Top Tier Sponsors Support Divas Uncorked Annual Wine Conference

The highly anticipated Divas Uncorked wine conference for women will take place Friday, March 23, through Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the new Westin Boston Waterfront. As a testament to the Divas' growing popularity, American Express and Riedel, The Wine Glass Company, have signed on to support the fourth annual conference, "Wine, Women and...Grape Expectations," helping the nine-year-old organization further its efforts to make wine more approachable to women.

"Partnering with Divas Uncorked gives us another venue for our cardmembers to explore the world of wine in the fun and relaxed style that has become a signature of the Divas," says Curtis L. Wilson, vice president and general manager-TEI Restaurant Industries, American Express.

As an educational sponsor of Divas Uncorked, Doug Cohn, Riedel's Northeast regional sales manager, will host a "Does the Glass Matter?" seminar at Saturday's opening reception. Participants will discover how pairing wine with a corresponding varietal-specific glass can affect its bouquet, taste, balance and finish. Riedel will also provide all glassware used to swirl and sip at the afternoon tasting sessions.

The weekend's festivities will feature wines from MARTINI & ROSSI Prosecco, Mendocino Wine Company and Wente Vineyards, partners of the Divas Uncorked Collaborative Consortium, which was formed in 2004 to help wineries, distributors and retailers expand to reach diverse consumer markets.

The Divas are thrilled to welcome master sommelier, author and television personality Alpana Singh as this year's dinner speaker. At 26, Singh became the youngest female to be inducted into the exclusive Court of Master Sommeliers and now serves as director of wine and spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. As host of the Divas Uncorked Vintner Dinner on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m., Singh will kick off the conference as she leads guests through multiple courses and shares pairing tips from her new book, Alpana Pours.

On Saturday, the "Women in the Wine Industry" luncheon, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., pops the cork on the day's festivities. Bella English of The Boston Globe will moderate the luncheon discussion, while speakers Lauren Bias, chief operating officer and co-proprietor of Sugarleaf Vineyards; Anne Matasar, author of Women of the Vine; and Deborah Brenner, author of Women of Wine, offer historical and biographical insights into women's roles in the world of wine.

A series of wine-focused seminars and tasting sessions follow, when conference attendees will travel around the world via the grapevine, from the up-and-coming vineyards of Connecticut and Virginia, to the all-the-rage areas of Argentina, Chile and New Zealand. Heralded sommeliers and wine experts will lead the seminars, which run the gamut from "Wine Basics" to "The Perfect Match." A complete list of workshops and descriptions is available at www.divasuncorked.com.

"Let's Chill," a tasting and networking social on Saturday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., brings the conference to a close, as participants sample ice wines and mingle with the day's speakers. Signed copies of the speakers' books will be available for purchase.

Tickets for Friday evening's vintner dinner are $135 each; tickets for Saturday's luncheon, workshops and reception are $185 each; tickets for the full wine weekend, including the dinner and conference, are $250 each. Saturday's events are just for women, while the dinner is open to all. To register, visit www.divasuncorked.com.

About Divas Uncorked, Inc.
The mission of Divas Uncorked, Inc. is to make wine more approachable to women of all ages by breaking down the intimidating image of the wine world. Since forming in 1998, the vivacious African-American women of Divas Uncorked have met monthly at each ot