Will the future of the wine list be digital?

With the help of Covid, digitalized menus and wine lists have become popular. More than a simple digital file accessible on a smartphone via a QRcode, the wine list can now be read on a tablet. Already very popular in Asia and the United States, can this technology be used in French restaurants? Mickaël Rouyer, from Vintaste, tells us about it.

These “digital sommeliers” have many advantages. Gone are the long wine lists that scare off customers, now it’s the tablet! As a decision-making tool, it easily guides the customer in his or her choice of wine for a good food/wine pairing. Conversely, if the customer chooses wine first, the tablet offers a selection of dishes to match wine and food.

An educational tool, the digital and interactive card allows to communicate a maximum of information about the wine: grape varieties, tasting notes, production region, terroir, photos and why not a video presentation of the wine by the winemaker himself, all translated into several languages.

A practical tool, linked to a cellar management software, the digital wine list allows to manage in real time the restaurant’s stocks and to present to the customers only available wines.

Considering that only one restaurant out of 500 has a sommelier, this wine list 2.0 can be seen as an additional help for the wait staff. The tablet is already widely used in our living rooms. Are the French ready to trust it for the choice of their wine at the restaurant?