Billionaire leaders from the two biggest tech giants on the planet, Eric Emerson Schmidt and Jeff Bezos. are launching the world’s first-ever entirely virtual wine brand together.
Bezos and Schmidt introduced the Davos Elite Portfolio of Fine Wines amongst an audience of news reporters and Silicon Valley businessmen and women at the Nobu Hotel in Palo Alto, California. A Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley’s To Kalon Vineyard is going to the brand’s first and entirely virtual release.
The ‘sample’ of the 2021 Davos Elite Cabernet Sauvignon was served to the audience as an empty bottle accompanied by virtual reality goggles with enhanced aromatherapy technology. At the event, Bezos stated that “these are the first wines that are entirely calorie-free, stable, and safe for all to imbibe, even underage drinkers.”
To open the bottle, Bezos scanned a barcode on the bottle with his smartphone and then promptly put on the VR goggles to have a taste of the wine.
Schmidt, while enjoying the world’s first virtual wine, stated, “As soon as the end-user scans the code, a whole new world opens up to them virtually. They’ll find themselves out in nature, with the aromas of terroir being fed to the end-user through our enhanced AI virtual goggles. They’ll then “experience” the wine, through a compelling tour of our Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response cellar and a virtual tasting hosted by one of our in-house robotic “Sense Sommeliers”. These trained professionals will instruct the end-user as to what they should be tasting in a wine. What they should be experiencing and how it will enrich their lives, all without causing the body any harm.”
On being asked about the impact of their product on the farm and hospitality labor, Schmidt responded, “Listen, back in the day, farmers used to work the soil by hand. Then the tractor was invented and the farmer learned new skills. The same logic applies here. We’re not employing farm or hospitality labor for this brand. We don’t need them. If farmers are compelled to work on our brand, they can pivot over to working at a “tech” farm if you will and learn new digital skills. You either keep up with technology or it passes you by.”
The virtual wine will retail at $75 a bottle. Bezos also clarified that the Aromatherapy Enhanced Virtual Reality Davos Goggles will not be included in the package. “We offer the goggles through the Amazon portal and end-users will be able to enter a discount code when they purchase their first bottle of Davos Elite.” They separately retail for around $400.
“This is the first wine in the world to expand consciousness,” Bezos added. “And we won’t need to bother Mother Nature with any of it. This is the most sustainably made wine yet. And, fundamentally speaking, our 2021 Davos Elite Cabernet Sauvignon will be able to age forever.”
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