Nonni Strategic Marketing at Time Inc.

On July 13th, Nonni Strategic Marketing was thrilled to showcase four of our client brands to top editorial staff at Time Inc. in a summer-themed happy hour event at the media company’s new headquarters in lower Manhattan. 

The event introduced the staff of Food & Wine, People, Real Simple, and InStyle to new and innovative products from our portfolio of clients, including Flahavan’s Irish Oats, Nairn’s Oat Crackers & Grahams, Ridgeview Wine Estate and Wines of Chile. Guests included Real Simple Editor in Chief Kristin von Ogtrop, Food & Wine Executive Wine Editor Ray Isle, People magazine Food & Lifestyle Director Sonal Dutt and several other tastemakers.

Each station was designed to highlight fun ways to enjoy the products at summer picnics, barbecues, campfires or rooftops. 

Wines of Chile
Guests at the Wines of Chile station enjoyed a tasting of six Chilean wines: Meli Riesling, Odfjell Armador Sauvignon Blanc, Los Vascos Chardonnay, Leyda Las Brisas Pinot Noir, Casa Silva Cuvee Colchagua Carmenere and La Playa Cabernet Sauvignon. Two pairing games kept people entertained: a food pairing game complete with plush food toys and a film pairing game inspired by the #NetflixandChile social media campaign. A #NetflixandChile Snapchat filter was also created for the occasion.

InStyle Magazine team at the Wines Of Chile station

Flahavan’s Irish Oats
To add some Irish authenticity to the Flahavan’s table, Dublin-born chef Mark McDonnell of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC joined us for the day, rolling two types of sushi with Flahavan’s Steel-Cut Irish Oats in place of rice: tuna and avocado; and arugula, avocado, hard-boiled egg and dulse. He also prepared a carrot and cantaloupe gazpacho with ginger and mint, thickened with Flahavan’s oats. Chef Mark encouraged guests to consider ways to incorporate the health benefits of Irish steel cut oats into their summer menus. 

Flahavan's Steel Cut Oat Sushi

Ridgeview Wine Estate
Many of the editors at Time Inc. had never tried English wine before and loved getting to know Ridgeview! Guests enjoyed Bloomsbury, Cavendish and Fitzrovia Rosé and were impressed with the high quality and stylish design of the first English sparkling wine in the US market. 

Members of Nonni Strategic Marketing at the Ridgeview station

Nairn’s Oat Crackers & Grahams
Nothing says summer quite like s’mores, so we set up a make-your-own s’mores station to highlight several varieties of Nairn’s gluten-free grahams: Original, Stem Ginger, Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin. Guests roasted their marshmallows over small flames and enjoyed the chance to relive the campfires of their childhoods while creating their own delicious, gluten-free combos.

Nairn's gluten-free s'mores bar with lobster pot roasting stations

All who attended left with gift bags of product samples and branded gear. It was an exciting event for our agency, a pleasure to share these products with the Time Inc. teams and a priceless (indeed, free!) opportunity for our client brands to achieve exposure to some of the USA’s leading food, beverage and lifestyle editors.

Italian Wine List 101

We’ve all been there – you sit down to enjoy a meal at a new restaurant with a group of friends, and the waiter hands you all menus and fills your water glass. He then sets down on the table a hefty wine list – a binder full of sheets in plastic sleeves, a booklet of absurdly fine print, an oversized laminated card of indecipherable names, places, and prices. Somehow, you’re expected to quickly digest pages of information, and make a choice that will satisfy a group of individuals with different tastes, who will be eating different meals, all without missing a beat in the conversation.

And for all its merits, Italian wine can often be the most complex of all to understand. Italy has at least 550 native grapes – and by some estimates, up to twice as many more that haven’t yet been documented – which is more than the number of grapes native to Spain, Greece, and France combined. Add to that 20 different regions, innumerable microclimates, and a dizzying number of denominations, and the result can be difficult for even a seasoned wine pro to digest.

As a basic introduction, Wine Folly has created this handy guide to deciphering an Italian wine list, by breaking down the four pieces of information contained in a typical menu description of a wine: producer, wine type, region, and vintage.

Producer - Knowing who the producer is - or even just what type of producer it is - will help you understand if the wine is rare, easy to find, organically produced, etc. 

Type of Wine - A producer can give his or her wine its own unique name, but Italian wines are often named for a region, or a sub-region, which is classified according to certain production rules. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi must contain a minimum of 85% Verdicchio with Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes rounding out the rest. 

Region - Italy has 20 regions, and each one specializes in certain grapes or wine types. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is a traditional, and highly prized, wine of the Le Marche region. 

Vintage - Like all produce in Italy, the climate conditions of each year affects the wine; and for red wines, generally the tannins mellow with age.
 
Read more at: https://baronepizziniblog.com/2016/07/08/italian-wine-list-101/

Top 3 NYC Summer Food & Beverage Events

Summer Fancy Food Show

Welcome to America’s largest specialty food and beverage show. The Summer Fancy Food Show is the best way to stay on the cutting edge of industry trends. Discover new and noteworthy products while making valuable connections.  

When: June 26 - 28
Where: Javits Center

Uncorked: NY Wine Festival

The Uncorked: NY Wine Festival features over 100 wines to sample from more than 50 wineries. This cocktail attire event will be jam-packed with live music, a bubbly bar, International wine area and gourmet food vendors.

When: July 16 at 2pm
Where: Metropolitan Pavilion - 125 West 18th Street
Price: $60 - $70

Ciderfeast

Ciderfeast is an outdoor event featuring the best regional, national and European ciders from more than a dozen cider makers pouring over 30 ciders. Pair your beverage tastings with fancy grilled meats and veggies and live entertainment.‎

When: August 6th at 1:00 PM
Where: SolarOne - 24-20 Fdr Drive Service Road East
Price: $55 - $80

Entering the Marketing World of Wine and Food

Two weeks into my internship with Nonni Strategic Marketing and I am finally able to get to the office without using the subway mapper app. Aside from being able to navigate the A line, I now know things like the difference between gluten-free and certified gluten-free or between Burgundy and Bordeaux-shaped wine bottles. More importantly, as a proclaimed lover of cheeses, I have found Nairn’s, the crackers that my board has been longing for.

Other than becoming more wine savvy than my friends, I do hope to learn more about the food and wine public relations world during my time at Nonni Strategic Marketing. Nowadays, food media is everywhere, and when I undoubtedly see an aerial-shot video of an aesthetic dish in the making within one minute of logging on to Facebook, I will probably watch the whole thing. The way digital media/technology has influenced these industries is fascinating to me and is why I chose this field as my business degree concentration.

So, in many ways, interning at NSM this summer has already been a great choice. At a smaller company, too, I find that the handful of people you have to work with can make or break the environment and I could not have asked for better co-workers. Side-note: I made the current summer playlist on the website and if you would like any music recommendations, totally shoot me an email.