Legendary Australian vineyard Penfolds started exploring the bountiful soils of California over 20 years ago to create wines unrestricted by vine, border, or continent. When the time finally came to unveil the inaugural California Collection of wines, Penfolds wanted to celebrate the occasion in a big way.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Penfolds turned to communications partner 9Rooftops Marketing Agency to design and execute an live virtual experience that provided a global digital stage from which to introduce and taste the collection.
"We had to pivot naturally in terms ot he execution," said Tim Irwin, General Manager at Penfolds. "Part of the challenge was how to captivate the audience."
Streamed live from Australia, San Francisco and Los Angeles, the event brought together the winemakers behind the collection, the arts community and award-winning musical talent for a night that over 2,300 wine enthusiasts will not soon forget:
- Attendees received luxury packaged wine kits for an incredible at-home tasting experience during the virtual event, which included an in-depth introduction to the collection from Chief Winemaker Peter Gago and Senior Winemaker Stephanie Dutton.
- The virtual event also featured a commissioned dance piece that interpreted the Penfolds California story, along with an exclusive musical performance and intimate Q&A with award-winning actor and singer, Leslie Odom Jr.
This virtual experience garnered 74.7 million social media impressions.
"We wanted to launch something raelly incredible because there's a lot of energy behind the wines," Irwin said," and this event provided an opporutnity to tell the story in a unique beautiful way.
"And wine is a unifier, even if it's virftual."
