Recommend wines, rate them or manage your collection: Apps make it easier for wine fans to enjoy wine. Many of them thrive on the input of their users. We present almost 30 apps and show what they can do—and what they can't.
Anyone who is interested in wine and has a smartphone will sooner or later come across wine apps. And wonder what they can be used for. Their common goal is clear: to provide orientation in the complex world of wine.
The functions that wine apps can fulfil are very different. They range from quality judgements and food pairing tips to inventory management for wine collectors and merchants. Most apps utilise databases that are set up by the users themselves: They enter wine information into the app, which is accessible to all users.
Many apps are used to rate and recommend wines. Users can make their own ratings, read those of other users or call up reviews from wine experts. Wines recommended by an app usually relate to drinking occasions or dishes or are based on the user's preferences, drawn on their wine ratings.
This is also how the ratings are created: They are not expert judgements, but the calculated average of swarm knowledge about a bottle. If a wine has been rated primarily by beginners and frequent users without much wine knowledge, the judgement will be different than if people with extensive tasting experience were to rate it. But the success of the apps shows that for many wine lovers, this knowledge is sufficient as a shopping tip.
Other apps impart wine knowledge, others make it possible to compare wine prices, and still others can be used to manage your own wine collection.
Categorised by category—and within these in alphabetical order—we have compiled the almost 30 most important German and English-language wine apps below. Some of them are also available in multiple languages. Almost all of them can be used free of charge, at least in the basic version. The most popular are Vivino—which claims to have over 70 million users—Wine-Searcher and CellarTracker.
We provide an overview of functions, operating systems, languages and prices. However, we are unable to make any well-founded judgements—there are reviews on the internet and testimonials in the respective app stores. We have expressly not included apps from individual wine merchants that customers use to order wines from their range.
| Wine knowledge | Wine ratings and tasting notes | Wine and drinking recommendations |
Food pairing recommendations |
Wine price comparisons |
Wine cellar management |
Free of charge | German- language |
English-language | Google Android | Apple iOS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CellarTracker | |||||||||||
| Delectable | |||||||||||
| Dwiner | |||||||||||
| GuildSomm Compendium | |||||||||||
| Hello Vino | |||||||||||
| Kellermeister | |||||||||||
| Wein Weinkeller / Meine Weinsammlung |
|||||||||||
| Oeni | |||||||||||
| OenoBordeaux | |||||||||||
| Preferabli (Wine Ring) | |||||||||||
| Vinara (MyWine) | |||||||||||
| Vinnie | |||||||||||
| VinoCell | |||||||||||
| Vintg | |||||||||||
| Vivino | |||||||||||
| Wein.cc | |||||||||||
| Wein degustieren | |||||||||||
| Weinjahrgänge | |||||||||||
| Wein Manager | |||||||||||
| Weinsteckbriefe & Rebsorten | |||||||||||
| Wein Trainer | |||||||||||
| When Wine Tastes Best | |||||||||||
| Wine-Searcher | |||||||||||
| WineStein | |||||||||||
| WSET Tasting Notes | |||||||||||
| WyneConcept |
The English-language app "GuildSomm Compendium" is part of the wine education programme of the American organisation GuildSomm International. Those who are not members of the organisation can access the knowledge database for USD 7.99 per month. Its content ranges from market and climate information, quality systems and classifications to legal texts and specifications for protected designations of origin.
"OenoBordeaux" is the free app from the winegrowers' association of the French region of Bordeaux (CIVB). It provides information in three languages about viticulture, wine production and marketing, wine services, and the organisation of wine tastings and fairs. It focuses on the Bordeaux region and is primarily aimed at wine professionals from the retail and HoReCa sectors. There is also a special oenology training programme for them.
The Swiss software company Avinis has launched several apps in the "VinoMobile" series. They are all available in at least three languages and can be used free of charge for the most part. "Wein desgustieren" is free and helps users learn how to taste, describe, and judge wine. Users can then compare their tasting notes with others and organise or take part in tastings. "Weinjahrgänge" is available from 99 cents and offers more than 6,000 vintage ratings from 140 wine regions. "Weinsteckbriefe & Rebsorten" is also free and describes the characteristic tasting features of around 1,400 wines and grape varieties from 570 regions in 13 countries. "Wein Trainer" also costs nothing and contains 2,870 questions on wine geography, grape varieties, tasting characteristics, and other topics.
