TasteCamp East: Thanks for the Memories!

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Wasn't that Bob Hope's sign-off song? It's appropriate here, and you're all lucky I don't embed an annoying midi to blare out the old standard.

Kevin and I thoroughly enjoyed TasteCamp. From hanging out in vineyards during budbreak to eating great food and learning a lot about the Long Island wine industry, it was a non-stop good time.

We really want to thank Lenn, who organized the entire shindig from start to finish. Additionally, it was great of the wineries to host us, often feed us, and take time out from their own busy schedules to take a bunch of bloggers seriously. That was truly appreciated. I can truly say the Long Island wine industry is thriving. All day Saturday the tasting rooms were dealing not just with a crowd of bloggers, but with separate throngs of willing tasters.

No matter where we meet – Long Island, Sonoma, or the middle-of-nowhere – there is nothing but great conversation and camaraderie when wine bloggers meet. It is always so wonderful to sit at a table of like minds. It's also fun to sit at a table where I'm not the only one pulling out a camera to snap a photo of the food! I can't tell you how great it is to meet and catch up with these other astute, funny, and friendly bloggers. When I teach blogging, I explain that you are joining a community. Wine bloggers exemplify "Community" in every way.

I think Long Island and Ohio – at least what I know of the northern Ohio/Lake Erie area – are in a similar place with their wine industry. Southern and Ohio and Kentucky aren't quite as far along, but seeing thriving local wine industries like this reassures me that our local folks aren't that far behind.

View all our TasteCamp posts.

Tomorrow I'll start the first of several posts about some neat experiences we had on the trip. For now, you can flip through my Flickr album below.