a scholarship recipient this year and would not have been able to make the trip without it, so thank you to all the sponsors and bloggers who believed in me. I hope never to let you down.

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By the way I hope you got the back to the future reference if not you should be ashamed. Much more to come on the Wine Bloggers conference 2015

Justin Koury