WineConnected brings wine-making online

It’s not easy to get excited about wine if you have been living under the notion that US$2 box wine is the best of the best. It takes a smartly designed website, and an online wine-ordering system to bring wooded cabernet sauvignons to the masses. That website is WineConnected.

WineConnected wants you to become a member of its family. It’s not simply a matter of logging on, ordering a case of bubbly and drinking till dawn. No sir, WineConnected gets you invested in the concept of wine creation. From grape to glass, it’s your show baby. The concept comes from entrepreneur Peter Stuart and Gabrielskloof viticulturist Barry Anderson. The website was developed by Urbian.

Owning the vineyard

Potential members select from one of three packages which determines the price and wine varietals. Next up, users select a varietal, a vineyard and can view the winemakers which will be creating their wine. They are then “given” 500 meters of vine. It becomes their playground, their testing area for the perfect glass of wine.

Barrel selection is next and is a key step in the wines maturation process. From this point, the new online wine-maker can keep track of their wine via smartphone apps. The user is also handpicked by the vineyard to visit “exclusive events”. The end result, nothing less than a fine bottle of wine with a custom designed label. Wine of the Month Club, eat your heart out.

Social media: the home of wine

What rubs me up the right way is how WineConnected has managed to marry social media with the centuries-old art of wine making. Do you care about the amount of moisture in your soil? You will when it’s posted on Facebook. Does it matter that a southern-wind is threatening to lessen the potential growth of your vines? If there is a video of it on YouTube, it must just bug you.

We are a culture of instant information, where post is dead and where notifications rule the day. WineConnected has planted its digital vineyard smartly, and with some nurturing from the online community, it will looks likely to grow into a mighty crop.