Kuvée launches world's first smart wine bottle

Kuvée has unveiled a revolutionary direct to consumer wine service enabled by “the world's first smart wine bottle”, that is claimed to keep wine fresh for 30 days, and let drinkers enjoy the variety and choice of a restaurant wine list at home, anytime.

Kuvée's initial wine partners are 12 of California's greatest wineries, including Bonny Doon Vineyard, B.R. Cohn, Schug and Pine Ridge.

The Kuvée system is composed of a Kuvée Bottle and a collection of 750 ml Kuvée wines. Kuvée wines are bottled on the same bottling line as standard glass bottles, and contain 48 of the same popular varietals and labels found in retail stores. To drink wine with Kuvée, users simply insert a Kuvée wine into the Kuvée bottle, and pour. Kuvée's patented valve system prevents oxygen from touching the wine, keeping it fresh for up to 30 days after opening. The Kuvée Bottle features an interactive touchscreen that allows users to order wine, delivers personalised recommendations, and shares tips that encourage drinkers to enjoy wine as the winemaker intended.

The Kuvée bottle is the first-of-its-kind product in the wine industry, giving winemakers a new direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel and marketing platform to engage with their customers. Additionally, the bottle delivers point-of-consumption analytics never before available to winemakers.

Kuvée has undergone rigorous sensory testing with partner wineries and master sommelier R. Michael Meagher. "As a Master Sommelier, I've tried a number of products and methods in my career to try and prolong an open bottle of wine: vacuum pumps, argon canisters, freezing the bottle -- a terrible method, by the way. I have to say that nothing I've tried has demonstrated the success that I experienced with the Kuvée system. I personally tested nearly 20 different wines with the Kuvée system, and I was amazed at how consistent the quality and freshness of each wine was over several days, weeks and even over a month. It's a game-changing experience to have a wine as drinkable on day 30 as it was on day one."

"At Bonny Doon, we've never shied away from pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the wine business. That's why we are very interested in Kuvée," says Randall Grahm, founder and winemaker at Bonny Doon Vineyards. "With Kuvée, not only are we able to extend the life of our wines, but we can share so much more than what fits on a standard wine label -- we like the long form perhaps overmuch -- like the rich story that lives behind each wine we make. It is a truly original approach to the industry's current methods of packaging and marketing wine, and we are excited to be among the first to take advantage of the benefits."

Beginning today, Kuvée is available for pre-order at kuvee.com or on Indiegogo, for a limited-time offer of US$179. Pre-order purchases include a Kuvée Bottle and four hand-selected 750 ml wines (a US$349 value). Kuvée will ship to residents of California and Massachusetts in October 2016, and will expand to additional markets in December 2016 and early 2017.

For more information about the pre-sale and winery partnerships, visit kuvee.com or contact kuvee@launchsquad.com.

30 March 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor