Clear answers about how the AI sommelier works, how to add it to a wine shop, restaurant or bar, what data it uses and how to try it.
Wineater is an AI sommelier for wine shops, online wine retailers, bars and restaurants. A shopper describes in their own words what they are looking for, for example "something for steak, under 30" or "a Barolo, but cheaper", and Wineater returns four wines from that merchant's own catalog, each with a short explanation of why it fits. A merchant adds it as a website widget, a QR code or an API.
Shoppers see a search box where they type what they want, then a set of four wine cards from the merchant's catalog. Each card shows the wine, its price and a one- or two-sentence reason it was picked, and links to the product page in the shop. Before any search, the widget shows a starting selection of four wines. Shoppers can then ask for more suggestions or for wines similar to one they like.
There is no single best choice: it depends on your catalog, your sales channel and the languages you need. Wineater is an AI sommelier built for wine merchants. It recommends four wines from the merchant's own stock, explains each pick, and can be added as a website widget, a QR code or an API. It comes with a 1-month free trial, so you can judge it on your own catalog.
A general-purpose chatbot answers from broad knowledge and can name bottles a shop does not sell. Wineater recommends only wines that are in the merchant's own catalog and not marked out of stock, so every suggestion links to something the shopper can buy from that shop. Each wine is also described on five aspects (food pairing, taste, origin, occasion, production), which the request is matched against. General chatbots stay useful for open-ended wine questions; Wineater is narrower by design.
Filters and search bars work best when shoppers already know the vocabulary: grape, region, vintage or price band. With Wineater, the shopper describes a situation instead, such as a dish, an occasion or a wine they already like, and Wineater translates it into taste, origin and price criteria. Filters remain useful for shoppers who know exactly what they want; Wineater is aimed at those who do not.
Vivino is a consumer app where people look up and rate wines. Wineater is a B2B tool that a merchant installs on its own website, menu or QR code. It does not run a public marketplace or a ratings community: it recommends only from the catalog of the merchant using it and explains each pick. The two serve different purposes, one helping consumers research wines, the other helping one merchant advise its own customers.
Wineater reads the shopper's request, matches it against the merchant's catalog and picks four wines, with a reason for each. It splits the request into food pairing, taste and style, place of origin, occasion and how the wine is made, plus any budget. Every wine in the catalog is described on the same five aspects, so the request is compared aspect by aspect. A language model then selects the four wines and writes the explanations.
Shoppers can write anything in free text: a dish, a budget, an occasion, a style, a region, a grape or a wine they already like. Examples: "something for steak, under 30" or "a birthday gift for a friend who loves wine geekery". If the shopper names a wine type, most of the four picks are of that type. If they type a wine or producer name that exists in the catalog, those exact matches come first.
Yes, a budget can be part of the request, in numbers or in words. Wineater turns phrases such as "cheap", "around 30" or "splurge" into a price range and uses it to guide the selection. Treat it as guidance rather than a strict cap: the price is shown on every card, so shoppers can check it before they click.
Yes. When a request refers to a known wine or producer, Wineater works out that wine's style and origin and looks for wines with a similar profile in the merchant's catalog. It can combine this with a budget, as in "like Barolo, but cheaper". The results are always wines from the catalog, so they are close in style to the reference, not the reference itself.
Yes. Recommendations come only from the catalog of the shop that uses the widget, and the shop is identified by its client token, not by anything the shopper types. Wines marked as out of stock are hidden. Wineater does not draw on the open internet or on other merchants' catalogs when it recommends.
The widget returns up to four wines per search, so the shopper gets a short list instead of a page of results. The four are chosen to play different roles, for example best match, good value, or an alternative from another region, depending on the request. Each comes with a one- or two-sentence explanation in the shop's language, so the shopper knows why it fits. Fewer than four can appear when the catalog has no more good matches.
Yes. After the first four, a "show more" action brings the next four best matches for the same request, leaving out wines already shown. On a wine card, shoppers can also ask for similar wines, based on that wine's taste and food-pairing profile. Prices are not matched exactly. These extra results use a standard short note rather than an individually written reason.
