Enchanting Porto Hotel Gets Thumbs Up From Wine Pleasures

By winepleasures | Published: March 12, 2010

Rabelo on the River Douro

Last week, Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th March, our General Manager, Anthony Swift visited a rainy Porto on a site inspection programme for the 3rd annual edition of the Wine Pleausres International Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop scheduled for the 31st January until the 3rd of February 2011.

The main purpose of the visit was to decide on a suitable hotel venue for the Conference and Workshop. Susanna Tocca of Incoming Travel Agency, DOC-DMC prepared a jam – packed programme of hotel, Port Lodges and restaurant visits both in the city of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Hotels visited as per programme schedule were Pousada de Porto, Palacio do Freixo, Sheraton, Infante Sagres, Pestana Palace, Porto Bessa Hotel and the yet to be finished, The Yeatman Hotel.

Just one of the many Port Lodges to visit

In between hotel visits we were able to visit the Sandeman and Taylor Port Lodges, hop on and off trams to sightsee and admire the beautiful tiled buildings of the city, try out the varied gastronomic delights such as freshly landed seafoods at one of the many restaruants in the Matosinhos area as well as in central Porto overlooking the Douro River.

Porto, one of the Great Wine Capitals of the World is just full of so many interesting cultural visits and having an international airport as well as of course being ideally located close to the Rotas do Vinho do Porto, do Douro, das Vinhas de Cister & dos Vinhos Verdes makes it a perfect setting for the Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop 2011.

So which hotel did we choose? It turned out to be an easy decision….. Read More »

Topic: Wine Pleasures Workshops, Wine Tasting Tours, Wine Tourism Conference | 1 Comment

Porto to Host 2011 Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop

By winepleasures | Published: March 2, 2010

Wine Pleasures is pleased to announce that the 3rd annual edition of the Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference and Workshop will be held from 31st January – 3rd February 2011 in Porto, Portugal.

This year’s Conference & Workshop saw over 200 wine tourism professionals from around the world descend on the little know Catalan village of La Beguda Baixa in the Penedès & Cava wine region of Catalonia, Spain for the 2nd edition of the Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference and Workshop which was held over four days at the Barceló Hotel Montserrat.

With so many paticipants travelling from Portugal to the event over the last two years,  it has made it an easy decision to take the event to Portugal in 2011. During the next few days the Wine Pleasures Team will be travelling to Porto to choose a suitable venue to host the 3rd edition of the Conference and Workshop. Candidates for the event include The Yeatman Hotel, Pousada Palacio Freixo, Hotel Sheraton Porto and Hotel Tiara Porto.

As well as viewing hotels and sampling the gastronomy and wine we’ll be attending Essencia do Vinho  Wine show at Palacio da Bolsa where, on Thursday 4th March 2010 we will be making in collaboration with DOC DMC and Winelands of Douro the official announcement that Porto and Portugal will be the venue for the Wine Tourism Conference and Workshop 2011. So if you are in Porto for Essencia do Vinho do come along at 18.30 and meet who is who in Porto over a glass of Port!

Upon our return we will be announcing the Hotel venue and will make a first call for papers.

For those of you who missed the 2010 Conference and Workshop here’s a video which takes you from the Pre-Conference Blogger and media day through the Conference and Workshop and finising up with the Fam Trip for Tour Operators. Thank you to our new found friends, LA based  Celebrity Wine Review TV for putting the video together for us. Enjoy!

Topic: Wine Pleasures Workshops, Wine Tasting Tours, Wine Tourism Conference | Leave a comment

Wine Pleasures Workshop: Buyer meets Italian Cellar 2010

By winepleasures | Published: February 16, 2010

Having just finished a very successful edition of the 1st ever Buyer meets Iberian Cellar, the Wine Pleasures team is starting to make preparations for the 2nd edition of the Buyer meets Italian Cellar to be held in the Park Hotel Villa Fiorita, Monastier di Treviso (VENETO) from 23 – 25 May 2010.

The buyer’s work agenda includes workshop meetings, visits to wineries, as well as tastings, wine and traditional food matching & seminars led by well – known wine authorities.

This type of marketing activity has already proved its worth in the past edition for both buyers and wineries as an efficient means of establishing business relationships in a one-stop, low cost event. Read More »

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Coming Up Wine Pleasures Workshop Buyer Meets IBERIAN Cellar

By winepleasures | Published: February 5, 2010

With the 2nd annual edition of the Wine Pleasures International Conference and Workshop just finished, the team at Wine Pleasures is now preparing for the Wine Pleasures Workshop Buyer meets IBERIAN Cellar (10-12 February 2010). Formally, restricted to just Spanish wineries this year we are pleased to welcome many Portuguese producers travelling to Barcelona for this unique Workshop event. Several small boutique wineries form the Douro and Alentejo wine regions make the journey to meet small to medium sized wine importers looking for boutique niche wines for mainly the HORECA sector. Most of the buyers attending the event are travelling from different states of the USA and Canada. Europe is of course well represented (UK, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) Spanish wine regions Rioja, Penedès, Cava, Utiel-Requena, Priorat, Montsant, Madrid, and Valencia will have chances to increase export sales.

On the same dates buyers will also get a chance to participate in the Workshop Buyer meets ORGANIC Cellar with producers travelling to Spain from France and Italy.

