Easy Vino

Easy Vino is your private sommelier. We want to help you pick wine at restaurants and stores. Sign up for our beta and check our twitter feed for useful information

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Easy Vino at Startup Chile starting in October

Last week I promised I'd go into more detail about our decision to apply to Startup Chile. First off, let's look at the numbers:

A government-run program, it plans to bring 1,000 startups to Chile by 2014

1509 startups applied to this edition, 101 startups were chosen

37 different countries will be represented

$40K equity-free seed money

6 months in Santiago to develop product and grow your business

Let's first address the elephant in the room. For an early stage startup, it's hard to refuse equity-free money. When that money means 6 months of runway, risk free, in a dynamic environment, plus access to mentors, then it's almost impossible to resist.

The trick is, they don't just give you $40K, they reimburse expenses up to $40K, which means you need to have a plan to spend that money. And we did have a plan, and that's why it made sense for us. Here's why:

Team. One of the hardest and most crucial things a startup need to build is a strong founding team. Six months living in the same place, breathing the same air, bouncing off ideas, debating business models are the best possible scenario to build a strong team. It can make it or break it but at least you'll know if the chemistry is there and there's enough time to fix possible missteps.

Recruiting. I was surprised with how many people actually know the program, and particularly in the tech world I found it being as powerful a recruiting tool as any top tier incubators.

Product. The big advantage of going to Chile is that we know what your goals are and we have a single focus - our company. It's an opportunity to run away from distractions and iterate real fast. Granted there will be plenty of program-related events and networking, but it's all related with the one thing we went there for - Easy Vino.

Pilot. Despite being in Chile, we will still be focused on building our pilot in California, and more specifically in Palo Alto and San Francisco. We would not leave for Chile without making sure that we could maintain a strong presence and build on the work we've done so far.

With everything in place, we're starting to pack up. It starts in October and we are incredibly excited.

Cheers!

[easyvino]

Easy Vino selected to participate in Startup Chile

Easy Vino was selected to participate in Startup Chile, a Global Accelerator Program based in Santiago, Chile. The selected participants, 101 in total hailing from 37 different nations, earn $40K equity-free seed money and a 1-year visa to accelerate their business, while contributing to foster Chile’s local startup ecosystem.

I will come back to Startup Chile and its benefits after assimilating the news but here’s a quick summary of the program that will start in October:

1509 startups applied, 101 startups were chosen

37 different countries will be represented

The program is 6-month long and grants $40K of equity-free seed capital, a 1-year work visa, and access to local financial and social networks

The government-run program plans to bring 1,000 startups to Chile by 2014

More information can be found here.

Cheers!

[easyvino]

Wednesday, August 29 in Palo Alto. Join us drinking good wine and learn about your wine taste profile.

[easyvino]

Great wine under $20

Eric Asimov, NY Time's wine critic, thinks $20 is the sweet spot for great affordable wine. His argument is that for $10 you can get palatable wine, but he wants more: "I want wine that excites me, that feels so good to drink that one sip urges on the next and the next after that."

It seems like American consumers are just fine with palatable, since the average bill in the US is lower than $20. But whether or not you agree with Asimov, it's still useful to have a list of great wine for under $20. Not just 1 but 2. Apparently NYT readers weren't happy to see so few American wines in the first list, so Asimov made a second selection of 12 American wines under $20. Here they are:

- Memorable Bottles for $20

- 12 Great American Wines, $20 or Less

[easyvino]

Fancy names drive higher price

Not surprisingly, a wine researcher at Brock University in Ontario found out that hard to pronounce names have an impact on how the consumer perceives the wine, both in flavor and price.

"Participants not only reported liking the taste of the wine better if it was associated with a difficult to pronounce winery name. But they also reported about a $2 increase in willingness to pay"

This is not surprising, is it? However, it sparked heated discussions in wine forums. What I don't understand is, whether or not we like it, how else would a normal consumer pick wine? Do I think they will research to buy a bottle of wine? How much research do we do to buy other groceries we consume on a regular basis? Zero!

So if I don't know much about wine, I'm going to pick a price range, then I'll look for ratings, and then I'll look at the label, or maybe I'll pick something I already know if I'm feeling lazy. That's just the way it is, for this and many other issues in this industry.

Unless we do anything to change the way things work, we can't complain about the consumer.

