Praise for our Virtual Tastings
April 16, 2020– Kate Silver writes about wineries hosting virtual tastings during the pandemic shutdown, and features Silver Thread. Read the full article here.
Virtual wine tastings bring some sparkle to the self-quarantined
East Coast wineries are also joining the virtual party. In the Finger Lakes region of New York, Silver Thread Vineyard has kept busy through the shutdown so far thanks to its virtual tasting series. The winery is offering discounted wine packages that, in April, ranged in price from $65 for four bottles to $93 for six bottles with $10 flat-rate shipping. Anyone interested can tune in each week to a live virtual tasting on Facebook and type comments or questions for Shannon and Paul Brock, who own the winery.
Shannon says the tastings offer an “armchair travel experience” to the public. “Wine is liquid geography,” Shannon says. “That’s very cliche, but there are flavors that come out of our wine that are very distinctive and unique to the Finger Lakes region, and that’s something you can’t get if you’re just going into the wine shop and buying the bulk wines with the cutesy labels.”
Each bottle of Silver Thread wine has what Shannon describes as a “stony flavor” that comes from the soil of the glacial region, and that flavor imparts a sense of place, even when consumed in a living room far away. “It’s not as good as being there yourself and tasting it at the source, but it’s a nice alternative right now,” she says.
She says she’s been heartened to see both new and familiar customers participate in the tastings. Many are even using the weekly streaming event as a way to “meet up” with friends in the same place each week. “There’s this whole group of people who live in State College, Pennsylvania, and they usually come up as a group of 12 and visit the winery,” she says. “They’re all doing this.”
When the Brocks got into the winery business, they never expected they would be performing an entertainment-style role. Still, Shannon says they love that they can provide this kind of service. “I almost feel like I’m in the USO during World War II,” she says, referring to the United Service Organizations, which provided entertainment for troops. “Everybody has good days and bad days, but everybody needs some good news, and something to look forward to and something to take their mind off all this. Because we can’t just sit and watch the news all day.”