Wineater reads whatever the request does say, such as an occasion, a dish, a style or a budget, and the more detail the shopper gives, the tighter the match. If the shopper asks for a wine the shop does not carry, the nearest matches in the catalog are offered instead. If nothing relevant can be returned, the widget shows a "no results" message; it never invents wines that are not in the catalog.
Recommendations and their explanations are written in the language set for each store, and the widget interface has translations in several languages, including English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. The language comes from the store's configuration, not from the shopper's request. Wine names stay as they appear in your catalog. Tell us which language you need when you contact us.
Yes. Shoppers can write their request in any language, and Wineater reads it the same way. We have tried Spanish and German requests on a French-language and an English-language shop, and the wines returned fitted the request. The wines and their explanations come back in the language set for the shop, not in the language the shopper typed. Results in a given language can vary, so ask us to test the languages your shoppers use.
Yes. Each of the four wines has a one- or two-sentence explanation written for that specific request, in the shop's language, such as why it suits a dish or a budget. On desktop the explanation appears when the shopper hovers over the card. Wines shown through the similar-wines action carry a standard short note instead of an individual reason.
Yes. Every wine card has a similar-wines button. One click returns four more wines from the same catalog that are close to that wine in taste and food pairing, and the search box shows which wine they are similar to. The shopper does not need to type anything. Similar wines are not guaranteed to be in the same price range, and they use a standard note rather than an individual explanation.
Yes. A shop can flag selected products as promoted, and promoted products receive a moderate boost in ranking among the candidate wines. They are still weighed against what the shopper asked for, so a promoted wine that does not fit the request is not guaranteed a place in the four picks. To set up promoted products, write to hi@wineater.com.
Wines marked as out of stock are not recommended. If you connect an XML product feed, Wineater checks it once a day and hides wines that are no longer listed, while wines with unknown availability stay visible. Safeguards stop the sync if the feed is empty, has shrunk by half, or would hide more than half of the catalog. Because the sync runs daily, a wine that sells out during the day can still appear until the next run.
Yes. Each vintage is treated as a separate wine, because the vintage is part of the wine's name in the catalog, so the price and availability shown are those of that specific listing. Shoppers can mention a vintage or how old they want the wine to be in their request, and it is read as part of the request like any other detail.
You add one script tag and a container element to your site, together with your store's token, and the widget appears where you place it. The ready-made snippet is in your Wineater cabinet once your free month starts, with step-by-step instructions for Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, PrestaShop and plain HTML, and adding it usually takes a few minutes. If you prefer, our team sets it up for you. Either way you do not configure the AI yourself. If you would rather not use the widget, you can connect through the API or use a QR code.
The quickest start is your shop website: Wineater reads the product list of Shopify and WooCommerce shops, and of most shops that describe their products for search engines, from your public product pages. You can also upload your catalog as a CSV or Excel file, share it as a product feed (Wineater reads XML feeds in the Google Shopping style) or connect through the API. Bars and restaurants can also upload photos or a PDF of their wine list. A basic file or feed with the wine name and price is enough to identify wines, and brand and link help: Wineater fills in details such as region, grape and type, and your own data always takes priority over what it adds. Your prices, stock and images remain yours. Once you are a customer, you can check your website from the cabinet to update stock and add new wines; it only runs when you press the button.
Yes. It works with a wine list of a few dozen wines and with a catalog of thousands. In our October 2026 tests on live stores (12 fresh searches each), the median answer took 3.8 seconds with 29 wines, 4.2 with 393, 4.1 with 762 and 3.9 with 3,348 wines in stock: about 4 seconds whatever the size. Below 50 wines the whole list is considered; above that, a search first narrows the choice. We have not tested catalogs above 3,348 wines, and we judge relevance by reading results, not with an accuracy score.
