Crowded tastings may be a thing of the past. How can we make online wine tastings the future? I list 7 must-have features of a perfect virtual wine tasting
Crises like the Covid-19 pandemic are capable of revolutionising the world we live in. In a short period of time, we find ourselves redefining activities whose modus operandi we took for granted just days earlier. In such a transforming scenario, wine is no exception.
The most far-sighted critics are already questioning how the wine world is going to be altered in a covid (and post-covid) scenario. Deemed as inevitable, the changes will be manifold. Distribution chains, restaurant offerings, wine fruition places, dining experiences, customer trends, tasting events – these are only a few of the factors likely to be affected in the upcoming metamorphosis.
I would like to focus on the last element of the list: wine tastings. I mentioned virtual wine tastings in my article 10 things any winelover can do in self-isolation. It’s an area in which I see great potential, but for the time being it’s still underdeveloped.
Old and new wine tastings
Let’s be frank. In the next few months (or years?) we need to forget the familiar. Crowded tasting events, where winelovers ceremoniously partake in the spit-and-rinse wine ritual, are the past. This ain’t happening again soon folks! We have to get over it and think about alternative ways we can taste wine under the “new” circumstances we find ourselves.
In the last few weeks I’ve seen a rising number of virtual wine tasting initiatives. Some traditional tastings have been moved online. A number of merchants are advocating the same for their tastings. Several professionals now promise “online tastings” tailored to the customer’s needs.
At first sight, these online offerings seem wonderful and praiseworthy. However, when you delve into the details, the vast majority are rather disappointing. Too often the advertised virtual wine tastings are videos of someone (the producer, or some expert) sipping and talking about a handful of wines. Don’t get me wrong. These resources can be very interesting and provide precious insights in the wine world. But they are not, in my opinion, wine tastings.
In other cases, a seller organises the virtual wine tasting and the wines are available for purchase. You have to buy the full bottle for each wine. But the whole point of a tasting is to try a wine before committing to the bottle! A typical tasting encompasses 6 – 12 wines. That means that you would spend quite a lot of money for a single event. Further, you will end up with a bunch of open bottles once the event has concluded. A bit of a waste, if you ask me.
So what’s the perfect virtual wine tasting then? I decided to write this article highlighting the 7 ideal characteristics that I believe a virtual wine tasting should possess. Let’s begin…
1 – User-friendly technology
The process of finding and registering for a virtual wine tasting should be easy. Clear information is essential. We should know when and how the event will be held, including the required software and other basic instructions.
2 – Knowledgeable (and funny)
As the heart of the virtual wine tasting event, the host should be comfortable presenting the full range of wines and talking about its features. We all want to enjoy the few hours spent in the tasting. As such, the host should be charismatic and add a good dose of fun to the event. Under these grim circumstances we’re all facing, somebody capable of making you smile is even more appreciated!
By the way, this is a requirement for wine tastings in general.
3 – Interactivity
Wine tastings work when they are a two-way communication. The participants should be able to ask questions, express their opinion or – more simply – partake in pleasant banter.
Of course, this requires the event to be synchronous. All the attendants (host and participants) should agree to a time and a (virtual) place where the wine tasting will take place.
4 – Set up and ship samples
In my opinion, this element will make the difference between a so-and-so virtual tasting event and one that is worth every cent. Unfortunately, it’s something I have never seen happen in a virtual tasting.
To be candid, I don’t want to open an entire bottle for each wine (and pay its full cost) in a tasting. It’s expensive and impractical. I just want a taste! In a perfect virtual wine tasting, each participant needs just a single pour of each wine. A tasting serving should contain around 40-50 cl of liquid. That is enough to assess all of the wine’s components (as I explained in my wine tasting series).
I appreciate that might be impractical to achieve. Wineries never release their products in such small quantities. Therefore I guess it’s up to the host to set up the tasting samples. They would have to create samples from a bottle, label them and curate packaging. Then safely shipping the samples to each participant. It might not be easy, but it’s not impossible. I’d anticipate that the trickiest part is handling oxidation – even though someone has already had some ideas on how to prevent that.
Whisky samples are already a reality, in the form of “drinks by the dram”. Tiny portions are given to connoisseurs and potential buyers for their enjoyment. Maybe it’s time to create wine drams or something similar? They can be organised in a box with other relevant material for a tasting (see following point) and shipped to each participant ahead of the virtual tasting event.
5 – Rich in information
The devil is in the detail. And so is a memorable wine tasting, I would argue. The best tastings I attended always provided a plethora of details about the wines and their characteristics, notes on how the wines are vinified, information about the producer, the terroir or origin, etc.
It would be great for the virtual wine participant to receive this kind of information in a “tasting box”. Such information could be dispatched a few days before the actual virtual wine tasting.
6 – Ideas for snack or finger food to pair (Optional)
Having food to complement the wine is not essential for a successful wine tasting. Nevertheless, food can add a further dimension to the event and bring even more enjoyment.
