Wilmington startup Next Glass, which matches drinkers with wine and beer based on personal tasting profiles and a data base of characteristics from tested wines, is partnering with two major retailers to offer specific choices based on store locations and online inventory.
Scientists at Next Glass use proprietary technology to test wines, and consumers can find matches to their tastes based on profiles – what Next Glass has trademarked as “Taste Profiles” – that they fill out with the company.
The company formally launched the apps in December and drew more than 100,000 downloads in the first 48 hours.
The Next Glass app then makes recommendations, and since the app is enabled for mobile devices consumers can shop for specific wines based on inventory at nearby stores.
That’s where the partnership with Total Wine & More comes in.
The agreement, which was announced Thursday, has a Raleigh connection with the five Raleigh area Total Wine locations serving as the launch points. The stories will be offering discounts on selections made using Next Glass’s data and app.
“Next Glass is about helping people find great wine and beer,” said Kurt Taylor, CEO of Next Glass. “By partnering with Total Wine & More, we’re joining forces with a team that shares our passion for this—and we couldn’t be more excited. With our app, and their incredible stores, customers can now explore, try new things and find great deals on bottles they’re sure to enjoy.”
Next Glass also announced a deal with Wine.com for online selections and Drizly, an on-demand alcohol delivery service.
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Next Glass has partnered with Wine.com, the largest online marketplace for wine, and Drizly, the leading on-demand alcohol delivery service, to revolutionize beer and wine buying from smartphones.
Wine.com delivers can be made overnight.
Drizly offers delivery in “less than one hour” in 15 markets:
Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas,Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City,Providence, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
“We are thrilled to work with Wine.com and Drizly to make ordering alcohol products from users’ fingertips a completely seamless experience,” Taylor said in the announcement. “Wine.com has the best and broadest online selection of wine and Drizly’s on-demand delivery network is unparalleled. These partnerships ensure that users can determine which products they’ll enjoy, find them for purchase on their smartphones, and, in many cases, have them delivered straight to their doorsteps in under an hour.”
In Raleigh, Next Glass and Total Wine will host a wine tasting event on Saturday, June 13, from 12-6 p.m. at the five Raleigh locations.
A beer tasting sponsored by Heineken is set at the stories from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.
The Next Glass app is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.
