New Sample-Sized Bottles
Bring Home the Tasting Room Experience

DISCOVER - January 19, 2010

By: Michael DeNunzio, Publisher

On-site "try before buy" tastings have been great for visitors and winery alike. Now, hard times in the vines have spawned brand new innovations for at-home sampling worth following - rebottling wine into 50ml glass containers (about 1.7 ounces). It's just enough for two to taste. These tiny bottles can help cut the risk of purchasing pricier wines ($20+) you've never tried.

Success with mini olive oil containers inspired Tim Bucher of TastingRoom, Inc. to replicate the idea with wine. The high-tech, patent-pending solution is designed to get already bottled wine into the minis while keeping oxygen out. Extensive focus group tests led to packaging 6 Bordeaux-style, glass bottles in each kit. Established California wineries Seghesio and Nickel & Nickel are two early adopters. We tried a flight of Nickel's Cabs from six different Napa vineyards. Very interesting.

San Francisco based Brixr (part of Crushpad) is taking the concept one-step further. Their website features videos of a sommelier or winemaker leading viewers through a tasting of rebottled minis from its smaller commercial, custom-crush winemaking clients. Watch and compare what an expert thinks as you and your friends sip the same wines.

Let's hope this catches on. I'd welcome tiny bottle 2.0 ideas such as tasting our way through Argentine Malbecs at a fraction of the cost. Won't wine club members love to get samples of new releases in the mail before ordering? How about a "discovery three-pack" of Moscato, Petite Sirah, and Tempranillo? If none excites us, so be it. We'll have stretched our palates, not our bank accounts.

These innovations should empower everyday wine consumers, leaving us freer to choose and discover.

Have a tiny bottle idea you'd like to see? Email or tweet us at: twitter.com/wcminute

Tasting Room, Inc.
www.TastingRoom.com

Brixr
store.brixr.com (Tasting Pack Only - $25)
www.brixr.com (Video of Tasting Pack + One Bottle - $65)

Wine mark-ups and prices vary, and, as such, Wine Country Minute 00:60 cannot guarantee the accuracy of the listed prices. Please check around to find the best price and availability.

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