I was wondering who would be the first to get a wine application aligned with iPhone Apps.
And then I spotted Cor.kz today.
iPhone users can tap into the vast CellarTracker wine search database via Cor.kz.
In a restaurant or retail shop, consumers can instantly download extensive wine reviews and then continue on to compare pricing as well.
This got me thinking about the effects all this instant information will have on sommeliers and retail clerks.
Just consider the effect that wine bloggers have had on the traditional wine media.
We are not exactly replacing the old school wine media but we are taking some of their market share, and that trend seems very likely to continue.
So will sommeliers and retail clerks also become even slightly redundant when a consumer can just instantly call up multiple reviews and opinions of a wine, instead of listening to just one opinion (that of the sommelier or clerk)?
Not to mention how interesting it gets when a consumer pulls up the retail price instantly at a restaurant and realizes the markup margin.
Just to be clear, I do not see this as a black and white scenario, I don't believe online content will replace the human interaction but....it certainly might change the power dynamics between the consumer and wine professionals.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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8 comments:
I sometimes thumble through cellartracker on my crackenberry and it is pain. Usually I'm looking for drinking windows when I have no one to help me.
As much as I'd like to have it all at my fingertips, nothing beats working with a good merchant or a solid sommelier.
W/ the Sommelier, no one knows their list and what works with their food better than them- cellartracker won't help you pick a wine to pair with today's special.
My only fear is that people will rely too much on the voices of people they don't know, versus the people who want to earn their trust.
I agree that the real time, in yo face interaction is irreplaceable.
But I also hope that having wine info at their virtual fingertips will be empowering to novice wine lovers.
I don't know... as a former employee of a small, passionate wine store, there was nothing more annoying than people who came in with scores printed out, determined to buy nothing but what the media had deemed worthy. I think I would go crazy if I was back in that situation, trying to give someone a recommendation and they got out their iPhone to look up the reviews before they would take my word for it.
To me it sounds potentially helpful for customers, definitely infuriating for employees!
Thanks Erin.
Trust me I understand, having done some time in wine retail myself.
Yet this app allows consumers to go beyond Parker review syndrome and read wine reviews from other wine lovers like themselves.
At the end of the day, it is clear that consumers feel a knowledge void when it comes to wine...this is just one piece of the wine democratization pie.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for installing Corkz and the kind words on your blog.
We certainly see the power behind community driven content (such as CellarTracker). We do believe it is convenient to have this community information at your fingertips and applications such as Corkz, compliment the information provided by a sommelier or expert. That's why we built it in the first place. :-)
Feel free to let us know what improvements you'd like to see in the app.
Thanks.
-The Corkz Staff
This is a good next step. I use Cellar Tracker’s reviews, but usually only after I know the wine that I want to find. What is really needed for a useful online sommelier is a comprehensive wine ontology. Current efforts lack the needed resolution. Aggregating the data is only useful if there is a way to query the data in a meaningful way. I agree with Dirty that the best approach is still a knowledgeable wine purveyor, but things are changing.
Neil
Consumers only benefit from information. And just like Hardy said, often there isn't anyone around to answer those questions that come up. I wish there were MORE sommeliers to help people navigate through. I also wish there was more interaction between the wineries, bloggers and consumers. I'm working on it. And it looks like iPhone is as well. Very cool.
You might want to check out Nirvino.com.
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