Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Tech start-up bids to demystify ‘baffling’ supermarket wine aisles

Published:  04 April, 2018

A tech start-up is looking to re-engage affluent 20-somethings with wine by expanding its app’s reach into the supermarket wine aisles.

The latest version of Corkscrew, an app set up in 2016 to demystify restaurant wine lists and act as a virtual sommelier, will sift through the thousands of supermarket wines to give recommendations based on personal preferences, food pairings and expert reviews.

Corkscrew can give recommendations on choice of wine based on users’ locations. It takes retailers’ wine databases and scores choices on a number of criteria, including price range, food pairing and 10,000 wine flavours identified by Corkscrew’s chief wine officer Matt Day.

According to Day, the new app will help build wine’s appeal to millennials. “They’re the people with the ready cash and they’re prepared to spend money on craft beer and single batch spirits but are not currently engaging with wine in the same way,” he told Harpers.

“We are all aware that the wine critics are not communicating with the younger audience who are living on their smart phones. We are trying to give people the confidence to try new things. There is so little information in the wine aisle. This will bridge that gap.”

Wines are scored by a combination of methods, including Day’s flavour analysis. Corkscrew’s own master of wine attends supermarket own label tastings and the company uses data from a number of online services on fine wine and wine producers.

The aim, said founder and CEO Matthew Gertner, is to provide clarity in an area of the supermarket which is too often confusing and lacking in product information.

“Stepping into the supermarket wine aisle is a baffling experience for most consumers,” said Gertner. “The variety is so overwhelming that most people choose based on price without any idea of quality, or simply buy the same wine every time.”

The latest version of the app will go live at the end of April. Later this year, a barcode scanning feature will be launched on the app.