There is an innovative new crowdfunding campaign, aiming to raise enough cash to bankroll the commercial sale of “smart” wine bottles, the Ideal Wine Company has found.
Learn about wine
It is advisable to learn as much as you can about wine. The more knowledge you amass, the more likely you are to appreciate the subtle complexities of this fine tipple. There are a number of resources you can utilise to boost your wine knowledge, from wine review apps like Vivino, to the Ideal Wine Company’s online glossary page, where we explain essential wine-related terms.
However, the easiest way to learn about a particular vintage is to find out how to read a wine label. A bottle’s label lists the key information, from where the vintage was produced to its alcohol content, you need to know about a wine. If you go onto Ideal Wine Company’s website and click on a wine, you can enlarge the accompanying image, giving you the opportunity to peruse its label. For instance, if you’re thinking of buying the Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 2000 from us, a great Burgundy by the way, you can read the bottle’s label on our site!
Smart wine bottle
Now it looks as though wine labels are going digital. The Mirror reports that Boston-based start-up Kuvee has developed a 750ml “smart” wine bottle with built in Wi-Fi. It has a LED touchscreen and a lithium ion battery, which lasts around five to six hours before it needs to be recharged.
The device is kind of like a sheath. When users insert a regular bottle of wine into it, the LED screen presents them with a variety of information concerning the vintage. The screen can also present users with pairing notes, allows them to order new wines with just a touch and recommends other bottles they might like to try, based on their wine preferences.
Crowdfunding campaign
The device also acts as a great wine storage facility. Kuvee says that once a user has inserted a bottle into the machine, it prevents oxygen from getting inside the liquid and spoiling it, potentially keeping the wine fresh for up to 30 days. The company has decided to raise the cash it needs to launch the Kuvee smart wine bottle commercially by mounting a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo! Its Indiegogo page stresses that the Kuvee smart wine bottle can be used like a regular wine bottle.
It says that “when you want to pour a glass, just tilt [the device] and pour like you would pour from a normal wine bottle!” This seems to have appealed to wine enthusiasts online; pre-orders for the product sold out in three hours and at the time of writing, its Indiegogo campaign has raised over £4 million. The Kuvee smart wine bottle will be sold for £139, a price which will also bag consumer’s four regular bottles to get started with!
Stick with the label!
The Kuvee smart wine bottle could revolutionise wine. Its LED screen, with built-in Wi-Fi, will connect users with all the information they need to learn about their favourite vintage. However, the device is currently only available in the US and shipments won’t be ready until 2017. So if you’re a UK-based wine lover, you’ll just have to stick with the label for now!
