Today on Good Morning Interwebs, we spoke with Philip James, CEO of Snooth.com. Snooth is the world’s largest wine site, and Philip shared an impressive rundown of the company, told us about Al Capone’s involvement in American selling and gave some great tips on how to eyeball a good bottle of wine.
Here are some highlights:
:30. Philip describes what Snooth is, and how the site works.
2:00. Philip explains why Snooth does not sell wine. And gives an awesome history of wine regulations in the U.S.
11:00. Philip gives a tour of Snooth’s wine colleciton. And a large bottle of Veuve with an Ostrich leather label.
15:00. Philip explains why large bottles of wine can be bad for the wine in them. And describes the history of large bottle names.
16:50. Philip redeems boxed wine. And explains why screw top bottles came about/why the lack of a cork doesn’t devalue most wines. (But plastic corks are still embarassing. Don’t buy those.)
Those of you who tuned in live got an excellent rundown of how to eyeball a good bottle of wine. Philip helped Alli and Meghan estimate the price/value of a bottle of wine brought to their last party by a friend (an Altos las Hormigas Malbec). Ustream decided to stop recording after about 19 minutes, so here’s a little recap of the top things you should pay attention to when looking for a good bottle:
1. Check the punt: The indent on the bottom of a wine bottle is a good indicator of glass quality. If the bottle is flat on the bottom, the glass isn’t very well made. The deeper the indent on the bottom of the bottle, the more expensive it was to make.
2. Look for seams: Wine bottles are often made by melting two sides of glass together. More expensive bottles are made of blown glass, meaning they don’t have any seams at all. It may be rare to find a bottle under $15 without seams. But if you’re paying over $20, a lack of seams becomes more important.
3. Etchings on the glass: Similarly, it costs more money to etch the glass. Etchings on the bottle up the cost — and likely value — of wine bottles.
4. Don’t worry about years for wines made outside of Europe: Vineyards in California, New Zealand and South America are often located in areas with consistent temperatures. If you know a winery in one of these places that you like, chances are that its quality will be consistent over a variety of years. In Europe, where rain and sunshine are much less predictable, wine age matters more.
5. Download Snooth’s iPhone app: Snooth will tell you where and how to buy a good bottle of wine while you’re out shopping. And give you reviews of specific wines you’re interested in.
I’ve found neither ustream nor livestream to be a reliable platform. anyone have another suggestion?
