Kuvée, a company focused on wine-related products has now announced it is shutting down with immediate effect. While the company did offer some of the more mundane wine-related services – such as a subscription for hand-picked wines delivered to the door – it also did offer a far more unique and novel means of consuming the delivered wine, the Kuvée Connect.
This is a wine bottle in the most basic terms, though, what sets it apart is how this wine bottle is able to connect to Wi-Fi and comes with its own touchscreen. Through this combination, owners of the Kuvée Connect could interact with the bottle’s display and gain additional information about the wine, including information on the ‘wine’s story,’ food pairing suggestions, and other recommended wines based on the wine in the bottle at the time. Strictly speaking, the Kuvée Connect was more of a wine dispenser, as the customer only had to buy one Kuvée Connect and then could insert wines purchased from Kuvée into the dispenser, then allowing them to take advantage of the connected features, while also aiding in the delivery of the company’s FreshPour technology – which looks to keep wine fresh in the bottle for up to thirty days.
As for why the company has announced it is shutting up shop, the details came through an email sent out to customers explaining that the primary reason is due to the lack of funding needed to maintain the tech-focused approach to wine consumption. In addition to the funding needed to “educate the market” on the product in general. The email also did in-part lay some blame for the company’s financial troubles on the recent Napa fires in California. Suggesting the fires contributed to the company’s inability to scale as planned and this in turn also affected its ability to generate the much-needed capital. Although the company has now announced it is ceasing operations and sales (today is the last day to buy wine through the company’s website), the email did make it clear Kuvée intends to look for a buyer for the technology, with the hope it will make its way to market by other means.