Here’s the schedule:

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  ~ Alternatives: to participate in the workshops of the EWBC or to visit the Saint Jorge Castle and the old town of Lisbon

1:00 p.m. ~ Lunch at IBO Restaurant

2:30 p.m. ~ EWBC

Yesterday, Delfim Costa, João Costa, Luis Ribeiro (all from Enoforum Wines of the Alentejo region)) and I spent the day at the conference, with me spending a good portion of it trying to get online. (My computer had extra security, I am now thinking, because I no sooner get on-line, than I get knocked off. Not much fun for an Internet junkie.)

Yesterday and today have delivered people to me that I can’t wait to discover on line. I’ll share them with you, and you can get there ahead of me:

THE ONES TO WRITE HOME ABOUT:

Best wine tasted yesterday: 1983 Port from one of the Douro Guys, Luis Seabra’s Niepoort. When it was delivered, it was a bit too cold for me. I did the nose and got some aromas of plum and cherries, but it was just too cold. So, I quickly warmed the glass with my hands, swirling it around and around – until it felt like it had lowered a few degrees. When I first tasted it in its chilly form, it was as smooth as satin sheets. Not bad, but I knew it was so much more… so I brought the temperature up. It went from satin sheets to Pinot-styled crushed fruit, now with the texture of deep velvet, cardinal robes… A bit of mushroom and lots of character. I knew this was the one to write home about.

Simonsig Tiara… This beautiful white wine… All I could think was, if I were going to market Tiarra I’d want this phrase to follow it wherever it went, “Every girl wants a Tiara.” I shared that with some fellow bloggers, to which one commented back to me, “It’s not only every girl.” Ah… so right.

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