About 5 minutes to see your own wines. You sign up with your shop name, type and website, then give Wineater your website, a CSV or Excel file or a product feed. It tastes 50 of your wines and builds a demo page and a QR code on your own wines within a few minutes. When you start the free month, you import the whole catalog with one button, and the widget snippet is waiting in your cabinet; adding it to your site usually takes a few minutes. An API integration takes longer, and the real timing depends on your catalog and on your own website team. If you prefer, the Wineater team configures your catalog, usually within 24 hours of receiving it.
Yes. The widget can be configured with your brand colour, logo and styling, and the Wineater team sets this up for you rather than through a self-service editor. The standard widget carries a "Powered by Wineater" line in its footer. If you need a fully branded experience, the API lets you build the interface yourself.
Wineater is not an SEO tool, and we do not claim any effect on search rankings. The widget loads through a script and renders its recommendations in the browser, so they are not part of your page's static HTML. It adds a discovery tool for shoppers who are already on your site and does not change your existing product pages or their URLs.
Yes. The widget has a mobile layout: on desktop, details appear when a shopper hovers over a wine card, and on mobile, tapping a card opens a detail view. A QR-code experience opens from any smartphone camera, with no app to install.
Yes. You print a QR code and place it on tables, menus or near wine shelves. Guests scan it with their phone, describe what they want and get wine suggestions from your list, with no app to install. A QR code is the quickest channel to launch, typically about an hour.
Yes. Wineater has a tablet version for restaurants and bars where guests choose dishes from the menu and get matching wines from your list. It is a recommendation tool only: it has no cart and no payment. Ask us whether it fits your venue.
You upload your wine list as a CSV or Excel file, or as photos or a PDF, and Wineater reads the wines and prices; you can also start from your website, or send the list to the Wineater team and we load it for you. Each wine is matched to a wine record and described on pairing, taste, origin, occasion and production, while your prices and stock stay yours. The widget also has a bar and restaurant mode.
Yes. The widget can label a wine as available by the glass and show a glass price next to it, when that information is included in the wine list data. Tell us which wines you pour by the glass when you send your list.
No. The staff tool runs in a browser on any tablet or phone and does not connect to your till. It recommends wines from your list; it has no tables, orders, cart or payment.
Send us the new list and we reload it, or change wines in the admin. Your wine list stays yours, and you can change which wines are promoted at any time.
No. It backs up your team when the room is full and gives a new waiter a starting point. It suggests wines from your own list; your sommelier still knows your guests and your cellar.
Any tablet or phone with a web browser. There is nothing to install: your staff open a link.
No. The shopper scans the QR code with their own phone and uses their own mobile data.
If stock sync is on for your account, we read your product feed once a day and hide wines marked out of stock. The sync refuses to run if the feed is empty, has shrunk by half, or would hide more than half of the catalog.
Yes. A pilot in a single store is possible. Talk to us about the store and the shelf.
Shoppers do not create an account to use Wineater. For what data is processed, see the answers on shopper data and our privacy policy.
A sales tool for your reps and a loyalty tool for your restaurants, built on the Wineater engine: a proposal generator that turns a restaurant's menu into wines from your portfolio, a QR menu where your wines are marked as priority, a widget for your online catalog and, in a later phase, portfolio gap analysis and a menu heatmap.
The proposal generator, the QR loyalty menu and the widget for your site are live, with a wine list builder your reps use to draft a proposal from a restaurant's menu. Data insights (portfolio gaps, menu heatmap) come in a later phase. Talk to us to see it on your own portfolio.
No complex integration. We need your current price list or catalog (Excel, PDF or API), and we set the rest up with you.
Wines you mark as promoted get a moderate boost in ranking. Recommendations still come only from the restaurant's own list, and a promoted wine ranks higher only when it fits what the guest asked.
Recommendations are written in the language of each store. The sales tool's own interface is currently in English only.
Yes. The same API that powers the widget can connect Wineater to your own search or recommendation interface. Requests are authenticated with a store token, which also determines your catalog and language. An API integration typically takes about a week. Write to hi@wineater.com to get access.
