Wearing a virtual reality headset, users find themselves at a table in a mock wine estate with mystery bottles in front of them.
Virtual reality isn't something you would normally associate with wine, but one company has created an app that puts you in a VR vineyard.
Drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark has worked with a virtual reality studio to create an immersive blind tasting experience.
Wearing the headset, users find themselves at a table in a mock wine estate (complete with its own bird noises), with three mystery bottles in front of them.
On-screen hints tell them more about the wines, so that when they taste the real one they can try to match it to its virtual counterpart.
The idea is that it is all a bit of fun, resembling something like a wine-based video game.
"It's not a matter of replacing going to a vineyard in a different country. It's more of trying to create a full experience of tasting where you are at that moment and with the means you've got," says Jacqueline de Leeuw, sales executive at Matthew Clark.
Virtual reality is not the only innovation making its way into what is one of the world's oldest industries.
M Restaurants in London is one company that is embracing new technology in the wine trade.
It has recently started using a smart device that aims to speed up the process of decanting wine.
The iSommelier draws in oxygen from outside and pumps it into a specially-designed carafe.
Its creators say an hour of traditional decanting time would only take a minute.
It can even link to your smartphone, allowing users to work out the best decant duration based on the bottle's label.
Then, when the drink is ready, it sends you a notification.
Andrew Chapman, sales and marketing director at iFavine, the company behind the product, said: "I often hear that part of the joy of wine is seeing it evolve during the course of an evening.
"If you are a wine connoisseur and you know how that wine is going to develop, then, fair enough, you can reserve that experience for yourself.
"However, most wine consumers, even consumers of fine wine just want to enjoy a perfect glass of wine, and that's what we're striving to deliver."
Gadgets like these are clearly in demand.
Kuvée, a smart wine bottle, smashed its crowdfunding target earlier this year.
It keeps the contents fresh for up to a month by stopping oxygen seeping in and even has a touchscreen that suggests food pairings.
But some argue too much tech dilutes the experience of drinking wine.
Wine expert Dawn Davies said: "I think technology in the wine industry is needed.
But she added: "I do think though that wine is quite a complicated subject, so the more technology that we have, actually in some cases it makes it more complex for the consumer.
"Sometimes you just want wine to be wine, it's got to be simple, you've got to taste it, you've got to love it. And sometimes I think these things cloud what's in the actual bottle itself."
Wine is more popular now than ever, with 60% of UK adults saying it's their favourite alcoholic drink.
So as the market continues to grow, we'll no doubt see more ideas like these pouring in.
0 comments: