Vlogs and tweets changed the [wine] world

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On June 8, CataVino, an online wine marketing company, tweeted, "Social Media is Changing the Wine World!" and it appears to be the case as the traditionally closed industry has opened up by embracing the direct connection to consumers via transmedia platforms.

According to a wrap-up clip from CataVino's Access Zone at the London International Wine Fair in May, 700,000 watch wine clips online monthly and 7,000 individuals tweet about wine daily.

Wine bloggers (Vinsanity, Spittoon, Swirl Smell Slurp), vloggers (Wine Library TV), social networks (Snooth, Adeggo) and smartphone applications (WINEFindr, Drync Wine Pro) are demystifying the wine world in order to share and help wine enthusiasts understand what's in the bottle.

The trend appears to have exploded in 2010, changing industry norms.

There is now an ISBN-like code for wines, AVIN, that is being introduced to help consumers find the exact wine and vintage you are looking for.

Similarly, WINEfindr (€3.99), described as a ‘pocket sommelier', and Drync Wine Pro (€3.99), virtual wine cellar, both help to locate and recall favorite wines with varying features. Imagine dining al fresco in Tuscany and snapping label images of some new Sicilian white you want to purchase for a dinner party when you return home - the apps will convert that image into a wealth of useful information.

Not to mention the endless wine reviews and online tastings that can be viewed to help inform purchases, tastings and pairings.

In addition to the Access Zone there are other events centered on social media including the sold-out North American Wine Bloggers' Conference (June 25 in Walla Walla, Washington) and the world's first free 3D virtual wine fair for the profession (June 21-25) and the public (June 26-27) will take place at WineFair.com in seven different languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.