Category: Wine Technology

Winelikes and Balzac Communications partner to launch social networking app

The new social networking app “Winelikes” will be released as a beta version in a few weeks, connecting wine drinkers, wineries, bars and restaurants.  The new app is designed to grow consumers’ wine knowledge, wine palates and help them share experiences along the way.

The app will allow you to generate a taste profile that will guide you towards the types of wines that you will most likely enjoy. As well, you can scroll through the interface and interact with the “Winelikes Community” which connects other users and locations, sharing photos and reviews.

Wineries, wine bars and restaurants will have a direct pathway to connect with customers. They will be able to target audiences within the app by easily creating advertisements and sending direct messages while also posting regularly.

Before starting Winelikes, Owner and CEO Jeff Gillis worked as a food and beverage director at numerous five-star properties. He believes the app will bring new people to wine and give current enophiles a way to chat with like-minded individuals.

“Learning about wine and finding out what you like is so difficult alone,” he said. “Our app will provide a fun way for people to discover wines that might appeal to them. They can learn more about wine through fun quizzes and conversations with others. Our simple yet modern interface makes it easy for Winelikes to serve individuals from every generation.”

Gillis also notes that Winelikes won’t use algorithms to suggest content, which differentiates it from many existing social media apps. “When you connect with others, you see their posts and not content a computer (or AI or algorithm) thinks you’re interested in,” he noted.

Gillis selected Balzac Communications and Marketing to help recruit influencers and build buzz for the app because of the firm’s expertise in both technology and wine. “Winelikes is a wine app, so it’s important to work with someone who is knowledgeable and has access to wine regions,” he said. “But we’re also a social media company that relies on technology. Balzac has the perfect balance of wine expertise and technology experience to make this company successful. Their location in the heart of wine country and connection to influential people in the industry will help us expand our reach and do it more quickly.”

“There are dozens of wine apps in the various marketplaces,” said Mike Wangbickler, president of Balzac Communications and Marketing. “Some are quite good, but none are truly social networking apps with a focus on wine. Winelikes is. Wine is a social beverage. We use it to toast to those we care about and share time with friends. The existing, big social networks are OK at connecting wine lovers and enthusiasts, but there is a ton of noise and wine is not their primary focus. With Winelikes, users can geek out as much as they want, or simply find friends with similar interests. In addition, companies selling wines have a receptive and available audience to tell their unique stories and grow their brand engagement.”

 

US Joins EU in Nutritional Labelling for Alcohol

European legislators have moved to require ingredient and nutritional information on wine labels (vis QR code), US consumer groups have also fought to achieve the same objective. After 20 years the groups have one their fight.

Starting December 8, 2023, labels of alcohol sold in the EU will have to reveal nutritional and ingredient information directly, or through a QR code. Until now, wine producers with no interest in exporting to Europe have imagined themselves to be immune from this kind of legal requirement, but a recent court ruling shows that American consumers will soon see the same information on bottles on sale in the US.

As the Center for Science in the Public Interest – CSPI – reported “the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has agreed to issue proposed rules requiring standardized alcohol content, calorie, and allergen labeling on all beer, wine and distilled spirits products [and to] begin preliminary rulemaking on mandatory ingredient labelling.”

The US move has been a very long time coming and results from a legal action by consumer groups and the CSPI against the TTB for failing to act on a 2003 petition submitted by 69 organizations and individual citizens including four deans of schools of public health, and calling for alcoholic beverages to be treated in the same way as other beverages and food products.

Opponents of the move who hope that implementation of labeling legislation may still be delayed will be dismayed to learn that the House and Senate Appropriations Committee’s 2023 budget treats the issue as ‘critical’ and calls for urgent action.

#winenews #wine #alcohol #beer #spirits #winelabels #wineeducation #wineinmoderation #winetechnology #winetrends

Wine-Searcher Integrates LWIN Wine Codes into its database

Wine-Searcher has recently incorporated Liv-ex’s LWIN wine codes into its database, making it easier to search for wines. The LWIN wine codes are the equivalent of an ISBN number for books – these codes give users an additional means to find the wines they are looking for.

The Process

Type in “LWIN” followed by the seven-digit unique wine code, and this will automatically bring up international offers.

