“Necessity is the mother of invention” is a well-known proverb. Over the last year, COVID has forced us to be inventive in some ways in the ways that we live our lives. This too is true for BC wineries. There has been a drastic reduction in people taking vacations to the Okanagan for example, visiting winery tasting rooms and then buying wines.
One BC winery, Winemaker’s CUT in Oliver decided that it was time to invent a new way for people to taste their wines with them. Other wineries have Zoom sessions where the winemaker would taste a few of their wines, along with attendees online, who had also purchased the same wines. This works, but typically the winery principal is sitting in their office or some other location different from the tasting room. So the attendees were not getting a full-tasting room experience.
Winemaker’s CUT contacted weshowup.io to build an almost immersive tasting experience for their attendees. The winery principal, Michal Mosny, in this example invites people into their virtual tasting room where the attendees can sit at a virtual table, while a video window of Michal is visible, and he leads the tasting. Before or after the tasting you can roam around the virtual tasting room by clicking on round icons on the screen. You can view one of four display cases of their wines or click on some of the art on the walls to find out more about the winery. Additionally, if you liked one of the wines in the display case that you sipped with Michal, you can click on the wine and then the BUY NOW button, which adds that wine to your shopping cart, and you can then proceed to pay by credit card and have a bottle(s) shipped to you.
I and a few other wine Trade people were invited to try this immersive virtual tasting room with Michal before it opened to the public. I have pictures from my tasting experience. We were told that this is likely the first virtual tasting of this calibre in Canada and possibly across North America. Great to see that we are innovators. I think it does offer something more than a Zoom meeting and look forward to seeing how much further the technology expands. Could a VR headset be an option in the future? You of course would need to be able to see your wine glass beside you so that you do not knock it over, but there should be a way to do that.
I congratulate Winemaker’s CUT for venturing into the Brave New World of VR for wine tastings. You can try it too by going to https://
My Wine Tasting Notes
We did receive small samples of the wines for the tasting, and here are my brief notes for you.
Winemaker’s CUT Sauvignon Blanc 2020 – Pronounced grassy, green citrus, and nettles aromas. Higher acidity. Tart citrus, nettles, and stone fruit flavours. Mineral tension. 
Winemaker’s CUT Rosé 2020 – Made from 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Syrah grapes, this wine has a smoky raspberries aroma. It’s slightly off-dry, round with an acidic prickle on the tongue. Bright flavours; tart red fruits and a touch of smokiness. Very light tannins. 
Winemaker’s CUT Syrah 2019 – Sweet spices, nutmeg, smoky red fruits and blackberries aromas. Medium body with juicy blackberry and ripe raspberry flavours along with black pepper on the palate. Bright acidity and medium tannins. Plums on the finish. –
Winemaker’s CUT Bohemian Cuvée 2019 – A blend of 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot. It has a light intensity nose showing black fruit and tea leaves. Dry, medium-plus body, round, fine dusty tannins and medium acidity. Black fruit and a touch of floral flavours. Medium intensity tannins on the finish.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can order Winemaker’s CUT wines online. Swirl Wine Store in Yaletown also carries their wines. The Rosé is available at Marquis Wine Cellars. It may be at other private wine shops.
Thanks to VR bandit [vstore.weshowup.io] and Barb Wild [goodwinegal.ca] for setting up the virtual environment and hosting the event.
