Welcome to Built In Chicago’s newest weekly feature, Tech Spotlight of the Week! In this series, we’ll be highlighting locally built tech apps and products at the end of each business week. If you’d like to be considered for inclusion in the future, send your pitch to [email protected].
This week, we’re zooming in on
, a platform tailor-made for even the most technophobic sommelier in the city to discover high-quality and low-profile boutique wineries.
Launched in 2015, the company’s on a mission to bring technology to a wine industry hindered by old-fashioned and confining wholesale practices. Despite mighty numbers coming out of California (some stats peg it as a $25 billion industry), wine distributors remain decidedly stuck in the past. As it stands, most wine ordering is done over the phone with pads of paper and pens, with many distributors opting for larger-scale wine productions where their buck ultimately carries a little more bang.
Taylored Wines is modernizing the process, using a tech-powered platform to help artisan wineries get the word out to restaurants and retailers. The goal is to increase exposure to those hole-in-the-wall wineries your might only otherwise experience by trekking to Napa Valley.
Meanwhile, the company’s portfolio allows wine connoisseurs to discover, schedule tastings, and ultimately order, all in a one-stop-shop. Profiles on the site’s various wines include information like tasting notes and pricing, as well as any awards the wine may have won, arming sommeliers with enough information to make an informed decision to order from smaller, less-known boutiques.
While consumers can’t order the hidden gems on Taylored Wine’s platform, we are more likely to find them on wine lists at local restaurants thanks to the startup’s efforts.
Image via Taylored Wines/Facebook.
Know of a startup that deserves coverage? Send us an email via[email protected].
