I’m chuffed and super-proud to be the co-founder and CTO (Chief Tasting Officer) of WineFriend, the best little personalised wine delivery service in all the land.
We help our customers navigate the vast and ever-ballooning number of wines out there in the marketplace by listening to what makes their individual tastebuds tick.
Then we match them to wines that I’ve personally tasted, wines I think will suit their palate, wines that are different, groovy and best of all – awesomely tasty.
It's a very cool thing.
In my role as a wine writer for magazines and newspapers, I’m fortunate to sip my way through sometimes dozens of wines each week. Yet hardly any of those wines are available in our supermarkets – which happens to be where most people shop for their wine! So how do I bring these hidden gems into the homes of people who want to try new wines but don’t want to risk spending money on something they don’t like?
Easy. I ask 8 simple questions that give me insight into your thresholds for sweet, sour, bitterness and intensity of flavour. Then you choose how much you feel like spending ($109, $159 or $259), the frequency of delivery (monthly or two-monthly) and the combination of red and white wines that suits you best. WineFriend has no minimum contract, you can pause or cancel at any time and change the price, frequency and combination of your delivery to suit.
WineFriend then measures your palate against the plethora of wines my team and I sample each year, then we pick a selection just for you. Plus we’ll throw in a ‘wildcard’ wine, a new varietal or style matched to your profile that you may never in a million years have chosen for yourself.
Boom! But wait there’s more. Then you simply visit winefriend.co.nz, log in to your account to rate the wines and sit back and let me use your feedback to get better at making your next selections.