NZ Winegrowers renews global push for first white wine emoji

New Zealand Winegrowers has launched “The Great White Wine Toast,” a global public campaign calling for the creation of an official white wine emoji and spotlighting New Zealand’s white wines to consumers, media and trade around the world.

The campaign comes ahead of three major wine awareness days in May with International Sauvignon Blanc Day (1 May), International Pinot Gris Day (17 May) and International Chardonnay Day (21 May).

NZ Winegrowers describes “The Great White Wine Toast” as: “a global social moment inviting people around the world to raise a glass of white wine and share it - online and in real life - as part of a collective toast to one of the world’s most loved wine styles”.

As part of that, it is renewing its call for a dedicated white wine emoji. “Wine culture has evolved, but our emojis haven’t,” says Charlotte Read, General Manager Brand, New Zealand Winegrowers. “Red wine has an emoji. Champagne has an emoji. Cocktails have several. But one of the world’s trending wine styles – refreshing, vibrant white wine – doesn’t have a voice. We believe New Zealand, a world leader in refreshing and expressive white wines, is the perfect champion for this movement.”

The international not-for-profit Unicode Consortium approves and releases new emoji designs worldwide annually.

The NZ Winegrowers campaign includes a proposed white wine emoji design, featuring a pale-gold wine in a classic glass. It is encouraging wine lovers worldwide to show their support through:

·       A public petition urging Unicode to introduce the white wine emoji

·       Social media participation using #WhiteWineEmoji

·       A global toast across time zones planned for “The Great White Wine Toast”, where white wine lovers worldwide are encouraged to raise a glass of New Zealand white wine on International Sauvignon Blanc Day (1 May) and using #WhiteWineEmoji and #GreatWhiteWineToast

·       Continuing to raise a glass of New Zealand white wine during the month of May and posting on social media using #NZWine #WhiteWineEmoji #PourYourselfAGlassOfNZ

The campaign will culminate in a formal emoji submission to the Unicode Consortium, backed by petition signatures, social engagement data, and cultural relevance evidence.