What if the future of wine is less about teaching people everything they need to know and more about giving them a reason to open a bottle?
Laurie sits down with Eric V. Orange, founder of LocalWineEvents.com, to talk about how wine events and wine consumers have changed over the past 26 years and why experiences, travel and connection may be increasingly important to the future of wine.
Eric shares the unlikely story behind LocalWineEvents.com, sparked by a Champagne dinner where only six people showed up, and how the site grew into a resource connecting wine lovers with tastings, dinners, festivals, classes and wine travel.
They also dig into new consumer research from Come Over October and LocalWineEvents.com, including the finding that 41% of respondents essentially said: give us a reason to get together. Laurie and Eric discuss why wine has a unique ability to make gatherings feel warmer and more special, whether the industry has made wine education too complicated, and why simpler, more approachable experiences may be the way forward.
Plus, they talk affordability, food and wine pairing, the changing appetite for large wine festivals, AI versus authentic event recommendations, and Laurie's upcoming Wine Down Wednesday: Wines of Washington State partnership with LocalWineEvents.com.
In this episode:
• The surprising event that inspired Eric to create LocalWineEvents.com
• What 26 years of wine events have taught him about consumers
• Why interest may be shifting from formal wine education toward experiences
• What the Come Over October consumer research revealed
• Wine tourism and the growing desire for experiences
• Why smaller, more intimate wine events may have an advantage
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