[easyvino]

The Wine List Issue

Steve Cuozzo, restaurant critic of the NY Post, goes on a rant about wine lists in New York.  He complains that "esoteric or pretentious list" leave you "stumped over what to order", and then mentions a few examples including unfamiliar Greek wines, "all-Sicilian wine lists", or " all-French all-natural wines made without intervention by small (i.e., obscure) producers". If there was any doubt about how passionate people are about wine, just read the comments section of this blog post.

Apparently Steve Cuozzo doesn't like to pushed out of his comfort zone. While that is not something I would expect from a restaurant critic (I'm not sure if Steve Cuozzo thinks an all-Napa Cabernet and Chardonnay wine list is the way to go everywhere), Steve's complaints are not new to me. Every time I talk to our users they express the same concerns, and I think Steve Cuozzo's diagnosis is spot on. Wine lists are long, impossible to navigate, full of unknown wines (call it obscure or esoteric), and you feel at the mercy of a sommelier you don't really trust (or that's not present).

Steve Cuozzo does a great job summarizing what I've been hearing repeatedly: "Ordering wine can be a nuisance even in the easiest case. You’re making a pricey decision that will affect everyone’s meal."

However, we fundamentally disagree as to how to solve this problem. I don't think dumbing down and excluding less known wines is the way to go. I DO think small winemakers and obscure regions of the world have a place on wine lists. I don't just think that, I hear that from regular average consumers - they want to try different things, they just don't know how. And their request is rather simple -  they want to drink great wine at all times.

This is why I started Easy Vino, to help you navigate wine lists, discover new wines, and above all, drink great wine every time. If you want to be part of our beta test group, download the app from the app store and request an invite.

Cheers!

[easyvino]

[easyvino]

[easyvino]

#ChardDay Alert!

#ChardDay alert! Great Chardonnay at a great price. Everything you’re looking for from a Californian Chard. Creamy, full, rich and very well balanced - 2010 Artesa Carneros Chardonnay - http://ezvn.co/LtsNlX

[easyvino]

It's Chardonnay Day! Celebrate in style

Thursday, May 24 is Chardonnay Day. You might ask, what does that mean? Let's just say it's a great excuse to drink a glass (or more) of wine. If you want to feel more involved, you can join the global celebration (it's free) or check Chardonnay Day meetups around you.

And in case you don't have a bottle of Chardonnay handy to celebrate, here are 2 different but equally delicious Chardonnays to celebrate in style.

La Crema is one of the most consistent affordable California Chardonnays. You can find it at Safeway ($15.99) and in most liquor stores. It's a typical California Chardonnay - buttery and rich, with warm aromas, and full body.

Paraiso is a great Chardonnay in a non California style. Available at BevMo ($16.99). It's more crisp and tart, and a little thiner than the La Crema. Although the fruity aromas are delicious, it's more on the mineral side.

Cheers!

[easyvino]

Quick Update & Closed Beta

Dear Friends,

You might be wondering about our silence since the release of the "Alpheta" in March. Since the release, I have been through some health issues (I'm fine now!) that forced me take a bit of a  "vacation." The bright side of being stuck in bed for 2 months is that I had plenty of time to think about Easy Vino, which reinforced my belief that we are tackling a real need with tremendous potential. 

During my brief hiatus, the team continued to make progress and managed to put the app at the doorsteps of the App Store. We are currently fixing some bugs and plan to launch a closed beta in a matter of weeks. In this version, the app will provide a quick recommendation for what wines to drink at each of the 100+ restaurants we will cover. The closed beta will be crucial to determine how to take Easy Vino to the next level. Although we have a long list of features to add, we want to hear from you and focus on what is useful to you as a user.

If you haven't yet done so, go to easyvino.com and register to get early access to our beta. 

I want to thank you again for all the support. You should expect news from us very soon. In the meantime, take advantage of the good weather and enjoy a glass of cold white wine. 

Cheers!

Hugo Bernardo

Founder

[easyvino]

How Restaurants Select and Price Wine

As I mentioned yesterday, there's not a whole lot of information about how consumers select wine. There's Project Genome commissioned by Constellation, the occasional Nielsen study, and this great study from 2008, not much more is available. So if you are a restaurateur, how do you go about building your wine list?

The answer is usually they try to please as wide of a range of consumers as possible. That means extensive selections, a long wine list, and overwhelmed consumers. It's the nature of the market and it sucks. Easy Vino is changing that, by understanding the consumer and in particular the consumer of specific restaurants. Any restaurateur would agree that knowing their consumers would allow them to streamline their wine list and offer more interesting and targeted wines.

