THE WHITE WINE EMOJI WILL NEED TO CONTINUE TO AGE
Kendall-Jackson, the iconic leader of California Chardonnay, and the dozens of other supporting wine partners will have to wait a bit longer to toast its newest wine release, a White Wine Emoji
Kendall-Jackson’s 19-page proposal for a White Wine Emoji, now in its third draft, was up for review by the Unicode Technical Committee (UTC) at their July meeting held on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA. However, the White Wine Emoji will need more time to age – official meeting notes released from the UTC states that they will, “Continue to consider ‘white wine’ emoji for future addition,” and has a UTC Action Item, 160-A43, to do precisely that.
“The debate actually centers around color, not wine,” says Maggie Curry, Director of Marketing for Kendall-Jackson. “Since a red wine emoji already exists, the white wine emoji is seen as a color variation and adding color variation to an emoji is proving more complex because the Unicode standard is not fully defined.” With the UTC tasked at protecting the global keyboard, the addition of white wine has to be carefully considered, as it might open the door to many emoji color variations (Rosé wine for example, shades of beer, or even different color animals).
Kendall-Jackson vows to continue leading their efforts and global movement, and are hopeful to see progress on the proposal soon. “The white wine emoji effort has garnered enthusiasm from around the globe, and we continue to refine our proposal to support the white wine emoji,” says Maggie Curry, Director of Marketing for Kendall-Jackson.
Kendall-Jackson is currently updating their proposal for a fourth time, adding additional research that proves white wine as a necessary addition beyond red wine for emoji communication based on global use, economy, culture and industry.
“For example, white wine is paramount in regions such as Alto Adige with Pinot Grigio, Mosel with Riesling, and Sancerre with Sauvignon Blanc, and there is currently no way to communicate by symbol when it comes to wine in those geographies,” says Curry “What started as a fun idea has now turned into a complex effort for Kendall-Jackson, the wine community, and wine fans around the globe.”
Kendall-Jackson and their global partners encourage the wine community to continue to call for the white wine emoji by using #WhiteWineEmoji on their social channels, which is easily tracked by Unicode to show global want and need.
As Pliny the Elder once said, “In vino veritas” (in wine there is truth), and Kendall-Jackson continues to push for wine symbol color variation to convey truth in the modern wine communication zeitgeist.
About Kendall-Jackson Winery
Kendall-Jackson is one of America’s most beloved family-owned and operated wineries. Founded by entrepreneur and visionary Jess Jackson in 1982, and now led by his wife Barbara Banke and the second and third generation of the Jackson Family, Kendall-Jackson is based in Sonoma County and offers a range of acclaimed wines grown on estate vineyards along the coastal ridges of California. A leader in sustainable vineyard and winery practices, including water and energy conservation and natural pest control, 100 percent of Kendall-Jackson’s vineyards in California are third party certified by SIP (Sustainable in Practice) and CCSW (Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing). Kendall-Jackson was recently named 2017 Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, recognized as a benchmark in the wine industry. The winery’s seminal wine, the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, has been America’s favorite Chardonnay for the past 25 years, and the 2015 vintage was ranked No. 28 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list in 2017. Learn more online at www.kj.com, and follow Kendall-Jackson on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
