Are you familiar with the feeling of having misplaced your favorite bottle of ’06 Cab? Or wished you could peruse the contents of your wine collection without actually going into the cellar? The Intelliscanner Wine Collector 400 sets out to help anyone with a large personal wine library quickly organize any collection into an easy-to-use computerized model.
The Intelliscanner Wine Collector 400 comes equipped with:
- IntelliScanner mini 250 – portable USB barcode reader
- IntelliScanner wine management software
- Ten Pre-Printed Barcodes
- A wooden gift crate with Wine Collector branding
- One (1) year limited warranty
On the plus side, you’ll find the software for the Intellescanner Wine Collector-400 easy to use and download. You don’t have to be a techie genius to run this program. All you have to do is scan the barcode on a bottle of wine, and the system will compile all the relevant information, including brand, varietal, vintage, country, and color. For those bottles that do not have barcodes, or whose information is not included in the online database, the kit comes with pre-printed bars that can be attached to any bottle of wine. The software also includes a handy maturity calculator that tells you when a particular bottle of wine will be at its best. The software includes room for tasting notes, and can help you track down that ’06 Cab in its virtual cellar.
While all that sounds like the bees-knees and a box of chocolates, there are a few fatal flaws in the Intellescanner system. First of all, many wines are not included in their online database, which could leave you manually entering almost every bottle in your collection. As well, the maturity calculator doesn’t work on wines that were entered manually. Also, the software is designed in such a way that it can be difficult to delete bottles once they’re entered, which could be a problem if you’re looking for a bottle you’ve already drank.
When it comes to the bottom line, this software might be great for a small library, where it won’t take hours to manually enter each bottle individually. However, there are inexpensive apps for smart phones that can perform similar functions, and with a price point around $300, I’d say you’d be better off spending your money on a case of that ’06 Cabernet.