Hello Vino acquires social wine app Corkbin- the "Instagram" of wine

By Erin Smith

Hello Vino has announced a deal to acquire the US social wine app Corkbin, that allows wine enthusiasts to save and share photos of wines and has been called the "Instagram of wine".

Hello Vino, also based in the US, was founded by Rich Rick Breslin, chief executive officer, and Jim McNamee, vice president of marketing, in 2009. The app delivers wine recommendations to mobile phones, helping consumers to find the right bottle of wine for a meal or an occasion, or according to taste preferences. It is available to download for free on any smartphone and uses a simple question and answer interface to recommend a wine in 10 seconds or less.

Hello Vino allows wineries and producers to enter their wines into the database for free, with the option to purchase sponsored placement on a cost-per-click basis and offers mobile merchandising programs for wine brands, allowing producers, importers and marketers to send contextually and geographically targeted messages based on the wine recommendations served to consumers.

Through the acquisition of Corkbin, Hello Vino will gain 1.7 million additional users and add a crucial social element to the wine recommendation functionality the app already has.

Rick Reslin said: "While the Hello Vino app assists wine shoppers before they buy, the Corkbin app facilitates the tracking and sharing of their wine purchases."

The mobile app acquisition is the first of its kind in the wine industry. As part of the acquisition deal Corkbin founder Catherine Liao will join Hello Vino as director for special projects.

Hello Vino is available for free at the iPhone app store, click here.