As the recession continues to pinch budgets, some tech- (and cash-) savvy wineries are rethinking the tradition of jetting their winemakers around the country for in-person tastings with top critics.
Instead, wineries such as California’s Kendall-Jackson are embracing low-cost, eco-friendly virtual tastings via the Internet.
The setup is pretty simple. Wine critics are shipped the bottles to be sampled, then emailed tasting notes. If they don’t have a webcam, the winery sends that along, too. And the winery’s tech people do a test run to make sure it all works.
Instead of sitting across a restaurant table, critic and winemaker view each other by videoconference.
