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We’re counting down to VINO 2011, and as the official blogger for this event, I’m thrilled for the broad range of seminars, mixers and tasting opportunities I’ll be covering. Attendees will be treated to a sprawling Grand Tasting of wines, experiencing the myriad regions and styles that our more than 300 participating producers have to offer. They’ll mingle while sampling Italy’s unparalleled spirits--experiencing their broad applications in the modern cocktail revival--in “The Spirit of Italy” After-Hours Lounge. But amongst the fun, the seminars offered will mean serious business. On Monday, January 24, I’ll be moderating a seminar on Prosecco’s “quality pyramid” to clarify the new regulations governing this increasingly popular sparkling wine. Another Seminar, “Countdown to August 2011”, will further explore how Italian wine brands will be impacted by new regulations in the EU and US. VINO will also be offering several seminars on topics directed at buyers—from debuting producers from across Italy who have never before been exported to the US at the “Meet & Greet Vino 2011 Direct Tasting”, to composing a successful wine list, adding Italian wines to your retail portfolio, and navigating successful national accounts--along with guided tastings from our presenting regions and panel discussions looking to the future of Italian food and wine.

As part of the Virtual Vino initiative, on Tuesday the 24th from 2:30-4:30, we’ll be hosting an exciting panel that brings together luminaries at the intersection of wine and the digital age: “What Emily Post Can Teach You About Social Media, Millennial App-titude and Geo-Marketing.” Wine brands are faced with new opportunities and challenges for reaching Millenials, and our experts will address it from a broad range of backgrounds. We’ll be hearing from Jeff Lefevere, blogger at The Good Grape: A Wine Manifesto; Talia Baiocchi, columnist at Eater.com and WineChap US; Gregory Del Piaz, Editor in Chief of Snooth Media; Amy Cao, Head of Social Media at Foodspotting; and Kent Wlhelm, Senior Manager of New Media Design and Marketing at Astor Wines & Spirits. The moderator, Tom Wark of Fermentation & Wark Communications, will guide this discussion of the new media landscape as it relates to tradition and innovation in wine. This event will be livestreamed through the VINO2011 website, offering viewers a unique perspective on utilizing blogging, branded social media programs, geo-tagging and mobile apps in forging new relationships and maintaining existing customers.