Loudoun County to host 2015 Wine Tourism Conference

Loudoun County will serve as the first East Coast location for the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference. The conference, to be held Nov. 18-20 at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, is expected to attract more than 200 wine tourism professionals from around the world.

“Virginia has excelled in recent years at promoting itself both as a wine producer and also as a tourism destination. The combination of the two makes this a perfect destination for the first-ever East Coast host of the Wine Tourism Conference,” said a statement on the Wine Tourism Conference’s website. 

The event, organized by Zephyr Adventures, has previously been held in Napa and Sonoma, Calif. and Portland, Ore. The fifth annual conference will be open to winery owners, journalists, wine marketing organizations and tour operators.

According to Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office, Virginia is home to 250 wineries, more than 40 which are in Loudoun. The commonwealth also is the fifth largest wine grape producer in the nation and No. 5 state with the most wineries. McAuliffe’s office says that according to a 2012 economic impact study, Virginia’s wine industry employs more than 4,700 people and contributes almost $750 million per year to the state economy.