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Hello Vino: Quick Sommelier Suggestions on Your Cell Phone

Originally blogged by Sorsetti (Italy) on February 16, 2009

What industries perform better during these times of crises? Most likely, IT and the food & wine industry.

The former is slowly evolving in a low-cost, web-based multimedia reality. As far as the wine business is concerned, even if production in Europe has suffered from a slight decrease (-1%, compensated by +4% in the U.S.), the market seems to be holding up well. Consumers are particularly interested in the combination of good product quality and innovative communication.

Online services like Hello Vino combine these two elements. Hello Vino is a web service specifically created for mobile devices that allows you to find the perfect wine for any occasion through a "Q&A" process. "Whether you're looking for a wine to pair with dinner, enjoy on its own, or give as a gift, Hello Vine assists the beginner wine consumer with recommendations."

As I was saying, the service has been created for consumers with a web-mobile connection, such as cell phones, PCs with a USB drive, or Wi-Fi service (hot spots are very common in the U.S.), but also new generation cell phones (Blackberry, PDA, mobile web and WAP, iphone or ipod touch) or via SMS.

The process to look for the "right wine" online is really simple: in the lower-right corner of a single web page there is a window from which you can select a general category (wine with a meal/food - wine for an occasion - wine by taste/style - wine from a country/region...and even Valentine's Day wine!) and then follow the multiple choices that will guide you to the wine that suits your needs. You can also send an sms with HELLO VINO as text to 368266 and follow the instructions.

Now, I perfectly know that these are tools which are light years away not only from our culture and sensitivity, but also from our tech and language skills (English is a must), and I also know that we all are professional sommeliers, but we're nonetheless waiting to hear more about Hello Vino from all the wine geeks out there.