I will be the first to admit that I am not a Gen X, Y, or Z, but I have been drinking a lot of wine for years and still don’t taste what is on the back of the bottle or tasting notes on websites, and wine emails that I get.
“Our Cabernet Sauvignon is deeply colored and bursting with aromas of crushed blackberries, spicy dark plum, dusty cocoa powder, cassis and wild raspberry. The complex layers of spice, red fruit and chocolate on the palate are framed in rich, velvety tannins with a long lingering finish.”
We talk a lot about in the wine industry how challenging it has been to attract younger consumers. Next to the perceived high sugar content and its nutritional value, how we describe wines is one of the biggest barriers of entry to crack. Wine can appear to be deceptive and unrelentingly complicated. Like unfamiliar terms and a myriad of facts to know about soil content, sources of oak barrels, why it is so important where the grapes come from, the winemaking techniques and its structural elements. How do we expect a generation that is into spirits, craft beers, and pressed fruit juices be able to deconstruct the aromas and flavors of wine that is written by people who assume it is the way most people think and talk about wine.
We make wine stressful.
And, we go so far as try to school this generation on the wine’s elements like taste, aromas and texture, and what our terms mean like chewy, creamy, dense, gritty, and my favorite “steely”. This means crisp, dry white wines with a bracing acidity that imparts a metallic sensation in your mouth. That sounds like the feel of the braces I used to wear in my mouth.
On the other hand, we try to make wine fun and approachable by offering it in cans, or turn it into a sustainable cause that younger generations desire in all products they purchase. Yes, these areas are extremely important, but we still can’t hide from how we describe the taste of wine, as this is what creates curiosity and expectations for consideration.
So, what do we do?
At KAI2, we continue to think different in more creative ways in describing how wine tastes and deliver on an experience that is relevant and approachable to younger audiences. It’s like telling a story through captive video about the layers of wine you will experience. For instance, what are the aromas like when the glass is brought to the nose, that first sip, and how it ends on your palette. We make it fun and ultimately imaginable in their minds of what to expect.
To make it a full-on experience, what are some unexpected ways to pair the wine with food that goes beyond salmon with chardonnay, meat with cabernet, pizza with pinot noir, and well you get the idea.
Sustainability is key, but there is an overexposure to this word and growing public disinterest, because of the way it is told in an unexciting way. It goes beyond a B-Corp label and the type of certification you have achieved. It’s about what is actually happening in the field and the interesting techniques you are using that are honest and meaningful, and the people behind the wine. Not just the winemaker, but the people in the field, your vineyard partners, and their families.
Not only do we make how wine tastes fun and inviting, we make the consumer’s life the feature and wine is an integral part of the supporting cast by creating unique occasions to enjoy the wine in.
Why we call our solution the Captive Portal is because of how we create the moments that I have mentioned above through video and encapsulate them all into a single experience. On mobile, it’s like having your brand story in their hand, and in a way this younger generation wants to hear about wine.
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