Monday, 05 June 2023 16:25

Getting Emojional

Written by  Staff Reporters
NZW Global PR Manager Juliana Foster. NZW Global PR Manager Juliana Foster.

More than a year after New Zealand called for a white wine emoji, the state of 'emojency' continues.

In May 2022 New Zealand Winegrowers kickstarted a global petition for the inclusion of a glass of white wine on global petition for the inclusion of a glass of white wine on global keyboards, to partner the red already there. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) General Manager Marketing Charlotte Read says it made an official request to the Unicode Consortium a few months later, but the request was declined with no explanation as to why. "Our keyboards are still devoid of an emoji that has huge support and demand."

In 2018 there was a push for the Kiwi bird emoji to be added to the emoji lexicon, which was also declined by the consortium, Charlotte says. "When it comes to emojis, it seems to be hard for the Kiwis. We can't seem to get our national bird, or our most famous wine export, recognised."

Juliana Foster, NZW Global PR Manager, says advocating for a white wine emoji is not just about keyboard representation. "It's also about shining a spotlight on New Zealand white wine and recognising the diversity of wine that New Zealand produces."

Another attempt will be made to secure the white wine emoji next year when the two-year grace period ends. In the meantime, the public can express how they feel about the missing white wine emoji online, and these submissions will be used to advance the case in 2024.

www.nzwine.com/whitewineemoji

More like this

Roadmap to Net Zero

The New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 lays out a pathway and practical guidelines to help vineyards and wineries meet the goal of being carbon net zero by 2050.

Organic Report: Digging into the data

A project tapping into financial information from organic winegrowers will result in hard data to back up anecdotal accounts, says Framingham viticulturist James Bowskill.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Popular Reads

Marlborough's Small Town Winery

Marlborough’s 2024 vintage was “a return to form for Marlborough summers”, says Astrolabe General Manager Libby Levett.

Light year impacts profits

A combination of lower grape yields, lower price per tonne, and increasing vineyard operating costs, is hitting Marlborough grapegrowers in…