Wines of Portugal First International Conference in Oporto in December

NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ViniPortugal is pleased to announce the first Wines of Portugal International Conference, which will take place on December 9, 10, and 11, 2010, in Oporto, Portugal.  For this ground-breaking first year, the theme will be "Discover Touriga Nacional," focusing on Portugal's flagship grape.  

The purpose of this conference is to draw attention to, and deepen the understanding of, Portugal's indigenous grape varieties, wines and wine regions. The topics that will be covered in the first Wines of Portugal International Conference 2010 include: an overview of Portuguese grape varieties, with special focus on Touriga Nacional; the challenges and opportunities for Portuguese wines; the relationship between wine and media; the Internet and social media wine revolution; the economics and internationalization of Portuguese wines; and the emerging Asian and Eastern European wine markets.

The list of speakers includes renowned experts from all over the world. The keynote speaker will be Jancis Robinson, representing the UK.  On the Conference's international panel of judges, who will be selecting the 10 Top Touriga Nacional wines, there are two important representatives from the US: Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, and Doug Frost, MS and MW. Other representatives will come from Germany, Scandinavia, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Angola, Austria and Canada.

This event includes a wide range of seminars and workshops, including a Grand Tasting with over 100 producers from all major Portuguese wine regions, with opportunities for broker meetings; guided tastings on specific themes; roundtable discussions; a Regional Cooking Demonstration; a tour of the Vinho Verde region, a Douro River Cruise and a gala dinner at the Palacio da Bolsa, with the presentation of the "Top 10 Touriga Nacional Awards."

As Francisco Borba, President of ViniPortugal, states, "This conference aims to be a great debate on international and national wines, which we intend to repeat every year with different themes." Wines of Portugal's International Conference 2010 offers an unprecedented opportunity to understand and appreciate not only what is happening in Portugal, but how Portugal interacts with the rest of the global wine world.