Insider Guide for #WBC17

Sonoma is a Food and Wine Wonderland so this is but a very small slice of what the region has to offer. Here is quick list of places for coffee, shopping, dining and wine for #WBC17 attendees.

Nearby the Hyatt:

Shopping
If you’d like to see the death of retail in real time visit the Santa Rosa Plaza Mall. Nothing going on here but the last gasp of some clothing chains and a few chemical laden bath and body product stores. But there is Apple Store here if you need accessories for your phone or someone tips a dump bucket on your laptop during speed tasting. (it can happen)

Coffee 
Head directly across the street to Flying Goat or A'Roma Roasters in Rail Road Square.
Or take a jaunt up a few blocks to Peet's on 4th Street.

Breakfast
Omelette Express 

Beer
Russian River Brewing Company

Dining
Bird and Bottle
Eclectic small/share plates menu with mix of traditional and southern influenced comfort food. Fancy cocktails.

Stark Steak and Seafood
Classic fare in an elegant but casual atmosphere with great wine list and over 60 whiskeys to try.

Rosso 
If you are sick of the whole shared plates thing, and really who isn't? Go to Rosso and get you own big plate of whatever or have one of their awesome pizzas all to yourself. Great local and Italian wine selections.

La Gare
Old-school French cuisine. You’ll like this place if you are over 60 and have an expense account. Located directly across the street from the Hyatt.

SEBASTOPOL

About 9 minutes due west of the Hyatt is Sebastopol where you will find the Barlow home of Crooked Goat Brewing and Wind Gap Wines tasting room, a must stop for the Trousseau Gris on tap.

Also in Sebastopol:
Ramen Gaijin 
Awesome and authentic ramen and Japanese influenced dishes with small plate Izakaya menu. Winner of 2017 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand award.

HopMonk Tavern 
Great selection of beer and hearty pub food with some lighter selections. Good place for getting loud with a group. Has an all weather/outdoor beer garden with fire pits and lounge style seating.

Handline
Upscale locally sourced seafood in fast casual setting. Order and pay at the counter and then find a seat kind of place. Great food and wine but don't be surprised if you walk out wondering how the heck you just spent $75 on two tacos a salad and a glass of wine. But nice if you have a group and don’t want to do the split-the-check-tango at the end of the meal.


Weather: 
If you need weather updates use a weather app on your phone and be wary of people claiming to be “boots on the ground” when they are broadcasting from a bunker in an undisclosed location. ;-)

Will the 10th Wine Bloggers Conference be the Last?

I had a hunch the 10th Anniversary for the Wine Bloggers Conference would be held in Sonoma, and now that that’s been confirmed, I believe it may also be the last Wine Bloggers Conference.

For me.

I’ve attended 8 out of 10 conferences--all except the 1st and Virginia (sorry Frank)-- but the 10th in Sonoma may very well be my final WBC.

I love seeing my wine friends first and foremost, and meeting new people that share a love for wine is one of the biggest draw for me. I think it's still a great value and experience especially for new attendees, but I feel like I’ve outgrown the format. Most of sessions, beyond the keynote and a few specialized break-outs, are of little value to me.

WBC needs more qualified experts to lead the educational sessions. Peer speakers are fine for certain topics, but often not qualified or experienced with presenting before groups. 

I’d like to see an alumni track that allows greater access to the winemakers and more in depth sessions with regard to terroir and local winemaking. Much like the program at WBC14 in Santa Barbara presented by SF Wine School (although that was not an official WBC event).

I’d even be willing to pay more for qualified content such as the Santa Barbara session.

Overall the WBC schedule is filled with fluff and I think the format needs an overhaul as follows:

Keep the Thursday opening reception. Cut back to the core elements on Friday and Saturday: Keynote, Speed tasting (because people do seem to love it), Winery excursions, Wine discovery tastings, and local winemaker discussions and sessions on terroir, vineyards, grapes, history, and geology of the area.

Leave Sunday open for attendees to visit wineries of the region at their own pace. Provide a “hop-on-hop-off” bus that runs a continuous loop from conference hotel to participating tasting rooms and wineries. This would allow attendees the opportunity to meet new people and actually be able to talk to them on the bus.

I loved visiting Lodi this year, but the separate hotels and conference center was a real drag. Made it very difficult to meet up and connect with others after hours.

I think Zephyr has done a great job over the years and it is apparent they try to incorporate attendee feedback. But the content needs improvement.   

I’ll be posting more about my Lodi experience and impressions soon.