For example, entering “LWIN 1012361” or “LWIN1012361” into the site’s search bar will bring up all offers related to Château Léoville Barton, whose seven-digit LWIN code is 1012361. It is expected that this addition to Wine-Searcher’s search functionality will improve site experience for both users and merchants.

“We are delighted to incorporate Liv-ex’s LWIN codes into this database to make wine matching and discovery simpler and more accurate for our wide range of industry users,” said Wine-Searcher’s Wine Director, David Allen MW.

“It’s great to see such a significant industry player as Wine-Searcher incorporate the LWIN codes along with others like Vinous, Berry Brothers & Rudd, and London City Bond. The Wine Searcher integration makes more data points (beyond Liv-ex prices) available to more wine businesses worldwide, ” said Liv-ex director Anthony Maxwell.

LWIN is a free-to-use database of unique codes, produced by online wine trading platform Liv-ex and assigned to more than 125,000 different wines and spirits. The codes allow computer systems across the industry to exchange information rapidly and seamlessly, helping businesses throughout the supply chain describe, price, buy, sell and ship wine more efficiently.

The LWIN search functionality now falls within Wine-Searcher’s database of 16 million offers for wines beers and spirits. There are four variations on the code with the most straightforward being the seven-digit identifier, which denotes a single wine or label. For instance, LWIN 1012361 is the grand vin of Château Léoville Barton, while LWIN 1437818 is Benjamin Leroux’s Meursault Premier Cru, La Pièce sous le Bois.

LWIN codes can extend further with the 11, 16 and 18-digit codes adding vintage, bottle size and pack or case size, respectively. Wine-Searcher has integrated the LWIN7, 11, 16 and 18 codes in the search box (as well as incorporating them in the merchant data feed and text API).

Source:  The Wine-Searcher

@winesearcher #winesearcher #winenews #winetec #winetechnology #rarewines #finewines #winecollector #winecellar #winelovers #wine #wineinvestment #winebusiness #livex

Winechain [a NFT platform] raises €6 million for expansion

Winechain, an NFT platform specializing in fine wine sales, has raised €6 million of backing from some of the best-known names in fine wine, ahead of its launch later this year.

The start-up, which was founded by the former head of Amazon Europe, Xavier Garambois, Guillaume Jourdan, CEO of VitaBella and Nicolas Mendiharat, CEO of the San Francisco Palate Club, launched at the end of May 2022, after securing over $1 million in backing from wine estates and wine lovers.

It has now upped its investment to $6 million and secured backing by the Rouzaud family of Champagne Roederer and Château Pichon-Comtesse, along with the Reybier family of St Emilion’s Château Cos d’Estournel, and a venture capital fund, Fabric Ventures, with the aim to accelerate its technological development.

The platform aims to be a “new generation” marketplace of wine NFTS, which is called wiNeFTs, which uses blockchain technology and Web3 (a new iteration of the worldwide web which incorporates blockchain technology and token-based economics) to enable an “interactive” direct-to-consumer sales channel that is backed by global logistics, the company previously said. It has already signed up global logistics provider CMA CGM Group, which has taken a minority shareholding in Winechain along with its founder, CEO Rodolphe Saadé.

Winemakers that are part of the platform can choose which wines they wish to sell on Winechain, and access to the platform’s global community of buyers, meaning they can interact with their community of buyers directly.

Frédéric Rouzaud CEO of Champagne Louis Roederer said the investment was an expression of the desire to “constantly innovate and encourage innovation”.

“In the vineyard, in the cellar, and in every aspect of our activity, we are in perpetual motion, attentive to the times and practices that are in constant evolution. For us, Winechain is a means of pursuing this approach and of going even further in terms of proximity and dialogue with wine enthusiasts,” he said.

Max Mersch of FABRIC Ventures explained that the increased traceability, transparency and accessibility would open up the wine world to a new generation of wine enthusiasts.

“The wine enthusiast market is expanding at a pace that is rapidly outgrowing supply, and yet wineries are still looking to find ways to connect directly with their end consumers instead of the multiple logistics middlemen currently in place,” he said. “By creating NFTs for each case of wine straight at the source, wineries will have a transparent data-driven view of their customers, will be able to store the wines in perfect conditions while the wine is being traded and will be able to benefit from royalty fees on the entire secondary market.”

#winechain #NFTs #finewine #technology #nftcommunity #nftspace #nftwine #nft #wineinvestor #winecollector #nftplatform #wine #winenews #winelovers #winetrends #winetech

SYMPOSIUM ‘ACT FOR CHANGE’ ENDS ON A COLLABORATIVE NOTE

Organized by Vinexposium June 20 and 21, 2022 at the Cité du Vin, the Symposium ‘Act for Change’ gathered over 35 international experts representing 17 nationalities for a series of discussions focusing on the future of wines and spirits between now and 2030.

The event, which was held as part of Bordeaux Wine Week, ended on an optimistic note after addressing the main issues affecting the wine and spirits industry. These include changing consumer patterns, the consequences of climate change and their impact on the production and distribution of wine and spirits. Each talk addressed these issues and provided practical insight, both for industry members attending and those who joined the livestream on Vinexposium Connect, the group’s digital portal. Nine major themes were explored by industry players who view the future with pragmatism, ambition, and confidence in a world of experimentation and solutions to cope with the many challenges to come. At the close of the symposium, speakers agreed that the future of the wine industry would be collaborative, innovative and technological, where ethical practices, transparency, knowledge sharing and engagement between the large companies and winegrowers would be promoted.

Here are some observations on the panel discussions and talks:

If fine wines are to have a future, it will be close to nature

Questioned about the future of fine wines, Oliver Bernard shared his views about the changes awaiting the industry. Expressing a mix of enthusiasm and realism, the director of Domaine de Chevalier stressed the importance of reacting immediately to environmental issues, whilst reiterating his confidence in consumers and future generations in celebrating fine wines. Solutions he mentioned included the emergence of new grape varieties for appellation wines, support for estates to switch over to organic and biodynamic winegrowing and adapting vineyard management techniques.

New consumer habits and new sensory profiles

Questioned about flavour and aroma profiles in 2030, Cathy Van Zyl MW, deputy editor of Platter’s South African wine guide, stated that the South African market was in the process of transitioning to lighter wines. Whisky consultant Colin Hampden-White responded by sharing insight into changing spirits styles, which are increasingly flavourful in response to consumer expectations. Pierre Mansour, wine purchasing director for The Wine Society, stressed that 65% of consumers prioritise climate issues in their choice of wines. Many consumers are looking primarily for ‘honest wines’, showing authenticity, viewed as pure site-expressiveness. Honest wines now seem to be establishing themselves as an emerging and growing trend among consumers seeking added value. They are also asking for variety of choice, catering to their own personal consumption habits, and are turning increasingly towards wines that are drier, more unrefined in style, yet remain savoury, and also towards those that pin their environmental credentials to the mast. For spirits, the future is all about creativity, diversity, assertive tastes, and local traceability. New consumers want to be surprised, they are looking for originality and unexpected styles, which can stem either from new distillation techniques or from creative recipes with unfamiliar ingredients. Stéphanie Marchand-Marion, a lecturer at Bordeaux University studies the latest changes in flavour trends, from the consumer perspective and in terms of climate change. She concluded that wines could survive tomorrow’s climate challenges, provided a balance in their composition was found. 

Tomorrow’s packaging – where changing consumer patterns, innovation and lower CO2 emissions converge

The challenge for the packaging of the future will be to respond to the divergence between the unquestionable need to reduce the carbon footprint stemming from the manufacturing process and consumer perception of sustainable, environmentally friendly packaging. In the consumer psyche, glass remains a sustainable vessel, whereas the reality is more complex. The results of steps taken to recycle bottles are not significant, providing evidence of the discrepancy between interest shown for ecological issues and a real desire by consumers to change their habits. Lulie Halstaed, Director of Wine Intelligence – IWSR, has noticed this particularly in Australia, where 67% of wine and spirits buyers believe in climate change, but only 21% claim to act responsibly. Rob Malin, the founder of When in Rome, launched the first wine sold in a paper bottle, which emits 6 times less CO2 than a glass bottle. As a reminder, the production of glass accounts for nearly 40% of the industry’s CO2 emissions.

Tomorrow’s packaging will have two roles to play: research work and the move towards more sustainable packaging will need to continue, and bottles must be used as a tool for educating consumers of wine and spirits, which are among the most highly packaged products around.

Digitalization of Wine and Spirits

Cyril Grira, Retail & Omnichannel director at Google France, has seen an acceleration in searches for wines and spirits on the Google search engine, as with ‘organic wines’ that have increased three-fold. He also points to the fact that most consumer searches focus on grape varieties, appellations, and local productions. Yet, lack of consumer knowledge on the topic (80% of searches are generic) and of visibility for small producers are barriers to industry performance. The wine industry would benefit from taking a leaf out of the fashion and beauty industries’ book, where multiple formats are used to innovate and tell stories. At the same time, the online sales outlet must connect better with the physical sales outlet. As regards the metaverse, experts expressed reservations, stressing that wine and spirits are primarily part of real-life experiences.

Winegrowing and climate change: opportunities in the face of adversity
As climate change causes upheavals, techniques and typicities across the wine regions are evolving. During the symposium, it was unanimously agreed that coping with climate change and human resilience in supporting winegrowing would be pivotal to tackling the issue. Varietal diversification, planting grape varieties in suitable locations, rootstock and balanced management were all cited as resources. Viewing the future with optimism and ambition, participants called on the industry to take leadership of climate issues and underscored the significance of a collaborative approach – one of the biggest challenges is to think collectively, as a community, so that existing solutions can be shared more effectively.

Geopolitics, wines and spirits – lessons to be learnt from crises

The war in Ukraine undermines control of global capitalism, with consequences including the risk of entering a recession and the supremacy of the dollar in international trade. A new global geo-economy is in the making. Faced with this changing situation, the ability of wine and spirits businesses to adapt must enable them to grasp new export opportunities, in regions such as Africa for instance, and strengthen their brands and their image. Compliance with local rules and protection of brands and appellations are also drivers of this success. Similarly, the impact of climate change affects the geopolitics of wine and spirits, both in the positions taken by leaders and the viability of a supply chain designed to respond to the ‘just-in-time’ logistics expected by younger generations. As Christophe Navarre, chairman of the board of Vinexposium pointed out, “The impact of climate change on winegrowing will be huge. This is a priority mission for businesses, the choice is no longer ours”.

Agro-ecology and innovation: essential bedfellows

Faced with climate challenges and the need to remain competitive in a constantly changing marketplace, agro-ecology innovations are the future. They already come in a variety of forms, from the open access ‘calculator’ for measuring carbon footprint, use of artificial intelligence for managing farms and optimising aspects such as yields – including solutions provided by Israeli company Trellis – to the introduction of regenerative techniques. Although the latter concept covers a whole galaxy of realities, relevant regulations are rapidly progressing and influencing – sometimes even restricting – winegrowing practices. From high-tech solutions to a return to basics, agro-ecology is reinventing itself at the instigation of stakeholders who aim to make it accessible to the broadest audience.

How e-commerce has upended the relationship with the consumer

Lockdown expedited online buying and revolutionised sales. Fabrice Bernard, president of Millesima, commented on how the internet piqued consumer interest about wines that they usually did not drink. E-commerce has changed buying habits, but without driving customers away from shops. This development is compelling e-commerce players to rethink the way they work by creating new technology tools such as those provided by Preferabli, which uses digital technology to help consumers make choices. “We will witness consolidation in the marketplace, but the biggest change over the next ten years will be the increasing number of businesses focusing on the customer rather than on the product. Shops are not the only place where customers can have physical interactions. Digital technology will allow the magic surrounding the product’s story to be developed faster and technology can help tell these stories”, claimed Pam Dillon, co-founder and CEO of Preferabli. The future of e-commerce seems to mesh with a competitive marketplace where customer service will make all the difference.

The future of wine and spirits in 2030 – wrapping up 

The near future will require adjustments to cope with current changes, yet also continued pragmatism, concluded Christophe Navarre, chairman of the board of Vinexposium, who stressed the positive pressure from young people for immediate action in favour of the climate. “Rolling out large-scale, practical actions involves reconciling political agendas, corporate activities, and consumer patterns. This is a complex process. For example, in supermarkets, producers who take positive action are not promoted enough. There is no doubt that this is now one of our missions”, he also pointed out in his concluding remarks at the Symposium ‘Act for Change’.

#actforchange #bordeaux #thesymposium #sustainability #winetrends #winenews #winetrade #vinexposium #CitéduVin #wine #winelovers #winetech #wineconference #wineindustry #wineeducation #wineconsumers #winemarketing #bordeauxwineweek @laciteduvin @vinexposium