Woodward dons Red Nose for Virtual Wine

Decanter editor Guy Woodward is taking part in a special Wine Relief virtual tasting for Red Nose Day.

Online wine media company Virtual Wine is organising the event this Saturday 3 March.

Participants can buy six specially selected Wine Relief wines, log in to the Virtual Wine event tasting page, and taste them along with the panel of judges they see on screen.

As well as Woodward (pictured), the online tasting panel consists of wine writer Ashika Matthews, comedian and UK radio station X-FM presenter Paul Tonkinson, and Ben Llewelyn of Virtual Wine.

Wine Relief, the brainchild of Jancis Robinson MW and her husband Nick Lander, was launched as part of the annual celebrity charity event Red Nose Day in 1999.

Since its launch Wine Relief has raised £2m for charity. Red Nose Day is the biggest yearly event of the charity Comic Relief, which has raised £425m since its launch in 1985. Forty per cent goes to charitable work in the UK, 60% to Africa.

The majority of UK supermarkets and high street wine retailers take part in Wine Relief, donating 10% of the price of selected wines to charity.

Virtual Wine is a website that runs online tasting events allowing people to compare wine notes live over the internet.

James Booth, Virtual Wine’s live host said, ‘We’re very much looking forward to this web first in aid of charity. Look out for special segments featuring prominent UK wine figures and guest panellists.’

Woodward said, ‘It should be a fun event – and having been saying that retailers should be doing more to promote Wine Relief, it’s only fair we back this up by doing our bit. I hope the fact that we’re “working” on a Saturday evening serves as evidence of that.’

Interviews with Woodward, and Decanter’s consultant editor Steven Spurrier will be posted on virtualwine.co.uk on Saturday.

The live tasting show starts at 7.30pm but participants are advised to log in 15 minutes beforehand.

Virtual Wine

Red Nose Day and Wine Relief

Written by Sophie Montagne