How a Web3 Winery is Creating Communal Gathering Spaces for Wine Lovers

Editor’s note: We’ve been looking at NFTs and wine lately including industry predictions and a story on Mondavi’s entry in the space. Today we look at Web3.

How communal gathering spaces are defined has evolved rapidly in recent years. Partially, that’s due to COVID. Enter social distancing, masking, massive dispensers of germ-busting sanitizer at every turn, elbow bumps, et al. But our relationship with virtual life has changed too, and while lockdowns arguably expedited the process, we were already well on our way to a new understanding of relationship-building. Could Web3 technology offer up new solutions?

I’m guessing that you, like me, have several people whom you’ve never met in the flesh, but still consider close work associates or friends because you’ve spent so much time working, talking and communing with them virtually. What does this mean for the way wine is consumed? In the eye of the hurricane, it’s impossible to predict what the impact will be. Virtual wine tastings—both organized and decidedly un—helped prop up struggling wineries and restaurants during the pandemic. But how many people do you know still clamoring to clink glasses over Zoom? Even though the pandemic is far from over, many folks have returned to socializing in person.

Evinco Winery DAO sees itself as a bridge between the divide between in-person and virtual communal life. We sat down with Joy Pathak, co-founder of Evinco Winery DAO to see what the buzz is about.

Evinco bills itself as a Web3 winery. For the uninitiated, can you explain what that means? 

 A Web3 winery is a wine business that uses blockchain technology to democratize the running of the winery through digital assets on the blockchain. These digital assets could be in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or other digital assets. This allows for a wider pool of people to invest in the Evinco Winery DAO and get a say in how the winery is run. We have gamified the entire process of being a wine club member while empowering the community to have a strong say in the direction the winery goes. 

What is the name significance of Evinco Dao? 

The name Evinco is a Latin word that means “overcome, prevail, and triumph” and that’s exactly what the Evinco Winery DAO is doing. As the world's first Web3 winery we aim to not only overcome the challenges that face the wine industry but to triumph and thrive as a community-operated business. [Editor’s note: DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization.]

How are NFTs involved in Evinco’s Web3 Winery?

NFTs in a Web3 winery are used as a membership pass of the winery and give holders a say in how the winery is run through the DAO. In addition, NFT holders also get access to exclusive wine-tasting events not to mention a private place for wine enthusiasts to connect. At its core, NFTs serve as a bridge between the physical and digital world and allow for a new way of investing in, and connecting with, the wine industry.

In what ways is what you’re doing similar to a traditional wine club? 

Evinco is similar to a traditional wine club in that it offers members access to exclusive wine-tasting events, discounts on wine, and a community of like-minded individuals. Like a traditional wine club, every member of Evinco has an appreciation for wine and socializing with others who share their enthusiasm for exploring wine. 

How does it differ?

The key difference between Evinco and a traditional winery is that anyone anywhere can invest in and get exposure to a Web3 winery. In addition, it gives their membership some value. In traditional wineries when you leave a membership, you have nothing of value but the wine you bought. Here you can sell your membership pass in the Opensea NFT exchange. Traditional winery clubs require members to be physically present to participate in wine tastings and other events. With a Web3 winery, NFT holders can attend exclusive wine-tasting events regardless of their location.

Why would people want to join Evinco specifically?

Members of Evinco Winery DAO can unlock members-only tasting based on how long they've staked their NFTs in the DAO. The longer members stake their NFTs, the more benefits they unlock. The perks come in two tiers.

At the silver tier of perks, a member will receive: Complimentary wine tasting at the Evinco lounge in Napa Valley; invite-only tasting parties around the world (including in Miami, NYC, Singapore, London, and Djakarta); access to exclusive members-only virtual tastings; a sommelier advisor in discord channel, and access to Evinco's wine library.

At the gold tier of perks, members will receive: all of the above, plus in-person tasting experiences at Rutherford Estate; 3 guest invites to vintage wine tasting dinner and VIP winemaker tasting events; a Champagne allocation; Harvest participation with the winemaking team in Napa Valley.

Anything else?

We will have a unlock in our staking program where we will be able to offer members to get their NFTs and artwork on the bottles custom put. We will also have raffles of famous artists and rare bottles raffled out. 

How many members do you have? 

At the moment we have over 7,000 people in our discord, and more than 1,300 NFTs have been minted so far.

What is the price of entry?

The total cost to join the club is minting an NFT. 0.3 ETH for 1 pass. 

The wine industry is notoriously slow to adapt to new market realities, but COVID appears to have expedited the reaction time. It’s too early to tell if models like Evinco will disrupt and transform the way people taste, learn about and appreciate wine with other—in person and virtually—but it certainly presents some new flavors to savor.