Wine app aims to serve perfect match

Alex Harper says more than 60 wineries are on board so far. Photo / Natalie Slade

A young entrepreneur is helping drinkers find their ideal wine at the supermarket.

Auckland's Alex Harper began working as a marketing assistant for Morton Estate Wines this year and saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between winemakers and the consumers who are buying their product.

The 23-year-old has created the NZ Wine App, which brings up tasting and winemaker notes as well as the food matches when a user scans the barcode of a bottle with a smartphone.

The app also shows any awards the wine has received and includes reviews from wine writers, such as Michael Cooper.

Harper said more than 60 New Zealand wineries are already on board and an online system lets them update the information about their wines.

He estimated about 75 per cent of the wines in a Countdown supermarket aisle would be covered by the app and said he was being approached by one to two wineries a day.

"The ultimate goal is to allow anyone from the casual drinker to the discerning connoisseur to easily pick the perfect wine for the occasion or their taste," Harper said.

"Up until now, no one has built a mobile application that bridges the gap between the needs of wineries and consumers."

Harper funded the app's development with a personal loan and did all the other work on the project himself.

While the app is free for users, wineries get a six-month trial, after which they are charged a subscription fee to have their wines in the system.

The NZ Wine App is available on Android smartphones, the iPhone and the iPad.