THE WORLD OF WINE ON “SECOND LIFE” - A POSSIBLE PLACE FOR THE PROMOTION AND DISCUSSION OF THE NECTAR OF THE GODS … THE FIRST ITALIAN EXPERIENCES COMPARED TO THOSE OF OTHERS

The world of wine is continuing to expand on Second Life, the virtual community created by Linden Labs, and which already counts 6 million “inhabitants”. There are virtual wineries that are totally fictional, as well as some even with real-life correlations like that of Umbrian, Arnaldo Caprai (144,40,0 is the address on Second Life), who has used this virtual world to launch his Sagrantino Bianco, a wine that still does not exist in the real world. There is also the example of Valentine Vineyards, a small winery in Southern Mendocino County (California), that has created a parallel winery, along with vineyards that can be visited by “Avatars” (the citizens that populate the world of Second Life).
Moving back to Italy, there is also an interesting “experience” that has been created by Wineart, the company that promotes local resources such as artistic talents as well as eno-gastronomic specialties and which has begun its life on Second Life a the stands of the Neal Stephenson’s University (92,155,604), with a personal exhibition by Gabriele Lacchè entitled “Cattive Compagnie” (Bad Company).
There are six works on display by the artist from the Abruzzo region, close to the pop art of Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol. And within this show there is also a space dedicated to two wine companies: the San Marco Frascati company (with its IGT red “Solo Shiraz” from the Lazio region, and the Frascati Superiore “Satinata” and “Crio 10”), and the Castel de Polis company (with “Vigna Adriana”, “Campo Vecchio” and “Quattro Mori”). What makes this interesting is that these wines can even be bought on Second Life by paying with the Linden Dollars (Second Life’s exchange rate is 270 Linden Dollars for 1 USD), as in the Wine Sublime Shop (120,101,25) that even sells the typical fiasco of Chianti for 75L$, as well as the Ruelle-Pertois Champagne for 50L$.
Though it is obvious that the Second Life platform does not represent an occasion for real business, it can still surely be used as a system for the promotion of brand names, especially for smaller companies because of the lower costs in respect to traditional media like newspapers and television. Another interesting novelty is the creation of discussion groups that are organized around the theme of wine: at an Italian level, there is the “Sommelier Italia SI” which includes only 7 members and considers itself a place to discuss the world of Bacchus and more. There is an even more interesting initiative organized by SII Wine Taster Association that organizes a real, long-distance wine tasting every Monday, in which Avatars become the spokespeople for the real tasters.
This last example puts into question a fundamental element: if, for some games it is possible for a world to exist that is completely disconnected from the real world, for wine, a real life reference is, on the other hand, necessary. Alessandro Regoli, director of www.winenews.it and www.winenews.tv explains: “Second Life can definitely be a place for discussion in the world of wine & food, and even a place for promotion as in the case of the Sagrantino Bianco by Caprai, but it will hold only a marginal role because with wine and dining there can be nothing other than a direct relationship, experienced through real senses and always with an attention to not exaggerating”.
Federico Pizzinelli