Video offlines...could they become a thing?

I think we can all universally agree that the best part about offlines is the people: the conversation, the discussion wines, the friendships formed, the generosity…all that and more. The wine, while so often amazing, is secondary. So, in this time of social distancing and avoidance of crowds, what about doing offlines with something like Zoom video conferencing? Would you participate? I know it wouldn’t be possible to share wines, but theoretically, a group could all purchase the same wine and discuss it via video conference. I think it would be weird and wouldn’t likely participate, but who knows? Could it become a thing?

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. .the best part about offlines is the people: the conversation, the discussion wines, the friendships formed, the generosity

Might be a thing for some people but of those four things, the only thing you’d get with video is the least important of all. You don’t really form many friendships through video although I suppose it’s possible in theory. There’s clearly no generosity since you’re not sharing anything. And the least interesting part of the conversation is discussing the wines. I really couldn’t care less if someone found gooseberries, cast iron pan, graphite, or whatever. And once you’ve had that conversation, if you ever do, there’s nothing further to say about it. So you’re back to general conversation, which is really hard to do with videoconferencing. This board is actually better for that sort of thing.

But that’s just me. Maybe there will be some newer type of affair that people enjoy participating in. I know that some people have done virtual tastings and they’ve tried to get some conversation going. There’s usually a leader and they haven’t been very interesting for the most part, but who knows. I may be an outlier.

I think Greg sums it up pretty well. I like the idea, and the spirit behind the idea, but I don’t think wine tastings are ever going to be fertile ground for teleconferencing.

my favorite conversations at wine dinners is when we don’t talk about wine.

I text plenty with the guys in my group. All day long as they aren’t just wine friends, but some of my closest friends now because of wine.

Exactly. And those are the conversations that video doesn’t lend itself to.

But I wouldn’t count it out as an idea - it may be that it becomes a new and different kind of experience for people.

I think we are now in the age of the ‘virtual’ tasting - some wineries like Modus Operandi have been doing this for quite some time; others like Hardy will be doing this weekend (along with a couple of other wineries, like Byron Blatty wines. I too will be offering up a ‘virtual tasting’ of a few of my wines.

Nope, it’s not an offline, but if folks have the same bottle in front of them, they can ‘discuss’ it - and ask direct questions of those who make it. It’s not quite as ‘personal’ as ‘being there’, but the hope of the industry as a whole is that it will ‘bridge the gap’ for now.

Would love to hear more thoughts on this.

Cheers.

I get a creepy feeling about it. Maybe I’ve watched too much Sci-Fi.

Meh.

Offlines and online tastings (at least the online tastings we’ve done before) are really different things. I think people would be disappointed and miss the point if they expected a similar experience from such different events.

If a thing so small it can’t be seen by the naked eye shuts down (just using one example) Las Vegas/all MGM properties, then yes, I suppose anything is possible.

Would I like to see it happen? No, I’m spoiled. We’re spoiled. But, it’s ultimately about choices, and for that wheelchair bound (or other non/low mobility) person that’s curious, this could be a very real thing, a wonderful thing. We base our preferences on our past experiences; there’s a lot of people out there that have never had a chance to form experiences similar to ours. It’s easy to throw rocks at all the things that will be missing. First world, healthy person problems/criticisms.

Just did this for the first time last night. Theme was Rhonely Together. All grabbed a bottle of rhone from the cellar which surprisingly wound up including 2 Gangloffs(serene noir Côte Rôtie and Condrieu) and 2 pegau (Laurence and reserve). We had friends from Seattle, Bellevue, newberg Oregon, walla walla and San Diego on the line. The Tech (zoom) worked perfectly. We scheduled 1 hour, and wound up on the call for 3hours. Very little talk about wine actually. During the meet, one of my buddies texted and said ‘this feels like we are sitting around your dining table.’ I would agree, and I think it is good to stay connected. We don’t know how many people are going to get sick from this, so it is a good opportunity to ‘share’ a tasty bottle with friends.

Sounds like fun to me!

Maybe I should setup some Zoom rooms for the week or weekend?

Cool report, Travis. That’s exactly what I imagined in my mind and, after reading about your experience, perhaps I’m more open to the idea. Cheers!

I’m down for hosting one if you set up the tech, Frenchie.

I’ve got Zoom! Let’s do it!

Brandon, we’ve done virtual offline before on this Board, and we’ve had participation so we know there is interest. How about we start another thread, let’s test the waters to see who would join and then we can get a date/time/theme together. I’d also suggest we not overthink it or get spun up on whether it’s a good idea or not. ln this time, we need community so I’d be honored to do it, even if it was just you and I, brother.

Absolutely not! The joy of an offline is getting together with other collectors and discussing whatever subject comes up over a great meal. I am not ready to resign myself to the virtual world.

Michael, we cannot do that right now so why not contribute to something temporary and meet some new people? If you don’t want to join, that’s fine but the offer is open to everyone.

I’ve done Zoom/Web-Ex sessions in my leadership role for a long time. They’re not like meeting in person, which can never be replaced, but we can create some additional form of community, beyond a keyboard and avatar right now, in a safe and reinforcing manner that’s good for us.

Those who have iPhones can easily do a larger number on FaceTime, though through different apps, as the default FaceTime limit is 8, I think?

Would Zoom work with 10-20 people? Could schedule several, or just have one running with drop ins throughout. Those who have Zoom, can you let us know?

Dumb question - if you set up a Zoom meeting, can any invitees who have a computer, speaker, mic and camera attend, or so they need some kind of Zoom install or license on their computer to be able to participate?