The facto of the matter is that there's no tool right now to do so, therefore building a wine list is a little like shooting in the dark. This article from Elliott Morss, "How Restaurants Select and Price Wine", is very interesting in how it exposes the games restaurateurs have to play when making these kinds of decisions.

For example, since a lot of people pick the 2nd or 3rd least expensive wine on the list, usually the cheapest wine on the list is not the one that cost the least to the restaurant. Also, restaurants tend not to select mainstream brands because consumers can more easily identify the margin the restaurant is making.

Although I don't necessarily agree with his suggestions of streamlining every wine list to 15 selections, I think it's a worthy and very interesting read.

Enjoy!

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

[easyvino]

How Consumers Select Wine

Easy Vino was founded with the goal of helping consumers drink better wine. For way too long I've been hearing people complaining about long wine lists, unknown names, and an overall unpleasant shopping experience when buying wine in restaurants or stores.

Since I started Easy Vino, I've been talking to a lot of people about their experience in both retail stores and restaurants. How do you pick wine? What apps do you use, if any? How much research do you do?

The most recent reference I had was a great study conducted in 2008 - How American Consumers Select Wine. One of the surprising results was to see that a lot of people in restaurants like to try something different.

In any case, I decided to poll our own friends and fans and see how the two match. If you haven't done so, please go to out facebook page and take a few seconds to answer this simple question - How do you select wine in restaurants?

In the next few days I will also show you some data about how restaurants actually price wine, given what they know about you as a consumer. Very interesting games playing out here.

Thanks for your collaboration!

Image: WineBusiness.com

[easyvino]

20 great wines for $20 or less (and where to buy them)

About a month ago we talked about Jon Bonné's "20 great wines for $20 or less" article. What we liked in particular about his selection is the practicality. Not only did Bonné pick "great wines, bottles that offer a legitimate look at a grape and place", but he also picked wines that you can rely on in any vintage.

Since then, a lot of people asked us how can they buy these wines so after many individual replies, here's a list of the wines you can easily buy either in the Bay Area or online (ordered by price).

NV Dibon Brut Reserve Cava - $9.95 at SF Wine Trading Company (SF pickup available)

NV Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc - $9.97 at Total Wine & More (online, pickup available in Sacramento and LA area)

NV Terre Rouge Tete a Tete Sierra - $11.99 at Total Wine & More (online, pickup available in Sacramento and LA area)

2010 Bokisch Terra Alta Vineyard Albariño - $12.99 at Napa Valley Wine & Cigar (online or Napa pickup)

2010 Pra Soave Classico - $12.99 at Beltramo's (online or San Mateo pickup)

2010 Camino de Navaherreros Garnacha Vinos de Madrid - $12.99 at K&L (pickup available in SF and Redwood City)

2009 Jean Gardiés Mas las Cabes Muscat Sec Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes - $13 at Back Room Wines (Napa)

2010 Tangent Edna Valley Albarino - $13.99 at Beltramo's (San Mateo pickup)

2010 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône - $13.99 at K&L (SF pickup) or The Wine Club (SF pickup)

2010 Collestefano Verdicchio di Matelica - $14.99 at Beltramo's (San Mateo), $16.95 at SF Wine Trading Company (SF pickup available)

2010 Reynon "Old Vines" Bordeaux Blanc - $14.99 at K&L (SF pickup)

2010 Bernhard Ott Am Berg Grüner Veltliner - $15.99 at K&L (SF pickup)

2008 Niepoort Twisted Douro Red - $16.20 at Solano Cellars (Albany pickup)

2009 Charles Joguet "Cuvee Terroir" Chinon - $16.99 at K&L (SF pickup)

2010 Abbazia di Novacella Kerner - $16.99 at The Wine Club (SF pickup)

2010 Brokenwood Sémillon Hunter Valley New South Wales - $17.99 at K&L (SF pickup)

2010 Luli Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands - $18 at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants (SF pickup)

2010 Tablas Creek "Patelin de Tablas" Paso Robles Rhône Blend - $18.99 at K&L (SF pickup)

[easyvino]

Please take 30 seconds to answer this simple question.

