A virtual wine tasting is a perfect way to entertain and reward your clients and treat your colleagues. If done properly, it brings a touch of luxury and authenticity to your corporate events, making them memorable and successful.

Many businesses are still trying to organise team building and incentive events virtually, but it’s not always an easy task… especially if you want to offer a unique, personalised experience that moves the hearts and minds of your attendees from their remote locations.

At Italian Special Occasions DMC, we are pleased to be able to provide you with a powerful and distinctive online event! We guarantee the ultimate corporate virtual wine tasting that will leave your guests delighted and engaged with your brand.

So, how do we plan the best corporate virtual wine tasting?

We have identified three main pillars that determine the value and impact of an online corporate event. Discover them in our insider’s guide with practical examples based on our personal, tried-and-tested experience.

1. Quality products with traditions and sustainability at heart

If you want to offer the best virtual wine tasting experience, choosing the best wine seems like the first most obvious choice! Italy has many amazing wine-producing regions. At Italian Special Occasions DMC & Events, we love giving value to lesser-known areas that have been producing amazing quality wines for centuries. Maremma, in southern Tuscany, is one example.

We particularly love the Montecucco wines, not only for their delicious taste but also because this area offers a virtuous example of environmental sustainability in Tuscany. A survey conducted by the Montecucco Consortium found that “the appellation has the highest percentage of sustainable vineyards in Tuscany, with 85% of production certified organic for the Sangiovese DOCG”. This winemaking zone has a viticultural heritage that dates as far back as the eighth century.

For us, it’s important to promote a destination and its products in a way that respects the local culture and environment at 360 degrees. For this reason, for our corporate virtual wine tasting, we would recommend wines from venues selected with parameters that go beyond the quality of the wine. Castello di Potentino is one example: this ancient venue produces organic wines, is a dynamic cultural centre, and promotes off-season travel.

2. Passionate wine experts

People make the difference, always. You must select an experienced wine expert to guide your attendees through the virtual wine tasting. His or her passion and knowledge will transpire through the screens, creating a fun, engaging and unique virtual event. It will feel more like a personal and interactive event, rather than a remote session.

One of our most trusted wine experts is Claudia Bizzarri, delegate of the ONAV (Wine Tasters’ National Organisation) branch in Grosseto, which is the main city of Maremma Tuscany. In a recent interview with us, she said:

“Making wine is an art. The choice of the land, the selection of seeds, the effort of the producer, the skills of the cellar – these are all steps that require a lot of attention to end up with a product of excellence. […] One of the things that make Maremma special, is that many producers are working on rediscovering long-forgotten vine varieties.”

Local wine experts like Claudia will be able to transmit all the values and characteristics explained in our first point above. The attendees of the virtual event will learn a lot more than just wine tasting!

Above: Claudia Bizzarri (expert wine taster), Laura Notarbartolo (founder of Italian Special Occasions), Noemì Freixes (coach)

3. A winning structure for the virtual corporate event

Whether you want to organise an intimate virtual tasting for a small group of 10 people or a larger event with up to 40 attendees, interactivity is crucial. The results of a study published in the Journal of Business Research indicate that online content engagement and effective communication influence participants’ online experience and positively affect their behavioural intentions towards the event.

At Italian Special Occasions DMC, we create a fun and engaging virtual environment by:

  • involving the winemakers, who stream live from their wonderful wine cellar or vineyard;
  • by including our internal coach, Noemì Freixes.

During the online team building, Noemì makes very precise questions. The aim is to link the corporate virtual wine tasting with your brand’s objectives for the team building or incentive experience.

And to add an extra layer of excitement and flavour, we enriched our wine experience with an olive oil tasting too! This allows for olive oil producers to join the conversation from their authentic oil mills in the Tuscan countryside. And what does this mean for the attendees? That they get to learn about the differences and similarities in the production and tasting process of two products of Italian excellence. This learning experience guarantees a memorable, successful and powerful online event.

Our virtual team building event includes an online test to determine the winner of a fantastic incentive trip to Italy. The trip to a wine or olive oil producing region is based on our Beyond Italy itineraries. These revolve around helping local communities and minimizing the negative impacts of travel, such as carbon emissions and waste production. Therefore, the sustainability concepts are applied even after the virtual experience, creating a virtuous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach for your business.

Plan your virtual corporate event with Italian Special Occasions DMC & Events

Let us help you orchestrate a memorable virtual event! Flip through our virtual wine and olive oil tasting brochure for more information and feel free to contact us with questions.

We will be delighted to hear your business needs and to curate your digital tasting experience.

Get in touch with the team today!

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