Alcohol2.0 – An overview of the best wine services
Written on 12th February 2008
6 COMMENTS 
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Elaine: So, basically what you’re saying is 95% of the population is undatable?
Jerry: UNDATABLE.
Elaine: So how are all these people gettin’ together?
Jerry: Alcohol. (Seinfeld)
Wine drinkers are a popular niche on the web. There are hundreds, probably even thousands, of services and sites dedicated to the high-scale drink. I’ve tried to select the best Web 2.0 wine services for you. You probably already know the bible for high-brow wine lovers: Wine Spectator. If you happen to be one of those elite lovers, head over there, otherwise these services might get you started.
Be sure to check out the video below about 30-year old wine merchant Gary Vaynerchuk from New Jersey. He tells an inspiring story about how he started his daily web video show Wine Library TV.
Winelog
International wine community with a database that contains over 10,000 wines from over 4,000 wineries, 1,100 regions. Users can comment and rate wines they have tried so that the service can provide personal recommendations. Winelog also has a team of editors that writes about wine books, cafes and wineries.
www.winelog.net
Snooth
When the guys from Snooth launched their service in June 2007, they just made up a random weird name so that we would remember it better. If that’s not enough, there are always millions of reviews and hundreds of thousands of wines that make the service memorable. Suitable for aspiring and casual wine drinkers, Snooth offers personal recommendations.
www.snooth.com
Vinoo
Vinoo is a Dutch wine community. Users can create their own profiles, on which they can rate and discusses wines. These wines all have their own profile as well, making it possible for you to find that wine that goes perfectly with your pasta tonight. The service is still in beta and expanding rapidly. Hopefully it will soon be available in English as well.
www.vinoo.nl
Vinorati
This well-designed service has the same functions as the other blogs, yet one stands out of the wine crowd. It allows you to create tasting groups. ‘Groups may be made up of members who actually taste wines together, or who want to share wines with each other, or simply members who share an interest in a region, winemaker, or wine style.’ Looking for a way to gather your drinking buddies? Vinorati is the one you should click on.
www.vinorati.com
Cork’d
Yet another wine community, with the basically the same options as the others. I recommend you just browse around all four recommendations (five if you speak Dutch) and select the one with the tone of voice and lay-out you like the most. Cork’d seems more suitable for the more experienced drinkers.
www.corkd.com
Wine Library TV
30-year old wine merchant Gary Vaynerchuk from New Jersey started a video show in which he tasted and reviewed the wines he sold in his store. It’s now a hugely popular show that has an enormous number of followers. Check out this interview he had with Beet.tv, and pay extra attention to his view on combining advertising and reviewing.
tv.winelibrary.com
[WebTipr: Yaniv Solnik, Israel]
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
By 1234gybotf on Feb 12, 2008
Vinnoo should be vinoo.
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By Scott Jones on Feb 12, 2008
As an ex Diageo employee I’m loving the Seinfeld quote :)
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By Jerry on Feb 12, 2008
Great overview Ernst-Jan! Thanks a bunch, probably the best tip I’ve had in months. Now I can only hope to remain my wine usage somewhere around average.
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By Johannes de Jong on Feb 13, 2008
Thanks Ernest-Jan, I’m passing this on to my favourite “slijter”
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By Joop on Feb 13, 2008
I am a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk!!
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By Jason Coleman on Feb 15, 2008
Thanks for the mention, Ernst-Jan. Those stats are a bit outdated, but that’s my fault. I’ll be sure to update our about pages with new numbers.
But I like your suggestion to check out all of the sites and pick one that “feels right”. We all have some overlapping features with some unique features, and each kind of caters to a different group. And when it comes down to it, you could pick one site over another just based on how the “logging” feature is or how your profile page looks.
I haven’t seen Vinoo yet, so that’s a good tip for me.
It’s amazing that you think Cork’d has the most experienced members. That may be the case now… I don’t lurk there much anymore. But I do know that before Gary V. bought that site last June, it seemed to have less experienced members than other sites. Gary’s influence has undoubtedly had an effect on that. So I wouldn’t be surprised that Cork’d users are adding good content now. Gary is awesome.
WineLog is awesome too. Let us know how we can improve.
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