You're at the wine store and want to buy a great bottle to either pair with dinner that night, or take along as a thoughtful hostess gift. But for those non-sommeliers out there, what to buy? What would match the food of the evening or event? Technology is here to help with two new applications that are designed to make buying and pairing wines of any stripe, all the easier- even if dinner is the most complex, layered, spicy affair.
WineAlign For Buying Wine at the LCBO
The first up is WineAlign- a new web and mobile service designed to help consumers save time and buy “smarter.” Accessible through your cel phone, iPhone, Blackberry, or computer, you can log on and find wines at a price point that suits you, that's been critically rated by wine writers and that pairs well with a particular food you're looking to put on the evening's menu. If you're a fan of wine critics such as David Lawrason from Toronto Life, Gordon Stimmell from the Toronto Star or the National Post's Margaret Swaine to name a few, then you can catch their drops of wisdom regarding numerous bottles through this service.
Other interesting applications include logging your favourites for future reference, regular previews for all new LCBO Vintages offerings and a Wine 2.0 Social Networking site so that you can share your insights with other wine-lovers on the service. For more information and fees involved in the premium service package, click here.
Natalie's Drinks Matcher Widget
Another take on the wine concierge service application is award-winning wine writer Natalie McLean's Drinks Matcher Widget- a portable version of her well-read site's existing food and wine pairing tool. It's free and offers confused hosts a spate of choices when trying to pair miso glazed salmon or with the perfect bottle of vino.
McLean has spent eight years developing this tool by testing innumerable food and wine combinations that make sense. She says, "People want some guidance, even though the pairings are subjective. It all comes down to balancing flavours and textures. I'm a thoroughly hedonistic researcher. Of the thousands of combinations I tried, some were delicious, others were a disaster. I share the ones that worked in the Drinks Matcher." And like WineAlign- you can down load the widget onto your phone, laptop or your social media page.
Looks like the next generation of wine loving information arrived a click away from the perfect bottle!
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