Back in February, we sent, and posted, an open letter to all wine bloggers sharing information on the plans for the first European Wine Bloggers Conference. Now, we’d like to share this most recent email with you in case you are thinking of attending the conference.

Dear friend,

With almost 40 wine bloggers already having expressed an interest in attending the conference, we are now making the final preparations.

The itinerary is up for all to see, and we have even begun to discuss the key topics of the roundtables at the conference on this site; Wine Ratings, Advertising and Wine Writing. We urge you, if you have not already done this, to read these posts, comment, and post your own thoughts here or on your own blog.

The most important developments, however, are more practical.

First, we have managed to secure rooms at a very central hotel for only €50 per night, including breakfast and WIFI. You will need to book your rooms directly with the hotel, and make sure you tell them that you are attending the European Wine Bloggers Conference to ensure you get our discount rate as the same room costs €103 without it! We are holding 30 rooms on a first-come, first served basis. Of course, we will try and find more rooms if required, but these are the ones that are guaranteed. You will receive the hotel details once you have confirmed your attendance.

To confirm your attendance at the conference, we are asking you to pay a small fee of €50. In exchange, you get:

• Discounted hotel rates (around 50%)
• A Keynote Tasting featuring some of the best wines of Iberia
• 2 dinners - Friday night and Saturday night
• 2 breakfasts- Friday morning and Saturday morning
• 2 lunches - Saturday and Sunday; Wine Included
• Transportation to and from the Bilbao Airport. (one bus Friday and Sunday)
• State-of-the-art conference facilities for the main event
• Tours of wineries on Sunday (optional)
• Free entrance to the Dinastia Vivanco Museum
• A few other assorted goodies to take home (to be decided)

Not bad!

Although we are trying to get as much of this paid for through sponsorships, there will be some costs of running the event . We hope you understand and agree that this is really good value for money. This is still a non-profit event, and the funds will be channeled into the event for all of us to enjoy and benefit from.

Lastly, it is VERY important that you let us know your travel plans as soon as you can. If you are going to want to take advantage of the transport, rooms and dinners, we need to know in order to plan accordingly.

The best way is to leave a comment on the site or forum, or email Ryan, Gabriella or Robert.

We look forward to seeing you this August, and please remember to join the conversation on this site, and spread the word on your own.

Warm Regards and Thanks,

Robert, Gabriella & Ryan