By Francis Gimblett
Why in Events We Must Change … or Fade Away .
Cheesemakers Extraodinaire - Pamela and Francis Gimblett !
‘
Would you like to write an article for The DatebooK ?’ The elegant American who ’ d approached the front of the room wore a smile that could disarm a gunman .
‘ But I ’ ve never written anything before .’
‘ That doesn ’ t matter . Just give us a few recommendations on new wines for Summer and we ’ ll work something up .’
That was September 1997 , at a DatebooK networking event in the London Intercontinental . I was hosting the newly-formed Taste of the Vine ’ s inaugural show , having made the rash move from six years in wine wholesaling to the hubbub of the events industry . I wanted a fresh change and the ultra-traditional wine trade was , at that time , moving at a pace that didn ’ t suit .
I submitted my article , something florid , in the vein of columnists I ’ d researched , but I wasn ’ t happy . ‘ I don ’ t think I can do this again ,’ I said , after faxing the copy to DatebooK HQ . ‘ Why ?’ ‘ Well , wine writing is mostly nonsense that no one reads .’
‘ So why don ’ t you write in a way that interests you ?’
That piece of advice set the seed for an enduring passion and while I don ’ t think I could write full time – I like people too much – I never go a week without indulging .
The events industry has provided ample material for me and , if I ’ d wanted change , I certainly got it .
It seems to me that if you change things in the wine trade , you risk failure but if you don ’ t change in the events industry , failure is almost guaranteed . That first event at the Intercontinental , an Old World vs . New World wine challenge , helped to build the business but it wasn ’ t long before clients were looking for something new . And it was client demand , rather than inspired innovation , which , over the ensuing months and years , provided the impetus for all the travel , research , writing , and finding a distinct expert to host each new format .
Many , such as real ale and whisky , are still regular staples whilst others , such as olive tasting , proved too niche to catch on . A three-man wine comedy show , including a stage setting Lady Gaga would have been proud of , launched in the very month of Lehman Brothers ’ demise , was as apt as organising a whisky tasting in Mecca during Ramadan . But whether commercially successful or not , they ’ ve all provided the team and me with the stimulus and variety that only the events industry can serve up .
One of my wine tutors once drew a comparison between the quality of good wine and life . ‘ When we drink a glass of wine ,’ he said , ‘ it needs to have a range of aromatics to continue to stimulate the olfactory receptors . We quickly become de-sensitised to a simple wine with only one or two strong aromatics . And so it is with life : we crave the new or else it is all the poorer for its repetitions .’ Admittedly , he had a glass of wine in his hand as he said this , but he also had a point . To flourish we need life ’ s events to be varied and interesting simply because we become desensitised to just more of the same . Memory is only created when something novel happens . As an event supplier , this means : stand still and you fade into oblivion .
Three years ago , I believed we had come full circle with our events and that any new format we might concoct would be too derivative of one of the others . The solution , it seemed , was simple : if we wanted change this time , we had do things differently . What we needed was to become a producer – both the source and supplier of one of our formats . I ’ d reluctantly decided against starting a vineyard since the downturn … opting not to borrow the vast sums of money needed to buy prime land , plant the vines , build a winery , create a wine , and then wait at least ten years for break-even point . Such arithmetical realism hadn ’ t overly taxed even my CSE maths .
Whilst we gave a cursory thought to real ale , or spirits , it was cheesemaking that appealed most , not least because cheese is a passion my wife shares . Unsurprisingly , this new venture did not appeal to our then business advisor and our accountant was only a little more enthusiastic , but then , he ’ s a cheese lover . So far , our erstwhile business advisor has been vindicated . What we initially considered might take six to nine months to get established has in fact been a second full-time occupation for the last three years . And our accountant , judging by the draining cash flow , was not far off the mark either . A part of me knew as much at the outset . However another part of me , the part that wanted change and adventure , that led me to start Taste of the Vine and write for The DatebooK for nearly 20 years , I allowed to prevail .
Will it work ? You will likely know better than I . By the time you read this we will have held our first public event and hope to have Taste of the Vine promoting a Gimblett Cheese & Wine Show .
See www . gimblettcheese . co . uk for the rest of the story … so far .
TASTE OF THE VINE www . tasteofthevine . co . uk
Francis is MD of Taste of the Vine , providing interactive wine , beer and whisky tasting events for the corporate market . Now in its sixteenth year , the company has staged over 3000 events in 49 countries .
NEW TOOL FOR EVENT MANAGERS www . wine-navigator . com
Have you ever wanted to match wine with food or find out a bit more about a wine you ’ re selecting for a function ? Visit : www . wine-navigator . com It ’ s free , fast , fun and totally independent . Give it a go and let your journey begin ! Also let Francis know of your reaction to the website and if it is of value to you .
GIMBLETT CHEESE & WINE CHALLENGE
The latest event from Taste of the Vine . Have your guests experience an evening of interactive entertainment , hosted by the cheesemakers at Gimblett Cheese and wine experts at Taste of the Vine . Tel : 01428 656319 for more details or visit : www . gimblettcheese . co . uk
Visit : www . thewineadventurer . com
16 THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK