Virtual wine tastings were one of the first of many pivots made by wineries during COVID, as the reality and restrictions of work-from-home and shelter-in-place regulations began to take hold. Rather than extend their hospitality in real life, face to face, at their wineries and in their tasting rooms, winery staff instead needed to figure out how to welcome new and repeat guests through the computer screen.
It wasn’t easy and there were plenty of learnings along the way, but indications are that virtual tastings will remain part of our collective wine experience moving forward albeit to a lesser extent once we can start traveling regularly again.
Almost a year into this COVID-driven evolution of sharing wine, it’s time to revisit the topic of virtual tastings done right. Here are four takeaways from my experiences from both sides of the screen, so to speak, as a media guest as well as an organizer and presenter to private groups.
getty
One Hour, Three Wines, Twelve Guests
That isn’t a hard and fast rule but I’ve found it to be a reliable guideline for building a successful virtual wine event. One hour or possibly an hour and fifteen minutes, because any more is a fairly big ask to carve out of people’s already-full-of-Zoom schedules. Three wines, because it’s the right tempo: about twenty minutes for each wine to be presented and discussed among the group. And twelve guests, because any more feels unwieldy and inhibits engagement. Any fewer, unless it’s a discrete and intentional one-to-one experience, can feel uncomfortably close.
Jump Right In
More successful virtual tastings jump right into the content — at the time specified — and start tasting the first wine, with very minimal preamble. This works particularly well for consumer tastings where guests are less familiar with industry wine tasting protocols. As the host, take into consideration that you’ve invited them to meet you with three-ish bottles of wine, and they’ll be ready (and hopefully eager!) to taste. They’re ready. So go for it, and start.
MORE FOR YOU
Food Pairings, Simplified
Last night I joined a particularly well-curated media tasting with consulting winemaker Philippe Melka and the Napa-based Parallel Wines brand, organized by GM Adrienne Smith and Kimberly Noelle Charles of Charles Communications Associates. The tasting lasted a little over an hour with right around twelve guests (so far so good!) and each of the three Parallel wines came with one specific recommended food pairing that was itself individually packaged: rosemary mixed nuts with the 2018 Napa Valley Chardonnay, saucisson Provençal with the 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and olive and herb grissini with the 2017 Black Diamond “Eclipse.” It sounds basic, to recommend one specific food to taste with one specific wine (this with this, and that with that), but I found such certain and thoughtful decisions made on the guests’ behalf to be something of a relief and very welcome. And also surprisingly rare.
Prepare the Audience in Advance
How far in advance would you like your guests to open their wine? Should they chill the wines ahead of time? Should they have one fresh glass for each wine? What is the order and timing of the wines to be tasted? If there is any additional content to be presented — financial planning advice, for example, for VIP investor guests of a bank — how will it be incorporated into the program?
These also seem like basic pieces of information but sharing them ahead of time (in writing and ideally on paper to arrive with the delivery of the wines) sets the stage for a smoothly-run tasting. It also indicates that both organizers and guests are organized and well-prepared, which in the end frees everyone up to simply enjoy the experience. Which is after all what we’re after, in person or online.
January 29, 2021 at 08:14PM
https://ift.tt/3oqmklL
4 Tips for Virtual Wine Tastings Done Right: An Update - Forbes
https://ift.tt/31lUVcw
Wine
No comments:
Post a Comment