The Ultimate Guide to Attending a CWO Networking Event
Since the very first Chief Wine Officer event in 2005, we’ve welcomed countless C-level execs and business leaders to thousands of our networking experiences. Along the way, we’ve learned a thing or two about networking.
If you’re registered to attend or thinking about attending an upcoming CWO, we want to help you make the most of the opportunity. Here you’ll find our top tips to maximise value from both the networking and business insights elements of CWO. But if you’re a seasoned networker, you may be looking for something more: hints on how to win the CWO wine tasting competition! All this and more below.
Ready to get the most out of attending a CWO event? Choose an area below to get started:
GET VALUE FROM THE WINE TASTING
Prepare Your Wine Tasting Selection
You’ll be sent a box containing tasting bottles of Champagne, white wine, and red wine. Follow these steps to make sure you get the most out of the wine tasting experience:
- Chill the Champagne and white wine at least a few hours before the event
- If you have one, prepare an ice bucket to keep them cool once out of the fridge
- You’ll be tasting three wines, so you could benefit from having some snacks at hand – try salmon for the white wine, cheese for the red, and complement it with some crackers and grapes
Set Yourself Up to Become the Chief Wine Officer
If you haven’t been to one of our events, you’ll be new to the Chief Wine Officer competition. It’s a quiz that your wine host will facilitate at the end of the event based on what they’ve taught you about each of the wines throughout the evening. The winner will be crowned the ‘Chief Wine Officer’ and sent a surprise prize for their efforts. Keen to win? Here are some tips for taking home the title:
- Listen carefully during your wine speaker’s presentations – the questions will be based on what you learn during the event
- Read up about your wines’ grapes and regions. Your Event Manager will let you know which wines you’ll be receiving a few weeks ahead of the event
- You could be asked questions like:
- Was this wine aged in oak or steel barrels?
- Do you think these grapes were grown at a high or low altitude?
- Which grapes do you think were used to make this wine?
What’s your (wine tree) flavour?
Find out more about your personal wine preferences by taking Master of Wine Sam Caporn’s Wine Flavour Tree quiz.
MEET THE WINE SPEAKERS
At our events, we rely on wine experts and aficionados to extend their knowledge and expand your tasting skills, guiding you through the evening of your Chief Wine Officer tasting experience.
AMY CHRISTINE
Master of Wine
EUGENE MLYNCZYK
Master of Wine
JANE PARKINSON
Wine Expert
PETER MCCOMBIE
Master of Wine
Impressive event and management of it. It was refreshing to have the opportunity to discuss views and experiences with a plethora of different companies on a common theme.
GET VALUE FROM NETWORKING
Prepare to Make Connections You Probably Wouldn’t in the Real World
There’s a lot to learn from the many intersections between industries, roles, companies and people. With technology and sustainability now touching every area of business, our events bring together an exciting and more varied selection of guests than ever before. You could be sharing the table with a cross-industry group of IT, HR ESG, Marketing and a whole array of executives from 10 different countries. Prepare to expand your network into unexpected places!
Make Full Use of Both Presentations & Breakout Rooms
Your event will consist of two keynotes, breakout sessions, and some interactive fun in the form of an expert-led wine tasting. Make sure you get maximum networking value out of each section by doing the following:
- Engage with your fellow attendees and speakers (including during the presentations by posting in the chat if you’re attending a CWO DIGITAL event). You’ll get a chance to discuss your questions in a Q&A following the keynote, which will give you a good idea of who shares your challenges and will be a valuable addition to your professional network.
- Connect with your fellow guests ahead of the event:
- Your Event Manager will send you the list of attendees. Connect with some interesting people on LinkedIn before meeting them on the night.
- There will be two breakout room sessions, where you’ll split into smaller groups of five-seven guests. Use this to get more granular on specific business challenges with your fellow guests.
- Make sure to follow up on new connections made by exchanging emails and/or LinkedIn details.
Not usually one to speak up at a networking event?
Try not to worry; everyone has been in your shoes! But the CWO community is warm and welcoming, so feel free to have your say and you’ll take away even more from the event.
Excellent event! Well organised, and engaging! The digital and physical worlds collide over a glass of wine.
GET VALUE FROM THE BUSINESS CONTENT
Make the Most of the Keynote Presentations
One of your main reasons for joining will be to hear keynotes from esteemed industry thought leaders. To get the most business value out of the presentations, we suggest you:
- Connect with the speaker(s) on LinkedIn prior to the event
- Do some research into their organisation and experience, identify what you’d like to learn from them and discuss with the group at the event, and prepare a few questions for the Q&A
Access Industry-Leading Keynote Speakers
At digital and live CWO events, you’ll have access to some of the world’s top thought leaders within your industry and sector. Maximise this opportunity by:
- Asking about the industry challenges and trends they’re seeing in their region and globally
- Finding out which products and strategies are driving success in regions or industries other than your own
Steer the discussion
Reach out to your Event Manager ahead of your CWO event to request discussion points you’d like to hear more of on the night.
MEET SOME OF OUR SPEAKERS
Curious about who speaks at our events? You could be meeting industry thought leaders such as:
KATE RUSSELL
Technology Reporter & Author
RAMSÉS GALLEGO
International CTO, CyberRes
ALEXANDRA KAFKA LARSSON
Founder and CEO, Content Perspective
HARPER REED
CTO and Futurist Technology Pioneer
JEFF SEABRIGHT
Former Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever
BINDIYA VAKIL
CEO & Founder, Resilinc
MARK BORNSTEIN
VP of Marketing, ON24
SUE DALEY
Director Tech and Innovation at techUK
Thanks for the thought-provoking conversation! I was able to relate to the different perspectives provided.
GET VALUE FROM JOINING VIRTUALLY
Join from Wherever Suits You
Our in-person events, CWO LIVE, see guests gathering at high-end venues around the world, the details of which are shared with registered attendees. But there’s no such physical limitation when it comes to CWO DIGITAL.
Would you prefer to join from home, the office, or somewhere else completely? The choice is yours. Here are some tips on getting the most of your chosen viewing location:
- FROM HOME
Balance your work/home life by staying inside your own four walls where you can keep an eye on your children and/or pets, and even share some wine with your partner throughout the event - FROM THE OFFICE
Stay in the flow by logging onto the event straight after work, without breaking your focus on the commute home
Get the Most Out of Zoom
Elevate the virtual experience by taking a few simple steps to improve your audio-visual experience at the event. This will help you connect with your peers in an environment that simulates an in-person roundtable as closely as possible.
- Use a microphone if you have one
- Sit in a well-lit room for the best visuals
- Victim of Zoom fatigue? Read some tips from researchers at Stanford University on staying fresh-minded whilst on video
Virtual Events Are an Eco-Conscious Choice
They significantly reduce carbon emissions from travel – both internationally and locally – and near to eliminate material and food waste.
A novel experience for me, and very enjoyable. Format worked really well, and interesting mix of presenters and guests (and wine to balance it all).
WHERE TO NEXT?
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