Liza Swift is wine blogger in Northern California, whose day job as corporate marketing executive for a major IT company frequently involves event planning, wine ordering and incentive trip designing. Her passion to share her wine experiences led her to found www.BrixChicks.com to provide a vehicle to write about explorations that have taken her to Greece, Istanbul, London, Mexico and all over the United States learning about food and wine and how they bring us all together.
Liza will be co-presenting with Thea Dwelle, but we’ve asked them individual questions about their talk.
How do you go about finding your next destination to explore?
I chose Baja because it was a little known destination that piqued my curiosity since one would not ordinarily think of the land of surf, sand and upside down Margaritas as a wine destination. So, when I heard they were becoming more known for their wines I tried some and was hooked. It is so interesting to see the region growing by leaps and bounds and the more wine I try, the more I find to like. It is also a beautiful, relatively convenient destination that is in keeping with my Hispanic heritage in terms of hospitality and food. I love Mexican food, and the work that Baja is doing to bring together Mediterranean elements into their local cuisine is really exciting (and yummy).
You are an expert in technology. What are some of the ways technology can help launch a new wine destination?
Technologies that allow Early Adopters and Influencers to share their experiences are key. Things like having WiFi so visitors can Facebook/Tweet/Pinterest is important because this allows thought leaders going to areas where their extended circle might not have considered and sharing their good experiences will ignite others and also prove how to visit safely and effectively
Are there specific tech tools, websites, blogs, feeds that you can recommend to those just getting a start?
I would recommend HootSuite. It is a dashboard that allows a user to track their presence and responses. It can help them follow a #hashtag easily, schedule tweets judiciously, and even work as a team if multiple users are sharing the Social Media tasks.
What is it you are most looking forward to in Croatia during IWINETC?
Meeting new people and learning about their destinations. Such a diverse group of wonderful people are expected. I hope to be able to contribute with my research on how Baja has made strides, but also to see other wonderful places to go and share that back in my writing and blogging.
Liza Swift will be presenting with Thea Dwelle on Saturday March 16th at 11 in the Emerald Ballroom titled Undiscovered to Discovered: Bring Your Wine Region into Focus
