Wine Tasting Comes to the 21st Century

 Wine tasting conjures up images of lush vineyards, dark and romantic getaways, and a knowledgeable bartender offering a taste of this and that along with some gentle education.

There's new technology, however, that may make the bartender expendable - or at least creates the opportunity for retailers to craft a 21st century wine tasting experience.

Imported from Italy , but currently available in several locations around the US , the Enomatic is a computerized system that allows consumers to use a customized debit card to purchase tastes of whatever wines happen to be on tap.

Here's how it works. You walk into a restaurant and purchase a computer card for $10, $20 or $50. At one of the newest locations featuring the Enomatic, Vino Venue, which opened on Mission Street in San Francisco, there are Enomatic wine stations spread throughout the store that feature a total of 108 different white and red wines available for tasting; about 60 percent of the wines are domestic, heavily weighted toward California wines, with the balance from outside the US. You choose the wine you'd like to taste, based on information cards available at each of tasting stations, slide your card in a slot, position your glass under the spout, and, voila!, a taste of that wine. Wine tasting are individually priced and range from $1 to $100, depending on the vintage.

Vino Venue keeps knowledgeable staffers on hand to answer questions, but customers can deal with these professional oenophiles only as much as they want to. There's also a manned wine bar available for people who want a full glass of wine, or to enjoy sparkling wine or (horrors!) beer. While Vino Venue restricts people to tastings, the machines can be programmed to allow people to serve themselves a half-glass or full-glass of wine.

Problem is there is no one to commiserate with, but that could be programmed in we suppose.

From: SupermarketGuru.com

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