One of the best things you can do with a computer
is keep track of stuff. Cataloging and sorting large collections of
almost anything is easy, and even if you aren’t into database
design, there are plenty of excellent applications available in the
shareware world that merely require that you enter your information
to take full advantage of the power.
Probably my favorite application of database software has been
wine cellar management. Sure, you can keep track of your collection
of ante-bellum, rural American wooden widgets with a computer database,
but it isn’t as much fun as conducting the relevant research
of acquiring, managing and, most importantly, tasting your wine
collection. There are all sorts of details to log such as wineries,
varietals, regions, appellations, vintages, costs and tasting notes.
You can track your collection’s value, monitor the development
of the wine, maybe even scan and organize the labels.
There’s no shortage of wine cellar software, but my favorite
for personal use has been Cellar! for
at least the last six years. Recently I had the opportunity to upgrade
to the newest version, 3.1, which finally makes the transition to
32-bit software. Based on the MS Jet database engine that drives
Access, Cellar! has always offered a
powerful relational database with incredible sorting, filtering
and searching capability. The question was where could the program
go that would provide increased functionality that wasn’t simply
extraneous bells and whistles? I’ve seen too many programs
bloat with animations and graphics that really were little more
than pasted-in excess.
The answer is networking. Cellar! remains
a powerful database with quick conversion of your older version
records to the new format, or import of your data from whatever
other application you’ve been using to keep track of your bottles.
The big upgrade, however, is the ability to share your information
with other wine lovers. A simple click on the Cellar! Online button lets you exchange information from your notes on wines
that you’ve collected and tasted with literally thousands of
other users. Find a new wine and want to make sure you’ve got
all the information necessary to properly catalog the winery? Sure,
you could search the label and painstakingly enter the name, address,
phone, ZIP and region, assuming that you could find it. But, with Cellar! Online, you now can have the
software query the master database and automatically update your
local winery table records. You’ll seldom acquire a bottle
that won’t already have Cellar!
info available.
Been doing a bit of research on wines? Maybe you’ve found
some informative Web sites or stored some links to winery home pages.
You can quickly share your records with other users of the program
with just a mouse click. A visit to the developer home page at www.cellarwinesoftware.com/index.html
will show the latest count of shared wine records, wineries, tasting
notes and downloads of the trial software.
Of course, there is still plenty of local, unshared control of
your data. You can sort your records on virtually any field, enter
data with bar code scans, share your PC records with your PDA, and
generate tables, graphs and data summaries of your collection. Configurability
is incredible with plenty of power to organize on country of origin,
region/DOC, varietals or, maybe, price. The overview table lets
you see if wines are white or red, whether they are ready to drink
or may need a bit of age, and where they came from. When you consume
a bottle, you can easily grade it or add detailed tasting notes.
The multi-page record of each wine offers opportunity to enter as
much or as little data as you wish.
The real power of the program is online. Not everyone will be eager
to exchange Cellar! data, and that’s
fine. You can still benefit from the Web links. Want to check a
vintage chart? Maybe you need a definition from the wine encyclopedia?
How about a rating from Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast? Or maybe
you want to check the latest auction prices on rare and fine wines?
It’s all at your fingertips. Best of all, as you use the program,
you will be building an increasing collection of links to information
about wines, wineries, values and experiences.
You can download a demo of Cellar! from the Web page, and you can register the software for $49.95.
For most of us, that’s the cost of a couple of bottles of wine.
Once you’ve started using the software, you’ll be amazed
at the way the program broadens your wine enjoyment. If you will
be entering a tasting note, you’ll take a few moments longer
to consider the flavors and experiences. When some time has gone
by, you’ll find yourself toggling the “zero balance”
button to look back at wines that you’ve enjoyed over the past
months and years, even if you no longer have them in your cellar.
Five bottles or 500, you’ll enjoy your wine more with Cellar!