Next May sees the 2nd edition of the Wine Pleasures Workshop Buyer meets Italian Cellar.

Topic: Wine Pleasures Workshops | 2 Comments

Live Blogging Plenary session by Rainer Brusis (Innova Management)

By winepleasures | Published: February 3, 2010

Grape Escape Destinations in Spain

The aim of this conference is to present some of the main wine tourism destinations in Spain. The presentation will focus particularly on some of the leading wine tourism destinations in Spain and how wine tourism has evolved in recent years in the following wine regions: La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rias Baixas, Jerez, Penedès.

It will feature main wine tourism projects, both in cellars, as in accommodation and other leisure facilities related to wine tourism. It will be presented as the example of an emerging wine region with great potential for wine tourism at the international level: D.O. Vinos de Madrid. The conference will also focus on the project “Wine Routes of Spain”, taking place in different Spanish wine regions.

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Live Blogging Plenary session by João Falcão (VINITUR)

By winepleasures | Published: February 3, 2010

Grape Escape Destinations in Portugal

Portugal is a largely undiscovered treasure-trove for wine & food lovers: 35 winemaking regions and 11 wine routes, from North to South, the oldest demarcated and controlled winemaking region in the world, and the Douro Winemaking Region, home of Port Wine since 1756. It encompasses an admirable wealth of different wines, primarily produced from native vines which endow them with unique and distinct characteristics.

‘Grape Escape Destinations in Portugal’ is dedicated to present mainland Portugal, a largely undiscovered paradise of wines, fine cuisine and traditional fare. The most western country of Europe´s wine history dates back to before the Roman Conquest. Portugal offers an admirable wealth of different wines, including several that have recently been scored with a maximum of 100 points! Based in images, the Conference will be dedicated to the explanation of the distinct features that the main Portuguese wine regions have to offer to wine tourism. Each region will be described by its wine styles, landscapes, winery architecture, culture, food traditions and more. In addition, conference will include a selection of unique events and programs related to wine and food, one can only find in Portugal.

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Live Blogging Plenary session by John Callely (CEO Jameson Distillery Tours)

By winepleasures | Published: February 3, 2010

How our Visitor Centre has grown our Whiskey Sales. Are you open for visits?

In 1984 Jameson opened its first visitor centre called “The Irish Whiskey Corner” in a former Jameson warehouse. Within a short number of years capacity reached saturation level at 46000 visitors per annum. An opportunity to develop a bigger site came our way in 1996 when we repurchased part of the original distillery (which we had sold in the late 70s). This centre opened its doors to the public in 1997 at a total cost of 6.5 million punts and today welcomes in excess of 250000 visitors per year.

In the meantime back in 1992 Jameson opened its second centre in the south of Ireland in Co Cork on a 10 acres site of an original distillery where one of our domestic brands, Paddy Irish Whiskey was distilled for 150 years. Nowadays it is one of the top attractions in the south greeting more than 100000 visitors. Between the two, we welcome over 350000 people and it is proven to be a very important marketing tool for the Jameson brand which is in fact the fastest growing whiskey in the world today.

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Live Blogging: Interesting Web 2.0 tools and Community Manager Skills for a Tourism Board

By winepleasures | Published: February 3, 2010

Speaker: Daniel García Peris (Subirats Tourism Office)

Twitter, Facebook, Blog… There’s a new era in communication of tourist activities at the web. A Tourist Board must manage all these applications to create community with their visitors. Presence on the net and use of Web 2.0 makes it possible. Experiences at Patronat de Turisme de Subirats, and Penedès wine catalonian region, will be explained

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Live Blogging Whiskey Tasting with John Callely, Jameson Distillery Tours

By winepleasures | Published: February 2, 2010

Whiskey tasting evening with John Callely of Jameson Distillery Tours,
Dublin, Ireland. This will consist of Jameson (standard) Irish Whiskey,
Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch and Jack Daniels Bourbon. John will talk
the group through the smell and taste differences between the categories and outline briefly the distilling process.

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Live Blogging Wines from Bulgaria

By winepleasures | Published: February 2, 2010

Bulgarian wine tasting evening with Juan Manuel Gonzalvo (Sommelier)
and Nedko Nedev (Vinos de Bulgaria).

Bulgaria is producing about 70% red wines, 25% white wines and 5% fortified
and sparkling wine. Over 80% of the wine production is exported nowadays
to over 70 countries spread worldwide. Bulgarian wines are winning medals
and recognitions at most prestigious fairs and exhibitions in Spain, Italy,
France, the UK, America, Canada, Singapore, China, Germany, and
elsewhere.
Recommend the indigenous grape varieties like Mavrud, Melnik, and Rubin
(Nebbiolo and Shiraz crossing), as well as the traditionally superb quality
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Bulgarian oak barrels contribute to the uniqueness of the Bulgarian wines
adding to them hints of vanilla, white bread, and walnut. The quality of the
Bulgarian oak is considered very close to that of the leading French oak (both
are tight-grain oaks). A combination of Bulgarian, French, and American oak
barrels is most common within boutique Bulgarian wineries.
Some of the best Bulgarian white wines have aged in an acacia barrels.

Topic: Live Wine Tastings, Wine Tasting Tours, Wine Tourism Conference | Leave a comment