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It's all on!

New Zealand Pinot Noir has a title to defend. Not your ordinary wine show title but instead Pinot Noir Social Media Masters of the Universe sort of title.

This Thursday September 6th from 12:05am until 11:55pm all you need to do is use the hashtag #PinotSmackDown together with #nz or #nzwine in any form of social media (eg:Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram) and you can contribute to the cause. Perfect reason to open a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir, we reckon.

Obviously we'd also love it if you could find room for a little #Pinot2013 love in your tweet, post, pin, photo etc.

For more information from the event organiser Ed Thralls from Wine Tonite see below:

In the spirit of the Olympics, if they were governed by the rules of Thunderdome and Mad Max, we bring you the 3rd Annual Pinot Noir Smackdown, where nations are pitted against one another by way of social media voting* in a 24-hour period to determine whose Pinot reigns supreme.  Each year this event continues to grow in terms of consumer and winery participation, information-sharing and smacktalk in support of a capricious wine grape that is most adept at modeling itself after its place of residence and thereby generating a love-hate relationship for both those who produce and consume this viticultural wonder.

*see rules to “voting” below 

Register: http://pinotsmackdown2012.eventbrite.com/

How: Participate virtually via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram or any social channel using the #PinotSmackdown hashtag.

After Willamette Valley (before voting regions were simplified by state/country) pretty much ran away with the belt in the first year, New Zealand mounted an aggressive regional effort that was most impressive to beat out Oregon and California in 2011.  France is still nowhere to be found (told you there would be smacktalk).

This year we are once again going 24 hours — All Day!  This keeps in line with some of the more recent grape day tastings and we want to give other regions around the world an easier opportunity to participate.  Big props go to New Zealand last year who had even more wineries and wine associations participate last year and run away with the prize!

How To Participate

After 3 years of participating, creating and witnessing various #[WineGrape] days, we are still yet to find the perfect recipe of brand awareness, engagement, consumer education, event hosting, taste pack offers, online commerce, food pairings, home parties and just plain enjoyment of discussing our favorite wine with friends, new and old, around the planet.  Maybe there isn’t one.  All I know is that #PinotSmackdown is like no other as evidenced by the fervor, passion and smacktalk cleverness by nations around the globe in support of this beautiful grape and juice.  I think you’ll agree.

For those new to social media, an online Social Media Community Tasting is simply when people who love wine gather socially both at physical locations, such as wineries, wine shops and their own homes, and virtually via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram or any social channel turning the event into one big wine party – just use the #PinotSmackdown hashtag! Throughout the event, wine-lovers from across the country and the globe will share their thoughts on the wines they’ve chosen to drink on this night and “converse” with like-minded connoisseurs. It’s a captive audience totally focused on Pinot Noir.

Register

Now is the time for Pinot Noir to shine and I invite and emphatically encourage you to join in the festivities.  To register please go to http://pinotsmackdown2012.eventbrite.com/ where there are also some basic instructions on how to get started. More importantly, you will want to consider planning an event at your winery, favorite local wine store, restaurant, your house, or in the shed out back to share your favorite wines and this cool experience with others.  Some wineries often put together discounted “taste packs” available for sale from their websites specifically for these types of events.

The Smackdown

What makes our event so different, is that we put a competitive edge on it, thus the descriptor: SMACKDOWN! So, where is the best or your favorite Pinot Noir produced? To vote via your tweets, posts, pins, or photos simply add another 2-character hashtag after #PinotSmackdown and we’ll count the “votes” so that region gets bragging rights for the year!

The biggest feedback from previous events is the fact we had way too many regions to keep track of, so this year we are going to continue keeping the region abbreviations at a high-level (see below).  However, this does give us an opportunity to consider a subsequent Smackdown within the winning region such that the sub-regions can duke it out.  If there is a region you think is missing (at the state/country level), let me know.

Regional “voting” hashtags:

• #OR – Oregon
• #CA – California
• #WA – Washington
• #NY – New York
• #46 – U.S. The “Other 46,” outside of the Big Four
• #FR – France
• #IT – Italy
• #DE – Germany (Deutchland)
• #EU – Europe, beyond France, Germany, Italy
• #CN – Canada
• #NZ – New Zealand
• #CH – Chile
• #AR – Argentina
• #AU – Australia
• #SA – South Africa
• #WD – World, as in none previously listed

For example, if you are drinking a Pinot from a region in California, simply tag the end of your tweets/posts with:      #PinotSmackdown #CA

You know what to do now, so choose your wine, organise your friends and get ready for the biggest battle in the universe!

Related posts

The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Photo Competition