The team behind the annual Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) aren’t letting a global pandemic get in the way of the world’s love for chardonnay. Instead of letting travel and group gathering restrictions quell the annual event that has been drawing chardonnay enthusiasts from around the globe to Niagara for a decade, the i4C is taking this July’s festivities online with a creative new format for 2020.
Cool Climate Chardonnay Connection (i4C2020), which runs from July 17 through July 19, will offer a fresh take on some of the event’s most popular past programming.
Everyone is welcome to join in for this year’s “School of Cool – Homeschool Edition” featuring two webinars on Friday, July 17th. The first session, led by Andrew Jefford, columnist at Decanter and World of Fine Wine Magazine, “Chardonnay-A Decade of Cool” includes interviews with well-known authors and past keynotes speakers Matt Kramer, Ian D’Agata and Karen McNeil.
Next, John Szabo MS, of WineAlign will host a virtual tasting “Debating Cool Chardonnay: What it means to be cool in New Zealand, Chablis and Ontario” showcasing chardonnays from Chablis, New Zealand and Ontario that will encourage sipping and socializing across the planet.
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Past i4C feature chefs will invite home cooks to turn up the heat in a friendly #i4CAtHome Cooking Challenge by sharing their favourite chardonnay-inspired recipes, encouraging everyone to plan their own virtual i4C weekend celebration. Event sponsor, LCBO, will launch a virtual release of dozens of cool climate chardonnay options on July 17 at www.lcbo.com/coolchardonnay. i4C volunteers will send virtual vineyard greetings to cool chardonnay fans near and far with a socially distanced toast in a Niagara vineyard to wrap up the event on July 19.
“When we realized that physically bringing together thousands of consumers, media, hospitality trade, growers and winemakers who traditionally gather in Niagara each July to celebrate cool climate chardonnay wasn’t going to be an option, we never doubted that the show would go on”, said Magdalena Kaiser, i4C Board Member and Director of PR at The Wine Marketing Association of Ontario.
“July’s virtual Cool Climate Chardonnay Connection edition proves that i4C is a global wine celebration that simply can’t be stopped.” – Magdalena Kaiser
“This year marks 10 years of celebrating chardonnay and the perfect time to shine a light on local VQA as Ontario is the perfect cool climate home for this globally loved international variety”.
Wine and food enthusiasts looking to join the fun can follow i4C on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @coolchardonnay for up-to-the-minute updates and all the latest details. For a complete listing and schedule of the Cool Climate Chardonnay Connection events taking place from July 17 through July 19, 2020 please visit www.coolchardonnay.org.
Each summer, i4C hosts a world-class wine and food celebration in Niagara that shines the spotlight on the elegance and diversity of cool climate chardonnay from all over the world. Since the inaugural event in 2011, over 226 wineries from 38 cool climate wine regions and over 16,000+ consumers have participated in the event.
