VinePair’s first ever Great Drinks Experience, a drinks festival that brought together the worlds of wine, beer, and spirits, along with both consumer and trade attendees, went digital in its first year, with 60,000 people participating both live and via recorded sessions.
Participants logged on to Zoom webinar for live conversations with celebrities such as Dwyane Wade of Wade Cellars, who discussed how he fell in love with wine, and Kyle MacLachlan of …Pursued by Bear, who took part in a live taping of the VinePair Podcast. It also included cocktail tutorials from Tiki expert Shannon Mustipher, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Ten to One Rum, Emily Vikre, the author of Camp Cocktails, and more. Beer and wine also flowed, including a conversation with the inventor of Truly Hard Seltzer, Casey O’Neill, a tasting with José and Julia Zuccardi of Argentina’s Santa Julia Winery, and a chat about beer and culture with Bronx Brewery.
During the day, members of the trade took part in master classes with wine and cocktail experts, including a tutorial on the wines of Rueda and Ribera Del Duero led by Master Sommelier Alex LaPratt, a tasting of the Natural and Organic wines of Santa Julia led by VinePair Tastings Director Keith Beavers, and a session on how to use Truly in cocktails led by Truly creator Casey O’Neill and bartender Augusto Lino.
All session recordings are available to be streamed on VinePair at the Great Drinks Microsite: https://vinepair.com/great-
