Private members club 67 Pall Mall, is opening its virtual doors to the general public for the first time with its online wine tasting sessions.
The longstanding London-based club, which usually reserves its services for members, will be hosting sessions three times a week via Zoom, giving wine lovers stuck at home access to some of the club’s top sommeliers.
A number of guest winemakers will also be taking part, hosting online masterclasses, tastings and discussions which will be made available to all. Following on from last night’s first session with Harpers columnist Tim Atkin MW, Jasper Morris MW will be looking at Red Burgundy 2009 vs 2010, with participants tuning in from home encouraged to open a bottle that aligns with the given theme.
67 Pall Mall certainly isn’t the only business pivoting towards or re-assessing its B2C engagement.
We have seen a surge in online initiative over the past few weeks, as companies look to play a greater role in helping consumers to stay social, active and entertained even when stuck indoors.
New initiatives this week include a weekly series of online virtual masterclasses from English sparkling producer Nyetimber aimed at clueing in consumers on things like secondary fermentation and other parts of the production process.
The Did You Know series launches tonight (April 3) at 7pm with Nyetimber brand ambassador Julian Kirk kicking off the series a From Vine to Bottle session.
Raul Diaz, founder of Wine Training and educator at the WSET, is running a number of home tutorials covering everything from wine tasting basics to food and wine pairing. Participants are challenged to develop their wine tasting skills, with wine deliveries available inside the M25.
Manchester Gin meanwhile, has announced a Stay Home Tasting Experience for gin-lovers aimed at making Saturday nights “a little more fun”.
Gin drinkers inside Manchester and out can book to join in with an hour-long tasting via a Facebook and Instagram livestream at 8pm on Saturday 11 April.
Churchill Graham, boutique producer of Churchill’s Port and Churchill’s Estates Douro Wines, is inviting participants to taste along with the winemakers during a tasting live-streamed from Portugal.
The series of e-tastings on Tuesdays and Thursdays will cover Churchill’s Port and Douro terroir wines via Churchill’s founder and head winemaker Johnny Graham and production director Ricardo Pinto Nunes, with tasting bundles available online.
Last but not least, Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW have launched a new wine podcast. Called Wine Blast, it aims to showcase the husband and wife duo’s natural chemistry, with “self-isolation providing just that little extra edge”.
Expect interviews, cookery ideas, competitive ‘wine-offs’, wine A-Zs and an opportunity to find the answers to “the wine questions you’ve always wanted to ask”.
Discover more on the recent rapid rise of digital initiatives and B2C strategies in the April edition of Harpers.