The Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association has introduced a nimble smartphone app that acts like a personal tour guide in Monterey Wine Country, providing maps, directions, profiles and details on Monterey vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms.
The Monterey Wine Country app will cull information from the MCVGA’s online “Find Your Favorite” database (available at MontereyWines.org) and is compatible with all smartphones (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and others).
Users will be able to find vineyards and tasting rooms based on their preferences including region, varietals available for tasting and sale, and amenities such as pet-friendly grounds, food sales or picnicking accommodations.
The social networking aspect of the tool allows users to post comments and reminders on various sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
“The fact that wine travelers will have the flexibility and freedom to discover our region in detail from the comfort of their own mobile phone will be a boon for the wine industry here in Monterey,” says Rhonda Motil, Executive Director of the MCVGA. “We believe we are at the forefront of a new wine country culture. The ease of use of our application, and the ability to view the pinpoints of the tasting rooms on the size of a mobile screen, contributes to the practicality of this navigational tool.”
Benefits to Monterey Wine Country visitors are myriad: access to an easily searchable database of real-time, member-updated information including contact details, featured varietals, tasting room hours, and GPS-integrated directions and maps.
“Even if you don’t have your Monterey County wine map with you, as long as you have your phone, navigating Monterey Wine Country will be a breeze,” says Motil. “It also contributes to our ‘Going Green’ initiative of sustainable and spontaneous exploration.”
Monterey’s vineyards and tasting rooms also will benefit enormously from the MCVGA app’s new technology. For instance, visitors will be equipped with the information to explore the county’s suggested itineraries for “Three Perfect Days in Monterey Wine Country” through the “Vineyard Ventures,” “Coastal Connoisseur” or “Country Charm” tours profiled on the app.
Those who have a preference to make their tasting room tour selections based upon the varietal that is being poured on the tasting menu can peruse from the 42 cultivated varietals in the region.
In addition, remote tasting rooms that are within easy access of Highway 101 and the scenic California coastline of Highway 1 will be more easily reachable with the help of the app’s integration with smartphone GPS functions.
The new smartphone app is now available for installation from iTunes and directly from the MCVGA website. For visitors and consumers who prefer to explore Monterey Wine Country from their computer, the MCVGA’s new online database tool, “Find Your Favorite,” provides the same useful information and detailed functionality as the app.
