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Sacramento Kings guests can use 'smart' bottles to pour their own drinks
The Sacramento Kings are fond of using technology as a hook to fill seats, but their latest may be particularly alluring if you're in the position to score premium tickets. The basketball team is using connected bottle tops from NINA that let you pour your own alcohol in a suite or loft. You only have to open a tab, choose what you want to drink and pour until you get the quantity you paid for. This might let you focus more on the game than asking a bartender for more libations.
Mixed-gene French grapes may lead to cheaper, safer wine
French wineries have to use a lot of pesticide to keep their grapes healthy, and that's both expensive and costly -- a problem when some countries don't have those problems. The country might just have a solution, though. Researchers at France's Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA) recently received permission to grow four grape varieties that are genetically resistant to mildew rot, eliminating much of the need for pesticides. Where a winery typically needs to spray pesticides about 15 times a year, the INRA varieties may only need one or two.
Irrigation robots could help grow wine grapes in California
We all know by now that robots are the future of farming, and things are no different for winemakers in The Golden State. Faced with the shortage of water and workers, they asked researchers from the University of California to create an irrigation system that needs minimal human input. What the team came up with is a system called Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation Delivery (RAPID) that uses a machine to monitor and adjust water emitters attached to irrigation lines.
Smart wine bottle company Kuvee is going out of business
Back in early 2016, Engadget Senior Editor Andrew Tarantola spent some time with the Kuvée, a sort-of Keurig for wine, and was impressed with its features but wary about its prospects. "Do you want to be the schmuck who blows two Benjamins on this thing only to have the company fold, thereby rendering the entire system useless? I sure don't," he wrote. Well, it turns out Andrew was right. According to Business Insider, the company is now shutting down.
Aveine takes the wait out of aerating wine
Aerating wine can dramatically improve the taste by just letting it sit in a glass or decanter for a while. However, sometimes you don't really want to wait an hour (or several hours) to have that first sip, so Aveine developed a gadget that eliminates the wait time. With its $200 connected device of the same name, the company says it can offer up to 24 hours of aeration as you pour the wine. No more waiting until the perfect amount of time has elapsed to have a glass.
Coravin's smart wine opener doesn't remove the cork
If you're not familiar with Coravin, the company makes wine openers that allow you to pour a glass without removing the cork. The devices pierce the cork with a thin needle that doesn't remove any material, so you can have some and then continue to cellar the bottle. So-called Coravin Capsules (similar to CO2 cartridges) filled with Argon gas push the wine out of the bottle and into your glass. At CES 2018, though, the company took its wares to a whole other level with the Model 11.
Postmates' speedy booze delivery begins drop-offs in NYC and Texas
Postmates' on-demand alcohol service is now available well beyond California's borders. On top of an expansion to Miami in May, the internet delivery mainstay is now making its Drinks feature available in New York City (in Brooklyn and Manhattan) as well as Austin, Dallas and Houston. As before, the aim is to bring neighborhood stores' booze to your door in 25 minutes or less. You'll have to be in the mood for certain drinks depending on where you live, though. The NYC service focuses on wine and spirits, while the Texas offerings revolve around beers.
Lousy sommeliers can let D-Vine pour the perfect glass of wine
Wine -- what's not to like? Well, plenty if you serve it wrong or -- gasp -- with the wrong food. No one wants to be the guy who turns up with a warm Chardonnay for a fancy chuck steak dinner. Enter D-Vine, a smart wine dispenser that not only serves up a perfectly chilled tipple but also helps you pair it with food and even order more vino when you're running low. This is the future, and we like it.
Amazon UK now offering one-hour deliveries from local London shops
In a bid to boost its Prime Now offering in London, Amazon has teamed up with a pharmacist and a wine dealer to deliver more than 7,000 additional products in under an hour. The company announced today that customers in selected London postcodes can grab "luxury health, wellbeing and beauty products" from John Bell & Croyden -- pharmacists to Her Majesty The Queen -- and fine wines and spirits from Spirited Wines.
Vinfusion wine robot blends a glass based on your taste
Take it from a former wine seller when I say that wine snobs are the worst, constantly trying to prove the the extent of their oenophilia. For everyone else, it's nothing but a wave of unnecessary intimidation thanks to the complexity and variety of wines and the potential risk of embarrassment. Cambridge Consultants feels that technology should be able to get us past that moment of panic that comes when you're asked to choose a wine. The company has created Vinfusion, a device that enables people to blend a glass of wine that's been customized to their specific requirements. Cheers!
Plum is a smart but expensive gadget for the wine-obsessed
Wine has a culture all of its own, steeped in tradition and practices passed down over the years. But wine experts will tell you it's also a science, with precise measurements and conditions required to make that perfect bottle. The new Plum wine fridge stands firmly on the side of science. The $1,499 device can hold only two bottles at once, but Plum's creators say it can make just about every aspect of serving wine better. It's a lofty claim, but after seeing what Plum can do, I'm intrigued.