To the overview of all apps in this section with data and app store linksThe English-language app "CellarTracker" is used to manage your own wine cellar (see below). It also contains information on more than four million wines. This makes "CellarTracker" the largest wine database with ratings and recommendations from its users. The basic version of the app is free; those who want to use more functions such as wine price comparisons pay at least 40 US dollars per year.
"Delectable" is also free of charge and in English. The app is published by the American Vinous Group of critic Antonio Galloni. Users take a photo of a label and receive descriptions and ratings of the wine recognised by the system. They can compile lists of favourites, receive information from winemakers, sommeliers and wine critics, and buy wines online.
The free, English-language app "Hello Vino" specialises in recommending wines for certain dishes or drinking occasions. It utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the user's wine preferences and tailor the recommendations accordingly.
Until recently, "Preferabli" was known as "Wine Ring". The free app is available in several languages and uses its users' wine ratings to make purchase recommendations with patented AI support.
The free, English-language app "Vinnie" works in a similar way and provides purchase, tasting and food pairing recommendations based on its users' wine ratings.
"Vintg"—also free and in English—is a kind of wine diary and helps with tasting with technical terms and tasting characteristics. Preferences can be determined from your own notes and ratings.
"Vivino" describes itself as the "world's largest online marketplace for wines". The app is free and available in numerous languages. From the wine ratings of several million users, it selects purchase and tasting recommendations for each of them based on their own preferences.
The free, English-language app "When Wine Tastes Best" is a kind of biodynamic drinking calendar: based on the findings of biodynamics pioneer Maria Thun, it provides recommendations for the days on which wines are best suited for tasting or enjoyment.
"Wine-Searcher" is one of the most popular apps for wine ratings and recommendations based on established patterns: free of charge and in several languages, it provides information on origin, grape variety(ies), prices and sources of supply after scanning the wine label. Users can review the wines and share their ratings with the community.
"WineStein" is only available in English, but is also free of charge. The app makes recommendations based on crowd-sourced data for tasting preferences, drinking occasions or food pairings.
The free, English-language app "WSET Tasting Notes" comes from the wine education organisation WSET. It provides structured wine descriptions and wine ratings and gives tips for tasting.
To the overview of all apps in this section with data and app store linksThe free, multilingual app "Wein.cc" is particularly useful for comparing wine prices in stores. It works by scanning the barcode on the bottle. There are also sommelier recommendations.
To the overview of all apps in this section with data and app store linksWith the wine cellar management function of the aforementioned "CellarTracker" app, barcodes can be scanned and labels photographed to record your own wines. Users can catalogue their stock and consumption and add their tasting notes.
"Dwiner" costs 4.90 euros per month or 49.90 euros per year and is only available in German. The app can scan labels to record the wine stock and offers analyses, statistics and dashboards. Food pairing tips complete the functionality.
"Kellermeister" is free and one of the most popular German-language apps for wine cellar management: stock levels, additions and disposals, wine ratings, drinking maturity, stock value and the exact storage location of the bottles can be documented and analysed.
The free app "Wein Weinkeller / Meine Weinsammlung" is available in three languages and enables stock management with all the usual functions and lots of detailed information. The import and export of Excel files and statistics simplify data management.
The multilingual "Oeni" app manages the wine collection, tracks the cellar history and provides recommendations on the drinking maturity of the wines recorded. The app is free for the first month and then costs 4.99 euros per month.
Until recently, "Vinara" was called "MyWine". The free, bilingual app allows labels to be scanned to record the inventory and provides recommendations on storage duration and drinking temperature. The visual editor illustrates cellar management and all data is backed up in the cloud.
The free, multilingual "VinoCell" app is used to manage the wine cellar and wine list. It displays the cellar graphically, records tasting notes and ratings and provides food pairing tips.
"Wein Manager" sees itself as a "multi-platform app for wine cellars and lifestyle" and is also suitable for retail and restaurant business. The free, bilingual application can be used to manage closed and open wine bottles (e.g. in wine saver systems). The functions range from the graphic visualisation of the wine cellar or building, the storage of prices, orders and subscriptions to statistics and lists. Tasting notes and photos of drinking experiences are added to an "enjoyment diary".
The German-language app "WyneConcept" costs 1.99 euros and manages the wine stock including photos and tasting notes.
To the overview of all apps in this section with data and app store links