Editor’s Note: Information on registration for the tasting, dinner and post conference trip will be available in the near future.

For centuries, the picturesque DouroValley was devoted almost exclusively to the production of Port wine grapes. But in the late 80′s and 90′s, table wines began to enter the scene made from the traditional Port grapes.

With the intention of promoting Douro table wines as high quality wine, five leading producers in the Port Valley pooled our resources together by forming the “Douro Boys“. Our five properties cover a broad spectrum of micro-climates and schistous terroir, each offering a bottled snapshot of our respective vineyards – the commitment and dedication to making original wine with true typicity in every vintage. On a good day, we would like to believe that we are also a knowledgeable group of winemakers, spanning two generations, which include: Francisco Olazabal of Quinta do Vale Meão, Cristiano Van Zeller of Quinta do Vale D. Maria, Jorge, Tomas and Miguel Roquette of Quinta do Crasto,  Dirk  Niepoort (Quinta de Napoles) , as well as Francisco and Joao Ferreira of Quinta do Vallado.

However, we are not only known for our unique and original wines, but also for our unconventional events and tastings. To kick off the 2009 European Wine Bloggers Conference on Friday, October 30^th at the VIP Grand Lisboa in Lisbon, we invite all EWBC participants not only to an in-depth tasting on the 2007 vintage, followed by dinner highlighting traditional Portuguese cuisine, but also a post-conference trip to the first 30 interested participants to the breathtaking Douro Valley on Monday, November 2^nd through Tuesday, November 3^rd. The Douro Boys believe that the most important tool in understanding a wine is knowing the people, the landscape, the soil and the climate behind each bottle. Therefore, what better way to introduce you to our wines than through a 2 day adventure through our vineyards and our wineries?

On the other hand, it is also essential for a producer to directly interact and communicate with the consumer through a wide variety of tools including social media. The European Wine Bloggers Conference is a great opportunity for us to learn more about the new generation of wine communication and the concept of social media. We are proud to help to participate and support the event, and trust it will support Portugal as a dynamic and growing international wine region.

We look forward to meeting you!

POST TRIP SCHEDULE

If you are interested in attending the Post Conference Douro Trip, please email gabriella@catavino.net

Monday November 2nd

8.00 :: Leave VIP Grand Lisboa by bus
13.00 :: Visit at Quinta Vale Meao, tasting and lunch
17.00 :: Train to Ferrao
18.30 :: Tasting and Dinner at Crasto.
Overnight at Vallado and Aquapura

Tuesday Nov 3rd

9.30 :: Visit of Vallado, tasting of Vallado and VDMaria wines.
13.00 :: Drive to Napoles. Lunch and visit there.
16.00 :: Departure to Porto airport or by bus to Lisbon.
18.00 :: Arrival at Porto airport. Individual departure