Natalie MacLean introduces bar code–scanning wine app for the wannabe sommelier

By Mishki Vaccaro | May 18, 2011

By Mishki Vaccaro | 05/18/2011

For some, choosing a bottle of wine from the LCBO can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. A new version of wine writer Natalie MacLean’s free smartphone app will make the decision-making process a little easier. The Natalie MacLean Wine Picks and Pairings app allows users to snap a photo of the bar code on a bottle’s label, which then pulls up corresponding tasting notes, scores, food pairings and recipes. The application contains information for about 150,000 different wines sold across Canada.

MacLean understands that sometimes consumers are picky about the bottles they buy, which often leads to select purchasing of a few tried-and-true favourite bottles: “I know I would have a tough time choosing wines if I weren’t tasting them all the time,” she told Reuters. “The choice is overwhelming, the confusion is great and the intimidation factor is huge,” she says.

Although earlier versions of this app have been available for more than a year, the new snap and click feature is meant to make choosing a wine even easier (although the bar code scan is currently only available to iPhone users—sorry, RIM). The app can also detect the location of the store the user is in, providing information about how many bottles of a specific wine are in stock and how many are available at nearby locations. The Globe and Mail asked MacLean if there’s anything the app can’t do. Her answer? “It can’t open the bottle for you, but that’s about it.” We’re guessing it also probably won’t pick up the tab.

• New app to help confused wine drinkers [Reuters]
• Your own personal digital sommelier? There’s an app for that [Globe and Mail]

4 thoughts on “Natalie MacLean introduces bar code–scanning wine app for the wannabe sommelier”

Thanks so much Mishki: terrific post!

The BlackBerry app doesn’t have the scanner but it has everything else:

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/10584

Droid launches in two weeks and all other smartphones can use: http://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobile

Happy wine shopping!

Cheers,
Natalie

While notable in intent, I’m not a believer that this is a practical solution to a larger problem.

I’m a fan of Natalie’s book I don’t have a lot of faith in this approach for two reasons:

-There is a artisanal revolution in wine going on and most artisanal wineries aren’t bar coded. Bar codes, QR codes, AVIN based, word recognition label readers and even graphic label readers in total, don’t cover much of the market as yet. By choosing Bar Codes they chose the obvious, but a limited approach and focusing more on big industrial wines rather than the artisanal.

-The goal of this App seems to be to drive everything back to Natalie’s portal. This centrist approach rather than a more broadly based curated open web approach seems a bit restrictive. It flies in the face of the social web reality and seems odd to me.

The industry needs something in this realm. I’m just not impressed so far with the approach.

Thanks for your comment Arnold. With 150,000 wines, there are thousands of artisanal wines in the database since the big brands only constitute a relatively small percentage of the UPC codes given their large volumes.

As well, I’m thrilled that many small wineries have shared with me their UPC and product codes, along with their wines to sample and share with the broader audience of 123,000 subscribers whom I can make aware of their wines.

In an upcoming web site redesign, there will be even more opportunities for the wine community to share their views on these wines and other issues. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Natalie