With the API integration, yes: you build the front end yourself, so nothing from Wineater needs to appear on your site. The standard widget shows a "Powered by Wineater" line and can be styled with your brand colours and logo.
The widget records the text shoppers type and how they interact: searches, results shown, card clicks and BUY clicks, plus basic device details such as screen size and browser language. It sets a random visitor identifier and a session identifier in cookies, and it does not ask shoppers for a name or an email. Because the widget sets cookies on your site, mention it in your own cookie information.
Your catalog is used to power recommendations for your store. Wine-level information such as descriptions, pairing and terroir is shared across stores that list the same wine, while your price, stock and images stay specific to your store. Searches made on another merchant's widget never return your products.
Wineater is operated by BACCHUSTECH OÜ, a company incorporated in Estonia. Search requests require an authentication token, and each store's token limits the service to that store's catalog. The widget asks shoppers for no account details. Our privacy policy explains what we collect, why, and which providers process it. For a data processing agreement or specific hosting questions, write to hi@wineater.com.
Wineater records widget sessions, searches, recommendations shown, wine-card interactions (hover, click and details viewed), show-more and similar-wines clicks, and BUY clicks. A dashboard in the Wineater admin panel shows these events per store. The numbers describe what shoppers do inside the widget; they are not a measure of your store's revenue.
A BUY click is a click on a wine's buy link in the widget, which opens that wine's product page in the shop. It signals purchase interest, but it is not a confirmed purchase: Wineater does not count BUY clicks as sales or orders.
In a one-month pilot, 15–20% of sessions with recommendations ended in a BUY click. A BUY click is a click to the product page, not a purchase. Shoppers sent 2+ requests each on average. This is a small sample, so read it as an indication, not a forecast.
Wineater records the click, not the order, and does not receive order data from your shop. A BUY click opens the product URL stored in your catalog, so the usual route is to tag those URLs, for example with UTM parameters, and follow the resulting visits and orders in your own analytics or e-commerce reports. We can discuss this during setup.
Wineater does not promise a specific increase in sales, conversion or basket size. Results depend on your catalog, your traffic and where the widget is placed. To see what a trial could measure for your shop, book a 20-minute demo or write to hi@wineater.com.
Online stores: $99 a month for a catalog of up to 1,000 wines, plus $0.10 per BUY click. Wines that are out of stock count too, and a larger file is cut at 1,000 wines; for more, ask for the Enterprise edition. Restaurants and bars: $99 a month per venue for up to 500 wines, $149 a month per venue for up to 2,000 wines; the staff tool (POS) and the guest QR page are included. Chains and longer wine lists: Enterprise edition, quoted on request. Distributors: $99 a month, with the widget and the wine list builder. Offline retail: talk to sales. All prices are in USD. Every plan starts with a free month. A BUY click is a click to the product page, not a purchase.
You start the trial yourself in your cabinet. A card is required, nothing is charged during the free month, and you can cancel any time. During the month you import your whole catalog when you are ready, add the widget or print the QR code, and try Wineater with your own wines. After the month, you pay the plan that fits your catalog, as listed on the pricing page. For anything about contract terms, write to hi@wineater.com.
An add-on for any plan at $49 a month: an enriched product feed for Google Merchant Center, with wine details such as pairing, taste and origin. It is in early access and not available yet. Ask us to join the waitlist.
You can do it yourself in about 5 minutes: sign up with your shop name, type and website, then point Wineater at your website, a CSV or Excel file or a product feed. It tastes 50 of your wines before you pay and builds a demo page and a QR code on your own wines, in your shop's colours when they can be read from your website. When you start your free month, you press a button to import the whole catalog, and the widget snippet or the QR code is in your cabinet. If you prefer, the Wineater team does it for you: you share your catalog, and we load and describe the wines, configure your store and language, and hand over the snippet or QR code. Either way you do not train or tune the AI yourself. Your part is adding the snippet to your site or printing the QR code.
The price depends on the number of stores and the size of the catalog. Talk to sales and we will send you a quote.
1-month free trial on your own wines. See the pricing page, or write to hi@wineater.com.