ICYMI: A RoboGlove to boost your strength
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: General Motors is building a RoboGlove (with help from tech company BioServo), to be used in auto manufacturing plants, which is modeled on a version NASA used aboard the International Space Station. The Spector is a gadget to sample fonts and colors and use them within design software, immediately, though right now it's only a prototype. We are really into this Japanese instrument called the Otamatone. You can read about the wine gadget that can ferment grape juice faster than anything else that exists, here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
This tiny contraption is capable of producing endless wine
When you're down to the last glass of wine from the bottle you could have just sworn was full before, you could really use this contraption one Iowa State University professor is developing. It's a tiny device that's capable of creating a continuous supply of fresh wine. Yeah, you read that right.
On-demand food service delivers beer with your meal
There's no shortage of online food delivery services, and services that deliver alcohol. However, getting both at the same time is a challenge. How are you supposed to complement that burger with a tasty brew? DoorDash has an answer. As of today, customers in southern California (other cities are coming, at least in the US) can order both alcohol and food at the same time, whether the drinks come from a restaurant or a liquor store. Your options will depend on the relevant corporate partnerships, but it could save you the hassle of placing a second order or (gasp) drinking something tamer.
SYNEK's wine system makes personalized suggestions
Nearly two years ago, SYNEK launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund its countertop beer system to keep fresh suds available on tap at home. After raising $650,000, it launched successfully and received a warm reception for that product. Now the company is tackling another vice: wine. As you probably guessed, the Somm by SYNEK is also a countertop system that holds 2.25-liter canisters of vino -- that's about three standard-size 750ml bottles worth. Somm, which we'd guess is short for sommelier, adjusts temperature and aeration to fit the wine being poured in an effort to give your a perfect pour every time.
Kuvee's smart bottle is like a Keurig, but for wine
I'm no wine snob. Heck, my familiarity with wines doesn't extend much past knowing the difference between reds, whites and pinks -- excuse me, rosés. (Whatever.) And even if I find a wine I like, discovering similar brands or flavor profiles is an infuriating hit-or-miss process. Luckily, a forthcoming "smart" bottle system from Kuvée promises to take the frustration out of finding new wines. I recently tried out a prototype bottle for a weekend. Here's how it went.
Amazon Japan has free on-call wine advisors
In some cities, Amazon will deliver you alcohol, including wine, within an hour. But which one to choose? Japanese enthusiasts will now get help thanks to the new Sommelier service. Between noon and 5 p.m. ET, you can leave your number and one of the site's professional wine advisors will call back to let you know if a Chinon has good body and vanilla overtones, or whatever. You can also tell the sommelier what you're serving, and they'll recommend a wine based on your budget. In one example, they suggest a Beau Rivage Blanc French Bordeaux or a KWV Classic Collection Pinotage from South Africa for yakitori skewers.
Quirky wine rack could refill itself using Amazon Dash
Do you wake up in the middle of the night, soaked in cold sweat and frantically worrying, "Oh God, is my wine rack sufficiently full?" Well, fear not, because this automated wine rack from Quirky not only keeps tabs on your vital vino supply, it could even automatically restock its cellar when you run out of wine. The Poppy Reserve, as it's called, is a two-part system consisting of a smart rack and its associated app. The semi-autonomous wine rack comes packed with temperature, weight and humidity sensors. That way it can monitor how much wine you have left as well as whether they're being stored under the proper conditions.
Amazon's grocery service stops delivering beer and wine
We hope you weren't counting on AmazonFresh to stock up on alcohol for your next big party. GeekWire reports that beer and wine have vanished from the internet grocery service without either a warning or any indication as to whether or not the booze will return. We've reached out to Amazon for an explanation, but it's possible that Amazon is simply playing it safe with regulations. Some states don't allow alcohol delivery, and those that do (such as Amazon's home state, Washington) have regulations that determine both who can make deliveries and how the goods reach your door. Whatever the reasons, you're going to have to either switch to alternatives like Drizly or else get your adult beverages the old-fashioned way. [Image credit: Andrew Hitchcock, Flickr]
Next Glass takes the guesswork out of beer and wine shopping (update)
Have you ever walked into a beer or wine store only to be overwhelmed by the vast selection, including many options you'd never even heard of? We've all been there, but there's a new app that should help recommend options you've yet to taste. Next Glass uses your phone's camera to scan a bottle before offering you a score as to whether or not you'd like it. Based on ratings submitted the first time the app gets fired up, and scores continually added along the way, the software uses its so-called Genome Cellar to sift through a beer or wine's chemistry and predict your taste preferences. While you're browsing the shelves, the app can be used in beer, wine or a "both" modes for targeted queries, should the need arise. Once a bottle is scanned, you can also peruse to your friends list to see if others will dig your selection at dinner, add specific tasting notes and leverage the GlassMatch tool to find similar beverages. Ready to give it a go? Next Glass is free in both iTunes and Google Play. Update: When I mentioned chemistry, I meant actual science. Here's how the folks at Next Glass explain the inner workings: Next Glass has developed the world's first Genome Cellar, an extensive database that contains the chemical makeup -- or "DNA" -- of tens of thousands of wines and beers. By looking at each bottle on a molecular level, Next Glass defines a unique taste profile for every bottle by analyzing thousands of chemical elements. To arrive at a personalized score, Next Glass bring in some heavy duty chemistry equipment that analyzes the composition of various wines and beers.
