Sipster

Sipster. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The 2014 Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers' annual convention and trade show at Kennewick's Three Rivers Convention Center had something for everyone. Even if you were just a fan of wine looking for a glass there was a new smartphone app from developer’s Blind Renaissance. Kristin Yanick talks about the app called Sipster.

YANICK: Blind Renaissance is a graphics design company. We do websites and logos but we’ve also created a mobile app for wine tours. We have categorized it by region and we’re trying to branch out to Canada, Oregon and then we’re adding also breweries, distilleries, coffee spots and restaurants that will help showcase the wineries that are local to those places.

Right now the app is available for iPhones from the AppStore and will soon be available for Android devices. Yanick says they are currently in the process of populating the app.

YANICK: The app is going to show you the GPS coordinates that those wineries, sip spots, restaurants - all those places I’ve described, where they’re at and how you get there. Say you go to Chelan, Washington. There are hundreds of wineries up there and how do you know not only which wineries you want to go to but what wines you loved at that winery.

One of the features of the Sipster app is called “Favorites.”

YANICK: And what it’s going to do is it’s going to enable you to remember the wine that you were drinking. Not only that but by involving the restaurants in the community it’s going to tell you which restaurants those wines are going to be showcased at.

The app is free for consumers and there are various levels of sponsorships available for wineries, breweries and more.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.