February 7, 2005 By Zoë Halatas
Now, there are high-tech solutions, none more intriguing than Vinfolio, which helps its members organize their inventories either at home or in the company's warehouse. It's the brainchild of Steve Bachmann, who started collecting wine more than a decade ago after a move to London exposed to him to a wide variety of European wines. After moving back to the United States in 1996, Bachmann began collecting wine at every opportunity, amassing a collection that now exceeds 7,000 bottles. He started Vinfolio as a direct result of the frustration he experienced in trying to keep track of his wine.
"Vinfolio is a full-service organization for the serious wine collector," says Bachmann. "For the first time, wine collectors can manage their wine, store their wine, and have a personal wine consultant who will help acquire or sell their wine all under the same roof. It's one-stop-shopping that, while fairly common in other industries, is entirely new for wine collectors."
Along with its website and cellar management tool, Vinfolio has a state-of-the-art, full-service storage facility in San Francisco, with plans to expand to additional metropolitan areas based on membership needs. Vinfolio also offers its members highly personalized services which include acquisition, collection building and personal collection selling. For an additional fee, Vinfolio offers members on-location inventorying services. Vinfolio provides a complimentary 60-day membership which allows collectors an opportunity to evaluate their complete offering.
- If one has a wine wish list, they can send it to the Executive, who will help locate a supply whether it's an older vintage, current release, or future.
- If one is interested learning about wine buying opportunities, they can review previous Vinfolio wine offerings on the member home page.
- If one's collection is inventoried in a spreadsheet, they can forward it to the Executive, who will import it directly into the member's VinCellar account.
Vinfolio members have unlimited access to VinCellarTM, a comprehensive online cellar management tool which unifies all aspects of managing a wine collection, from tracking storage, and cost details to viewing professional reviews and pricing data.
Vinfolio's promise of true integration means that any detail of a wine collection is visible through VinCellar. When members purchase wine from Vinfolio, it is automatically updated in their VinCellar account. Wine purchased from other sources can also be easily added to a VinCellar account. When a collection is viewed in VinCellar, members have access to all relevant content at the same time, including pricing data, professional reviews, scores and drink dates. If a member chooses to store wine at Vinfolio's full-service storage facility, it is inventoried, barcoded and entered into VinCellar. And, when a wine is ready to drink, Vinfolio can deliver it to a member's door.
Just as importantly, Vinfolio offers assistance when it comes to selling one's inventory. Its personal selling service provides appraisals as well as help in locating buyers.
"Providing premier sources of professional wine reviews to our members is a fundamental part of our commitment to serving the needs of serious wine collectors" says Bachmann. "For the first time, wine collectors will have access to the best source of Burgundy reviews and commentary within the context of managing their own collections."
- Unlimited use of VinCellarTM, Vinfolio's online cellar management tool. To help get you started, just send us a spreadsheet with your inventory and we'll import it for you at no extra cost.
- Access to over 16,000 of Allen Meadows' BurghoundTM scores and reviews.
- Expert recommendations and exclusive wine offers—via phone and email—on highly rated wine and currently unrated wine that we think merit attention.
- Direct contact with Vinfolio staff who can act as your personal buying agent for acquisition activities.
- Access to Vinfolio's selling services, which enable the sale of wine in your VinCellar account for cash or Vinfolio credits which may be applied to wine purchases.
- Invoice scanning and entry of purchase details for non-Vinfolio purchased wine to help keep your VinCellar inventory completely accurate.
- Access to Vinfolio fee-based services, including full-service storage, inventorying, appraisal and more.
- A free copy of the 19th Edition—January 2005 Wine Price File when converting from a trial membership to a paid membership.
It's possible to receive a complimentary one-year Vinfolio membership when signing up for one year or more of storage for at least 20 cases. And for every $1,000 spent on Vinfolio's products and services, members earn one $20 Service Credit which may be redeemed for an additional month's membership or applied to a Burghound subscription or to any service charge including pickup and delivery, shipping, storage, inventorying or management support services.
Clearly, Vinfolio is a company providing an impressive suite of collector services, both online and off. It's completely dedicated to fine wine and serious collectors everywhere.
Founded by Stephen Bachmann, Vinfolio is a privately-held company based in San Francisco. It offers a totally unique and comprehensive suite of collector-centric online tools and services that unify all aspects of wine collecting-from acquisition and selling to management and storage-and combines them with an unprecedented level of personalized customer service. Created by serious wine collectors for serious wine collectors, Vinfolio helps wine lovers acquire, sell, manage, and store their wine.
For more information, visit www.Vinfolio.com, telephone (800) 969 1961 or send an email.