Entry content
Challenge
The Consorzio Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani approached Colangelo & Partners to organize unique tasting events (one for trade and one for consumers) that would focus on the single vineyard appellations of Barolo and Barbaresco. The goal was to create the largest, most impactful appellation wine tasting ever dedicated to raising awareness of the subtle nuances between each MGA (Cru).
The challenge of the consumer tasting was to address the disconnection of the typical wine tasting model and create a more integrated, full circle wine tasting experience. The objective was to provide consumers the opportunity to purchase wines, on-site or immediately following the tasting, in order to create a premium experience to consumers and support wines sales for the producers.
Action
Colangelo & Partners developed a strategy integrating communications, event marketing, and e-commerce in order to best execute and promote the Barolo & Barbaresco tasting. By partnering with wine.com, the US leading online wine retailer, we created a consumer wine tasting experience that would allow for the discovery, brand awareness, and sales of the wines being tasted.
The C&P team worked closely with wine.com to collect data and create content for all 200 producers in participation to be implemented in the tasting app. For those wines without representation in the United States, C&P helped obtain temporary importers, so all wines tasted at the event were available for consumer purchase.
Results
The Barolo & Barbaresco trade event attracted over 800 wine industry professionals, including key wine writers from some of the top publications in the US such as Bloomberg, Wall St. Journal, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Fortune, and Food & Wine.
Among the coverage are some recent feature stories:
- Forbes: “Introducing Single Vineyard Barolo & Barbaresco to the World”
- The Epoch Times: “Meet the Kings of Italian Wine”
- The Grape Collective: “Interview with Matteo Ascheri, President of The Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe, and Dogliani Wine Consortium”
Over 400 ticketed wine enthusiasts attended the consumer portion of the event. Through the wine.com app, consumers were able to discover more about the wine they were tasting, the producers who made them, as well as access reviews and ratings of specific wines. Most importantly, consumers were able to purchase wines on the spot as they tasted.
Incorporating an e-commerce opportunity during the event not only helped support sales of Barolo & Barbaresco wines in the US; it also deepened the consumer experience and the connection to the wines they tasted.