NEDBANK TASTING NOTES

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. The recurring alcohol bans during national lockdowns devastated the wine industry, resulting in 29 000 jobs lost and R5.7 billion loss in direct sales.

As a long-time supporter of the craft through their sponsorship of the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG), Nedbank thus set out to determine how we could democratise wine.

Establishing that it’s a proven fact that the right music makes wine taste better, we asked: could we pair the two in a way that would capture the public’s imagination and, in the process, expose wine to a greater audience?

The answer: Tasting Notes: A Story of Sound and Wine, facilitated a collaboration between winemakers, composers and neuroscientists to create a piece of music which literally pairs with any Cabernet Sauvignon; using a combination of science and creativity to transform the way people interact with wine – by literally enabling them to taste music notes.

The outcome: A piece of music that is scientifically proven to use music notes to enhance wine’s tasting notes.

Tasting Notes was introduced to media and key stakeholders through a hybrid premier event.  From there, it was published as a track across streaming platforms. A documentary style film and website unpacked the process of creating the song with a visual version guiding viewers through the tasting experience on YouTube and social.

Press releases tailored to relevant media together with op-ed and listicle style pieces alongside interviews and carefully selected influencers across wine, lifestyle, music, and tech, together with a full social media content plan, helped drive remote tasting experiences, taking the concept to a mass audience.

+90 unpaid news articles

4.8M campaign video views

25% YOY increase in sales across the local wine industry