Enjoying California’s new alcohol regulations? Try wine delivery Palate Club

Experiencing lockdown blues? Days in quarantine seem long and endless? Well here’s some good news—California’s new alcohol pronouncement just might cheer you up.

Per the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), in order to help businesses during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown in the state, it will be relaxing its rules on alcohol pick-up and delivery. This means that restaurants can now include beer, wine, and cocktails in their takeout and delivery menu, though orders must always include food items. This comes as a relief for many, as alcohol sales comprise 30% of their revenue.

For some of the best wine clubs like Palate Club, who source wine from all over the world and ship them to its customers, this is a welcome development. ABC’s support would only serve to boost more sales, especially in California, where oenophiles now have limited options in terms of wine-tasting past times. Because of the active shelter-in-place mandate, a lot of activities have been temporarily suspended, as everyone is encouraged to practice social distancing—which means no outdoor events that amass a large gathering of people at any time.

Drink up for a unique experience

Palate Club is not your typical wine club. It has a namesake app that uses a smart algorithm, calculating your palate profile to match you with a bottle of red or white that you’ll really love. Think Netflix for wine—the data science, backed by expert sommeliers,   comprises over 200 wine traits that are part of the selection. These are then matched with astounding accuracy to your tastes.

The app makes personalized recommendations that are unequalled by other wine clubs out there. More than that, each shipment gets better at predicting what label you would delight in, the more that you rate the bottles sent to you. That’s the beauty of artificial intelligence, and Nicolas Mendiharat, founder and fellow wine lover, is surprised that not enough companies make use of the technology.

In an interview, Mendiharat emphasized the need for innovation: “Wine clubs have mostly become popular since 2005 when U.S. wineries were allowed to ship directly to U.S. customers by a Supreme Court ruling. Most wine clubs are therefore affiliated to a specific winery. As for us or other retail clubs using imported wines as well as American wines, the wine club model thrives because of its convenience, purchasing simplicity and curation. But it needed a new experience tackling the main problem the customer is facing: good value for your own personal taste. This is why we built Palate Club.”

Propping up the hospitality community

Letting businesses continue to serve customers even at a time of a pandemic is a boon for food and liquor sellers. For one, even if the dine-in set-up has significantly impacted income, they can at least still turn their inventory into hard-earned money. What’s more, because takeout can now include drinks, calls have started coming in asking for recommendations on what kind of wine pairs well with certain foods.

For Mendiharat and his team, this is music to their ears: “As a rule, we consider every customer’s palate is different and make a point of delivering a vast diversity of wines. But obviously, with the level of feedback data from the ratings, we start to see taste clusters, which in certain cases are surprising.”

He continues: “For instance, we see the old world and new world type have no particular preference in the U.S., so there are as many customers preferring full-bodied fruity reds as mineral lighter ones coming from Europe. Exotic grapes and blends are also winning because of their strong matching with certain palates. Wines with a lower alcohol level are also enjoyed more than we thought.”

Standing out from the crowd

Indeed, with more than a hundred thousand labels online—not to mention the ones peddled by your favorite restaurant or bar—choosing what to drink can be overwhelming. When ABC eased the alcohol ordinance, this paved the way for eateries to come up with creative ideas on how they can further increase their profit, from including bottled wine to inventing snazzy cocktails to match their meals.

Palate Club, however, remains true to its roots. This means no mass-market wines and no half-baked publicity stunts—only honest-to-goodness wine delivery that is sensitive to each individual palate of customers, which is substantiated by solid scientific data. With its groundbreaking app, it’s almost like you have a world-class sommelier at your fingertips.

The next time you feel like ordering in, skip the extravagant wine lists and open the app. Palate Club’s online wine shop will bring you artisanal labels that truly fits you straight to your doorstep. Just don’t forget to tip the delivery guy, and wash your hands.

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(Featured image by Steve Buissinne via Pixabay)

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