At Acquire, we specialize in crafting customized wine experiences and gifts, but it’s so much more than that. We believe in the power of well-executed experiences to elevate our clients' brands while leaving lasting impressions. Whether you’re planning an internal virtual event for teams that work remotely, or you want to engage clients and prospects, Acquire has you covered.

The days of sad pandemic wine tastings are long gone, however, it’s still not enough to just do a wine tasting in addition to your standard sales pitch. One of our clients at Acquire, who we work with on a quarterly basis, has absolutely nailed the process. It is such a repeatable case study for anyone looking to host high-impact virtual events.

Historically, sommeliers curated wine selections and ensured the King wasn’t poisoned. Modern-day sommeliers evolved into intimidating figures with encyclopedic wine knowledge, often portrayed as stuffy old men in suits. When I became a sommelier at 24, I defied this norm, often questioned if I was even old enough to pour. Today, sommeliers come in diverse forms, from jeans and band T-shirts to Michelin-level suited professionals. They not only help pick the perfect bottle but also curate a beautiful, tailored experience, expertly reading the room and setting the tone.

Today, we wrap up a month of travel and head home, reflecting on a wild trip filled with lessons. We often opt for off-the-beaten-path destinations, preferring rich experiences over easy ones. This journey has deepened my understanding of managing the delta between expectation and reality, a concept I believe is crucial not only to travel but to life itself. This insight resonates with the experiences we aim to provide at Acquire.

We arrived in Sicily last week and stayed on the slopes of Mount Etna. There have been two major eruptions this month, both closing the local airport for some time. On our first day, we hiked the lateral craters and saw several eruptions. Etna is synonymous with magic. The last time we were here was 2019. Returning to Italy always inspires me, mostly because some of the richest moments in my career in the wine business have happened here. The way they outpour hospitality is palpable.

I believe that hospitality is a mindset. It is a way to choose to move in the world. It is being open. It is choosing to make eye contact and say hello to strangers. It is being loving with your actions and your mannerisms even when a common language is not shared. It is choosing to go out of your way for others for no other reason than because you care about how you make people feel.

Last week we flew to London. The last time I was here was in 2005, after receiving my degree in Hospitality Tourism Management at SDSU, I packed everything I owned into two suitcases and moved to the UK for culinary school. I had waited tables for nearly 7 years by then and had spent some time working in kitchens. I love the kitchen. Chefs are a unique breed of human. They are not put together, or stuffy or elegant. They are a mess, despite pretending they have it together, and I absolutely adored them.

Every summer, we pack up our boys: Hunter (8) and Miles (6) and set out for a month of travel. This year, we are headed to London, Corfu, Albania, Sicily & Malta. I didn't start traveling this way until I was in my 20's. I absolutely thought travel like this ended once you had kids. Turns out, traveling with littles is a wild door opener. You don't need to speak the same language to be met with kind eyes when your mildly feral, loud little boys bound into a room. Their behavior is human and parenting is a shared moment of understanding, words become unnecessary. It is human connection at its core.

A well-planned business dinner can be a powerful tool, helping to build relationships and secure deals, however, navigating a menu and wine list while maintaining a professional demeanor can be stressful. Fear not! This guide of Do’s and Don’ts, from your former Michelin restaurant sommelier, will equip you to navigate the wine list and menu and impress your clients like a pros.

You have pulled off a wildly successful event. Now what? The way in which we engage with attendees after an event is over is paramount if we want our leads to convert into customers. Personalization is key and timing is everything, but here are a few additional things to consider when crafting a high-impact follow-up.

One of the biggest pain points we hear from our clients is ‘I would love to do X, but we are stretched so thin.’ Even with a dedicated internal team, event impact can fall short, leaving many of our clients seeking support to pull off the engagements they desire. In order for your engagements to have maximum impact, they need to be more than just dinner.

Virtual events can easily fall flat. For one, driving attendance is tough. Even when you do get people to show up, ‘camera off’ is a buzzkill. We have all kicked off a Zoom call with a dozen or so black screens. There is really nothing worse than presenting to a room full of people you can not hear or see. On most virtual events, the information or pitch is presented with slides that fall flat and kill engagement. And then, what happens when the event is over? How and when do we follow up? At Acquire, we offer a full strategy to combat these hurdles, create powerful and memorable online events, and drive revenue.

Our goal is to create memorable, high-level experiences that elevate your brand and set the tone for building relationships, which in turn, converts your prospects into customers. So many of our corporate clients are mindlessly running from event to event. When you partner with Acquire, we help you build a goal-oriented strategy for your engagements, ensuring maximum impact. Full transparency, we are less important if we can’t play a part in helping you convert, so it is imperative that our engagements don’t just check a box, but help to push your prospects down funnel.

Last week, one of our clients said: “Acquire is not an events company, You are in the business of creating memorable experiences.” This got me thinking about the difference between an event and an experience. Both are gatherings, typically of a social nature. An event checks a box, is often obligatory, and consists of attendees sporadically checking their watches in anticipation of an acceptable exit time. An experience is rich. It is more than just dinner. It leaves an impression. There are a few things that make a gathering more than just an event, but a high-level, memorable experience that guests will remember.

The table has long been a place of connection, a place where people gather and come together easily. I have traveled all over the world and the ease of connection found around the table is mind-blowing, even when language barriers are present. This is why, at Acquire, we use food, wine, and spirits as a connecting force.

I’ve discussed hospitality as a way of being before. Being hospitality-centered means thinking about how we make others feel and going above and beyond to make people feel seen, respected, and taken care of. Lately, I’ve been trying to take that a step further by moving from a heart-centered space. Love is not a word that is thrown around the workplace often. To me, love is conducive to compassion and community, with seeing people as human in their purest form. We often hear of standing in a place of love when presented with more than one option. That does not mean to be ‘in love’ like two starry-eyed dreamers, but to choose the path of love over the alternatives.

I met with a client last week who was speaking about past events we have hosted for his company. I was asking how, from his perspective, we are different from other event companies. His response took me back. He said ‘a wine tasting is just that: it’s tasting various wines. People are rarely going to remember what they tasted, producers, vintages, whatever, but they will remember how the event made them feel. Acquire is an expert at making people feel something.” This is honestly one of the highest compliments I have ever received.

Confession: before I started hosting virtual wine tastings, I had never been on Zoom, Teams, or Meet. The ability to host events in person went away overnight. We all ‘figured it out’ together. Luckily, because our product was good, and we knew how to create a space online that felt human, we got wildly busy. I honestly didn’t think too much about it back then. People were simply looking to be entertained. I knew about the wine we sent, and I would log on and talk. That was literally it. It is wild in retrospect because the way I approach virtual engagements today is so profoundly different.

Let’s face it, corporate events can often feel sterile and impersonal. Rows of chairs facing a podium, monotone presentations, and awkward networking lunches – It is easy for a well-intended event to unintentionally feel soulless. Our goal at Acquire is to bring the human element to the obligatory, making every corporate engagement we execute one to remember.

The reality is that most of us have been rewarded for running downhill. We measure our success by the business of our calendars rather than the fullness of our lives. I have been on my own wellness journey over the past two years, organically trying to grow this business that I love so much, without sacrificing myself, which can be complicated.