[easyvino]

Exciting News! Closed Beta & Next Steps

Dear Friends,

I have exciting news! After 3 months working in my kitchen eating cereal and coke, we are finally ready to release a closed beta of our mobile app. We’ve come a long way since last Summer I first started thinking about the idea of helping people drink better wine effortlessly. 

The idea evolved to become a platform that users, winemakers, and restaurants alike can use to make better decisions about buying and selling wine. In November we started an online proof of concept that produced interesting results and helped better shape the mobile app. Thank you very much for your help!

So what’s next?

1. We Want You! Next week we will start sending invitations for our Alpheta. Let’s say it’s something in between our Alpha, which we’ve been testing since late January, and our Closed Beta, which needs Apple's approval in the app store. Until then we are limited to 100 testers so please be patient :) We count on you for the Closed Beta to help us fix bugs we haven’t yet detected, and shape the next release of the app. If you haven't yet done so, please go to easyvino.com and register for our beta. It’s as easy as writing your email address and click Go. Tell your wine drinking friends as well. We appreciate it! :)

2. What to expect at this point? In this version, Easy Vino will do 3 basic things: recommend wine in restaurants and wine bars, help you remember the wine you drink, and allow you to rate the wine you drink. We decided to cover specific geographies as thoroughly as possible before expanding, so on Day 1 Easy Vino will be available in the San Francisco Financial District, and Downtown Palo Alto. We will be adding new locations continuously, so expect the coverage to improve dramatically in the coming months.

3. What lies ahead and how you can help. After this first stage we will focus on 2 things: develop relationships with restaurants, and build an intelligent recommendation engine. We can use your help on both these goals: if you know restaurant owners in SF and/or Palo Alto I appreciate an introduction ([email protected]), and please rate the wine you drink as that will be extremely valuable to build our model.

4. Changes to easyvino.com. Finally, with the beginning of our Beta Stage our website will see some changes. We will take down the online form that helped us so much, and we will revamp the whole look and feel. Thankfully this time around I’m not responsible for the design so expect a much improved and better looking website ;)

That’s it for today. If you have any feedback for us, don’t hesitate to send me an email. Check this blog for daily recommendations and deals, and do tell you friends to go to easyvino.com and register for our beta.

Cheers!

Hugo Bernardo, Founder and CEO

[easyvino]

Easy Vino Tasting Hours. Q&A Live Now!

Every Thursday we’re answering your questions. Tweet (@easyvino [your question]) or drop a comment here and we'll happily help you with any wine related questions.

What are the different types of sherry and the best expressions of each?

There are 3 main type os sherry (aka Jerez, Xérès, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda).

1. Fortified. Made with Palomino grapes then fortified with brandy (like Port or Banylus). In this category you can have

1a. Fino. It's aged under a layer of yeast, which prevents oxidation. It's light an dry, and powerful on the nose. You can try "NV Equipo Navazos, La Bota de Fino Jerez", which you should be able to find easily.

1b. Oloroso. It's fortified with a more alcoholic brandy, which kills the yeast layer and determines aging by oxidation. It's darker and more pungent, more nutty on the nose, and medium to full body. Try "NV Bodegas Hidalgo Oloroso Faraon".

1c. Amontillado. It's a mix of the previous 2, since it first ages under a layer of yeast but it's then exposed to oxygen. As you can imagine, it's a mix of Fino and Oloroso. It's like an aged Fino, amber in color, not as light, a little earthier. Try "NV Maestro Sierra Amontillado 12 Yr".

1d. Palo Cortado. Yet another variation, this one ages for a few years just like a Fino but eventually the yeast layer either dies or is killed and the wine is exposed to oxygen. It's harder to find and some people say it has the best of both the Fino (elegance, bouquet) and the Oloroso (body). Try "NV Barbadillo Palo Cortado Obispo Gascon".

1e. Manzanilla. It's just like the Fino but made in the region Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Try "NV Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla #10 or #22".

2. Sweet wine. Single-variety straw or raisin wine.

Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel - Try "NV Lustau Pedro Ximinez Murillo" or "NV Lustau Solera Reserva Emilín Moscatel Superior"

3. Blend. Mostly for the export market, it ages as Fino or Amontillado and later is blended with either sweet wine (Pedro Ximenez mostly) or concentrated must to make them less dry. Depending on the sugar grade, you have (from dry to sweet):

Pale Cream

East India

Medium Dry

Medium

Medium Sweet

Golden

Cream

Brown 

Try Lustau. They have them in different grades and are usually good.