High-tech, low-tech

High-tech was another highlight of the conference.

Citing a 2014 report that 20 percent of the wine consumed worldwide is counterfeit and "an alarming 50 to 70 percent of 'imported' wine sold in China is fake", the makers of Thinfilm showcased the company's scannable tags. With unique IDs the makers say are virtually impossible to clone, the smartphone-activated technology not only prevents fraud but provides consumers with traceability information and other data about the contents of a bottle directly from the maker.

And what about opening a wine bottle with your shoe?

That's the point of one widely clicked video on YouTube, which Linda Petrie of that online platform touts as an example of the need for good story-telling in a marketing video.

"Good stories are good for business," she says.

When 400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, she adds, you have a short window to grab attention.

"There are 11 million wine-related videos out there," she adds.