This year the Society of Wine Educators is hosting its annual conference in the Finger Lakes. It’s their 42nd conference and my 8th, if memory serves. I’ve been to conferences in Washington (2x), San Matteo, Sacramento, New Orleans (2x), Orlando and Portland. For a couple of years I have been a speaker and this year I am going with a Consortium I work with, Lugana and we are sponsoring one of the lunches. I have also worked as a volunteer, run one of the rooms as a “room mom” and see the conference from all sides. I have greatly enjoyed every one of them. I’ve always met new friends, seen old ones, gone to amazing seminars and often taken the pre-conference trip to local wineries.

This year I am going to visit Cayuga lake wineries and I’m very excited. It’s the longest of the lakes and reaches three counties -Seneca, Cayuga and Tompkins  and runs for 40 miles. It  connects to the Erie Canal through the Seneca and Cayuga Canal.  Ithaca, where Cornell is located, is at the southern tip of the lake. The local AVA was established in 1988. I’ll be writing more this week about the wineries I discover on the trip and from the seminars.

Conference to me is always a moment to renew my commitment to the educational side of my wine life – to consider getting another wine certificate or degree and to stretch my palate to new and exciting regions.