Sip, sip hooray! Why virtual wine tastings are a thing
When you are invited to a wine tasting on Zoom, your first thought might be, “How the heck do you hold a virtual version of such a sensory event?”
After all, you need to inhale the bouquet, hold the glass up to the light to see the “beaded bubbles winking at the brim”, and let the flavours wash over your tastebuds.
That is not to mention the conviviality of getting together with friends over a good vintage and hearing the noise levels in the room slowly lift as the wine level in the bottle rapidly drops.
So does it work?
The answer is yes, with one advantage of a virtual wine tasting being that you do not need to worry about driving home over the alcohol limit.
Of course, you can hold an event online anywhere there is internet connectivity, but you still do need the wines — which is where the organising comes in.
Thanks to the Taste and Wine To Door wine club, that is what Stellenbosch winemaker Morné Vrey is able to deliver.
Last week, 80 Nelson Mandela Bay residents logged in as Vrey dipped into six of the Delaire Graff Estate wines with the spectacular green peaks of the Simonsberg mountain as his Zoom presentation background.
Taste founder Olga Hafner, a brand ambassador for 10 of Meridian’s leading estates, described Vrey as “one of the most passionate winemakers”.
“Since lockdown we have held our wine tastings online, delivering the 50ml sample bottle to each attendee that morning,” Michelle Brown, who runs Wine To Door, said.
“I joined a similar virtual tasting in April 2020 in London and Olga joined one in Holland and New Zealand so that we could see how it worked.”
Tucked at the top of Helshoogte Pass, Delaire Graff Estate must surely have one of the most breathtaking views in the Western Cape.
Vrey joined as winemaker in 2009 and has learnt how to coax complex and delicious flavours out of its terroir high on the Helshoogte Mountain Pass.
The estate was founded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel and was known as Avontuur until wine writer John Platter and his wife bought it in 1982.
Diamond dealer Laurence Graff took over the estate in 2003 and gradually built it into the luxury experience it is today, with restaurants, gardens, art, accommodation and more.
Prices start at around R100 a bottle and Delaire Graff wines rank among the top 10 in SA, and among the best in the southern hemisphere as a whole.
As he outlined each wine, questions and answers started to pop up in the Zoom chat with tipplers chipping in with queries on topics as diverse as cork or screw top, to decant or not to decant, what kind of glassware to use (Riedel and Zalto apparently) and even a few queries about rugby.
With Covid-19 putting a damper on travel, especially so soon after Easter’s large gatherings, an at-home tasting makes sense.
Another plus is that you can switch off your camera and slouch around in a cosy tracksuit or PJ pants, or nip into the kitchen to top up the snacks.
On the other hand, there are no refills once you have emptied that oh-so-tiny tasting bottle!