The New York Times has an interesting article about the ways in which people who really, really like wine have utilized technology to catalog their collection:
JAMES CHARLTON owns about 400 bottles of wine, and he is beginning to lose track of his collection, which is split between his home in New York and his weekend retreat in Connecticut. So Mr. Charlton is considering a modern alternative to rummaging through wine racks and reading bottle labels: software that would let him keep tabs on his chardonnays and cabernets from a computer.
Wine management software can produce an instant, detailed inventory of a collection and sort it, for instance, by grower, region or drink-by date. Newer programs can also provide wine scores and ratings, tasting notes from other drinkers, and, for those with an interest in wine as an investment, current market values.
Because most wine software programs are now Web-based, collectors can check on the contents of their virtual cellars by way of their Treos, laptops or other Web-enabled devices when they are far from their desks, avoiding mistakes like duplicate purchases during trips to the wine shop. At home, they can use the software for business or pleasure ? to produce gain-loss statements when they are updating their wine insurance coverage, for example, or to create restaurant-style wine menus for dinner guests.
Since the wine list here at Chez Mataconis is limited to about, say, 30 bottles or so, some of which are reserved for special occasions, I can’t say that software like this make sense.
At least not yet……
