eWine Match, First Real-Time In-Store Mobile Food & Wine Pairing Solution, Comes To Grocery Aisles
Napa, CA - eWine Match announced the launch of the first real-time food and wine pairing solution via mobile technology. The new text message tool relies on a "smart" database that recognizes the dominant reactive flavors in food and provides shoppers with three widely available wines that would pair well with their food choice. Developed under the consultation of a professional chef and wine educator, the system aims to help often overwhelmed consumers find a good match for their upcoming meal, whether it be as elaborate as Beef Wellington or as simple as frozen pizza.
Research shows that consumers make the majority of their wine purchasing decisions while standing in the wine aisle and are often looking in vain for information and counsel in a large, competitive and frequently overwhelming category. Now, with the arrival of eWine Match, consumers have an easy to use resource at their fingertips. eWine Match is like having your own sommelier with you in the store as you decide what you're going to have for dinner. The shopper simply texts the meal's key ingredient or type of cuisine to 411511 and within seconds receives three wine selections that span a range in varietal, region and price. The service is free (though contingent upon a user's text message service) and unlike current food and wine pairing solutions on the web, is totally portable and responds specifically to the food item submitted.
Professional Chef and Wine Educator Jerry Comfort helped develop the intelligence behind the database by relying on the progressive wine and food philosophy which groups foods and wines according to intensity of flavors and reactivity. "Because wine pairing is not as simple as 'whites go with fish,' this intelligent system prioritizes the primary or predominant flavor and then the protein," says Comfort. "And the beauty of a database-driven platform is that it is constantly growing and as we get new and unusual text messages we will continue to expand the database," adds Comfort. FINE Design Group, based in San Francisco, developed the web and mobile enabled technology.
The eWine Match service is already available nationally and will be promoted in more than 2500 stores this summer. The program has received a very enthusiastic initial response from the trade who are constantly seeking new and innovative ways to improve their customers' shopping experience.
SOURCE: eWine Match