Yealands creates virtual tours

New Zealand producer Yealands Family Wines has launched a new digital platform to spread its sustainability message worldwide.

Part of a major push by the Marlborough-based company to connect with consumers via interactive social media, Yealandslive.co.nz features live feeds from the carbon neutral Seaview vineyard and winery, offering viewers the chance to see its sustainable practices at first hand.

Other features of the website include a climate data feed, up-to-the-minute energy generation data from one of New Zealand’s largest solar power installations and updates from the Yealands winemaking team.

Visitors to the site are also encouraged to share their own photos via social media using the hashtag #yealandslive, which will then appear on a live feed. There is also the chance for consumers to take a virtual tour of Yealands’ vineyards and enter a draw to win a “personalised YealandsLIVE Travel & Wine Experience”.

Explaining the new initiative, Yealands’ general manager of marketing, Michael Wentworth, said: “The purpose of YealandsLive is to connect consumers to the heart of the Yealands story through an immersive, visual and authentic experience.”

The launch comes less than a week after Yealands, New Zealand’s sixth largest wine producer, confirmed that founder Peter Yealands had agreed to sell 80% of the business to local electricity firm Marlborough Lines for NZ$89 million (£38.1m).