Peter Lehmann Wines is hosting what it says is Canada’s first nationwide, live-streaming wine tasting and interactive panel discussion.
On Oct. 21, the premium Australian brand will host “The National Tasting” at the Cove Lakeside Resort in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley. Wine lovers are invited to attend through a free, live internet broadcast taking place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. PST.
“There are a lot of online videos about how to swill your wine or how to taste it, and I think those have their place, but they’re not overwhelmingly interesting,” said Anya Spethmann, trade marketing manager for Peter Lehmann Wines. “We’re trying to engage premium wine consumers and we believe they want to have a conversation at a more involved level than simply ‘this wine goes with fish.’”
The panel discussion will touch on the value of high-quality wines, how to taste like a pro and what to look for in a wine. Panelists will also discuss the current state and future of wine in Canada. The panel includes Matthew Lane, vice-president, Americas at Peter Lehmann Wines; wine critic Anthony Gismondi; Harry Hertscheg, executive director of the Vancouver International Wine Festival; Samantha Rahn, an award-winning sommelier; and Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson, wine columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press.
The broadcast will include a tasting led by the panel as well as questions from viewers. Online participants can RSVP at NationalTasting.ca and can submit questions to the panel via Twitter using the hastag #plwines, or on the National Tasting website. Participants are encouraged to taste along at home and comment on Twitter.
The aim is to also win back consumers to Australian wine, a category that is in decline across the country. “We wanted to do something optimistic and ambitious because so much of Australian wine right now is just focused on price discounting and a race to the bottom,” said Spethmann. “We wanted to engage people on a completely differently sphere than $2 off at the shelf.”
Peter Lehmann Wines is getting word out with online ads on lifestyle websites in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Toronto-based Knot PR is handling media relations in Ontario, while Town Hall Communications is handling media relations in Western Canada.
