Discover Long Island (DLI), the region’s only accredited destination marketing organization, recently attended the sold out Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, CO. for the second year in a row. Accompanied by Long Island Wine Country (LIWC) President, Kareem Massoud, DLI brought various Long Island native wine samples to the prestigious event’s Grand Tasting Pavilion for visitors from around the world to try.
The Food & Wine Classic took place June 14-16, set against the scenery of the Rocky Mountains in Aspen, Colorado, and has been known as a leading, must-visit culinary event for four decades. The Classic consisted of three days of cooking demonstrations, wine & spirit tastings, and panel discussions led by world-class chefs and beverage experts.
“Long Island has so much to offer, and it is our job to get out there and explain, that while we are known for our beaches this time of year, we also have one of the top wine regions in the world, right in our backyard,” said Discover Long Island President & CEO, Kristen Reynolds. “We have attended this event the past two years and it has been the perfect opportunity to showcase our region as a year-round destination with a wide range of adventure for every type of traveler.”
By once again attending this event, Discover Long Island and LIWC aimed to exhibit, educate, and encourage.
Exhibit: Samples from six Long Island wineries were on display throughout the event, made available for attendees to taste: Pindar Vineyards, Paumanok Vineyards, Palmer Vineyards, Sparkling Pointe, Wölffer Estate Vineyard, and Bridge Lane Wine. The popular Long Island wine samples were met with great enthusiasm from event attendees, resulting in all bottles brought by DLI/LIWC to be successfully emptied by the end of the event. More than 500 DLI branded ChapSticks, DLI branded sunglasses, and mini Discover Long Island inspiration guide pamphlets were also distributed with wine samples to help showcase the destination of Long Island as a whole.
Educate: While many event attendees last year were not aware of Long Island’s wine region, Discover Long Island and LIWC noted that this year, several individuals remembered the region from last year’s event and came back specifically to try the wine again. By having LIWC President Kareem Massoud on site at the Classic, visitors learned all about the process of how wine is produced on Long Island, as well as the region’s rich history and agriculture that makes it so special compared to other wine regions and landed the North Fork on Wine Enthusiast magazine’s ‘Top 10 Wine Regions’ in the world list in 2016. By having Discover Long Island staff on site, visitors learned about the entire destination, from the Gold Coast, North Shore and North Fork to the South Shore, Fire Island, and South Fork.
Encourage: By attending this event, both Discover Long Island and Long Island Wine country gave the attendees from around the world a taste of the enticing Long Island lifestyle so they in turn now feel encouraged to travel and visit the region for themselves. Discover Long Island also used a Geotarget campaign for the DLI website through AI display and social media, to encourage those in the area around the event to dive deeper into all that Long Island has to offer. The Geotarget campaign saw over 1.1 million impressions over the three-day event.
More information on the annual event can be found here.
ABOUT DISCOVER LONG ISLAND:
Discover Long Island is the region’s official destination marketing and leadership organization charged with furthering the destination’s thriving visitor economy, which saw recent record-breaking highs of $6.6 billion in visitor spending. The organization ensures Long Island’s coveted quality of life, thriving industries, and dynamic destination offerings are promoted on a global level, furthering economic development, and benefiting residents and businesses throughout the region. Awarded “Best Social Media” in the nation by the US Travel Association, the organization produces engaging content featuring local businesses and attractions for their 11 social media channels which garner upwards of 10 million views. Additionally, the organization hosts a popular YouTube series, Long Island TV, as well as the Long Island Tea podcast. To learn more, please call 631-951-3900 or visit www.DiscoverLongIsland.com.