The host can easily recommend snacks or finger food to match the wines sampled. Food can be either neutral (to avoid interfering with a wine’s aroma and texture) or with defined flavours on its own. That is particularly useful to illustrate how a wine interacts with certain food. For example, it would be interesting to see how Chianti tastes when paired with parmesan cheese.
7 – Reasonable cost
A virtual wine tasting, like any tasting, should be interesting and fun without breaking your bank account. Also, if it comes with a (relatively) affordable price tag, any winelover will be prone to repeating the experience over and over again.
Of course the event’s cost depends on many factors, including the size of the selection, the availability and price of each bottle. Distributing samples instead of full bottles should help in reducing the cost of the whole tasting package as well.
Any virtual wine event with those characteristics?
If you know of any virtual wine tasting that meets the 7 characteristics I highlighted in this article, please let me know. I would be glad to join the event myself and be more than happy to spread the word using my channels.
I haven’t yet found a virtual wine tasting that meets the aforementioned criteria. There might be valid reasons that explain why. In all honesty, since I don’t work in the wine business, I might have been a bit naive and missed some practical considerations. However, as I hinted at the beginning of these articles, we’re living in a time of huge change. Things that were unconceivable a few weeks ago might offer an alternative way to overcome the crisis looming over the wine world.
Afterthoughts
I don’t know about you, but I do miss tasting events. I am glad to share a few bottles with my loved one over a good meal (see my drinking under lockdown article). However, I crave the wonderful opportunities that a wine tasting offers. For example, trying wines without committing to a full bottle, experimenting with new styles, comparing wines and discussing them with other winelovers.
Even now while we are in lockdown, we don’t have to give up on wine tastings. But we do have to find new ways to implement them. A famous proverb says “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old”. Is the wine world ready to embrace the online platform?
Hi Antonio. Thoughtful and constructive post – thank you for this. #4 is a tough one – I agree that buying a whole group of wines and cracking them all open is a commitment. This aspect is arguably the largest challenge. Packaging/shipping samples on any sort of scale is a non-starter for the lion’s share of wineries. One thing we are trying is private and public tastings. Privates are your group, and if you choose, as many groups of friends as you like (cool way to hang with peeps from all over the country/world) and a member of Team Matthiasson. This format has the mutli-bottle challenge, as discussed. The group tastings are open to people who buy six+ wines – they feature Steve & Jill (the Matthiassons) talking about their history, farming, winemaking, and also talking through some wines. In this format, the viewer can simply hang back and have a glass of wine. We take questions via the chat function and welcome interaction, which is cool b/c this can lead to fun tangents.
Hello Nate,
thank you for stopping by and leaving your feedback! 🙂
Your private tastings seems very interesting, and if you have a group of friends to share the bottles they provide a lot of fun – limiting the purchase cost at the same time. Unfortunately, in this period of lockdown not everybody can do that… Hoping things will change soon.
Good luck with your future tastings!
Greetings and Santé,
We are doing twice a week virtual tastings using Zoom with some members of our local American Wine Sociey Chapter. The most we’ve had participate is 15 people using 12 devices. We choose two wines each week available from our local wine store. Thus on a Tuesday at 5 pm we taste and discuss one wine and on Friday we taste and discuss another wine. We are not selling wines so the only benefit to sales goes to our local store, but they do give our group a 15% discount on the two bottles/week.
One of our members chooses a simple entree recipe from online sources that we think would pair with the wine. Only a few participants prepare that recipe for having at the end of the video conference or later, so we only spend about 5 minutes discussing food pairings. But I like your idea of trying the wine with only a few small things like cheese, olives, maybe nuts etc., which probably everyone could do to see how the wine pairs with acidic food, savory food, salt etc. I think we’ll try that.
On Zoom, after about 10 minutes of greetings among tasters and making sure technical issues are solved, the moderator (me) shares on the screen a map or two of the region from which the wine comes. Then we use the Sommeliers Deductive Tasting chart to move from person to person to describe the aroma and taste elements and compare everyone’s opinions to what is considered classic for that region and the grape variety. After mention of food pairings, we just socialize for about 15 minutes or until viewers run out of conversation. Total time with just the one wine is usually about 45 minutes. Although our group is mostly wine lovers with a minimal amount of detailed wine knowledge, they seem to enjoy their turns at descibing the wine’s characteristics and learning more from what others think of the elements rather than having an ”expert” tell them what they should be tasting and smelling.
I think we are being on the road to not being “too sucky” but I’m willing to bet the format evolves each additional week that we do this. After all, it’s “quarantine learning”.
Hello Rick,
thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
I have to say that I didn’t think of your tasting formula. Picking a local wine store, selecting a couple of bottles from there and then basing the wine tasting on those sounds like a brilliant idea to me.
I see several advantages: it’s easy to implement, limiting cost and helping wine stores (which are having a difficult time during this crisis). Well done!
Of course those sorts of event wouldn’t address cases where people want to try a range of wines without committing to the purchase, but it’s nonetheless a great way to chat with other winelovers. Keep up with the good work!