Best Wine Apps – Wine Temp

The latest in our series features a very simple and useful one that tells you the correct temperature for the various wines you may be drinking.

Introducing Wine Temp

This does exactly what it says on the tin as they say. If you want to know the perfect temperature to serve a wine style, just search for it and hey presto, this app will tell you. Simple !

Why, you may ask, would I be bothered with temperature – is that venturing into the dark, nerdy side of wine drinking ?

Well, the correct temperature of wine can (often) significantly affect its enjoyment. In general we tend to drink our whites a little too chilled (losing aromatics and flavour as a result) and our reds a little too warm (the wine may appear a little jammy and lack some acidity / freshness). Its important to serve the wine at its correct optimum temperature as its then you will get the greatest pleasure from your glass of wine.

Check out a short video I did on the subject

Best Wine Apps – Wine Picks and Pairings: Natalie MacLean

In the latest in our series of wine apps, here is one I use all the time.

Ever wondered what to match with beef, pork, chicken, fish and so on. Well, if you have a smartphone, there’s an app for that as they say !

Say hello to Wine Picks & Pairings: Natalie MacLean

So what can you do with it ?

The big one for me is (obviously) food and wine matching. You can start with the food or the wine and work out the best pairing from there. Quick, fun and simple !

In addition you can . . . . . .

• snap a picture of a bottle bar code with your smartphone
• get professional tasting notes, scores, pairings and recipes
• search 150,000 wines available
• add wines to your virtual cellar with just a few clicks
• share your wines and pairings on Twitter and Facebook

And best of all, its free.

I am a big fan of Natalie, having read two of her wonderful wine books. Well worth checking out too. Packed full of great stories and written in an engaging style !

Best Wine Apps – Approach Guides Wine App

In the first in a series on wine apps I like to use, here is the wonderful Approach Guides Wine App for iPhone and IPad

I asked Jennifer Raezer of AG Wine about what they set out to achieve with this app

We set out to create something different — to give consumers everything they need to make an informed decision when faced with any wine list or in a wine store. Depending on how the wines are organized, you can start by choosing a region to focus on or simply search for the grape or appellation for a quick review, to see a map, or to check vintages. To make your choice easy, we use our logo to highlight regions, grapes, and appellations that typically deliver great wines at great prices (regardless of markup!). In addition, if a user wants to go more in depth (our average user spends 25+ minutes per session), our app provides a wealth of information about what makes wines from a specific region, grape variety, or appellation, unique and special.

But our app isn’t just for consumers. Many restaurants, bars, and wine shops recommend the Approach Guides Wine app to both their customers and staff. Even wine professionals will use it to refresh their memory on some of the more obscure grapes and appellations.

I find it to be an excellent app. Its packed full of useful information especially in relation to grape varieties, regions and vintage information. It looks great and is fun and easy to use. Its great value for money. Available for iPhone and IPad, its well worth checking out.