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Even though the wine industry was once considered more of a "boy's club", woman are now leading the way in the growing Natural Wine Movement as a market dedicated to organic ingredients and sustainable practices continues to emerge. This is largely due to the fact that women outnumber men as the lead consumer of wine in both retail and restaurant bottle purchases, as well as several studies that suggest that woman eat/drink more nutritiously than their male counterparts. This has led to organic and biodynamic wines growing at rates between 10 percent and 20 percent per year in volume from 2013 to 2016, and organic vineyards almost tripling word wide over the last decade. Being in charge of the Beverage Ordering and Menu Creation at my restaurant, I have seen first hand the increase demand for organic and biodynamic wines. It has become so prevalent that I have begun printing menus with asterisks to highlight which of our wines fall into either of these categories. According to a Mintel Study, 60 percent of millennials and 55 percent of Gen-Xers are concerned about harmful ingredients in their food and groceries. With millennials constituting for 36 percent of wine consumers, according to a report by Beverage Dynamics, it is a essential that both the restaurant and wine industries continue to cater and adept to our consumers wants and needs. It would only make sense that Women are the ones leading this growing trend, as they constitute the majority of the market for it as well.

The iRiS Sommelier is an application that turned the iPad into a digital Sommelier. It allows diners to browse through the wine list in their preferred language, view each wine label, and narrow the selection according to the type of wine, color, size, grape and region, as well as price. The iRiS Sommelier does not just lead to more informed dining experience, but also reduces wine selection time. Furthermore, this application helped to increase wine sales by 21% at the Kepinski Hotel in Budapest. In regards to the operation, the great feature is that restaurants are able to update their wine lists instantly, as well as change prices and availability. In addition, wine menu printing costs are minimized and environmental benefits are maximized. In my opinion, the iRiS Sommelier is not just a great new way to introduce the wine menu and update the inventory, but also to educate diners and give diners more time to enjoy their wine and food.

I think that mobile devices (smart phones) are playing an important role in the lifestyle of the restaurant goers, this applicaton not only educate the consumers about wine and food, but also keep them up date of the new trends.

As a frequent visitor of Las Vegas, this article caught my attention. The article discusses the collaboration between MGM Resorts International and Cisco Systems and the development of a "high-density WI-FI system designed to enhance the guest experience". According to the article, MGM Resorts and Cisco have developed the highest-performing wireless LAN in the industry. Since Las Vegas is a top destination for tourists and business travelers, this technology will enhance the overall experience for a guest who is in town for either business or pleasure (or both!). Not only is the connectivity within this system is 30 percent faster, but it offers new programs and apps. There is a "state-of-the art wayfinding resort map" which offers point-by-point directions to various locations within the resort such as, restrooms, restaurants, and retail stores. I think this is a great idea. Las Vegas hotel/casino resorts can be quite overwhelming, especially for first-time guests.

. For example, it can be difficult to locate the "all mighty" restroom among the bright lights of the slot machines and crowds of anxious gamblers. With this new WI-FI system in place, any MGM Resorts' guest with a wireless device has access to a quick reference guide right in the palm of their hand. Another interesting feature of this system is the assortment of restaurant wine, beer, cocktail, and dessert apps. These apps are designed to cater to food and wine enthusiasts. For example, wine lovers can "discover new wines, read reviews, rate the wine themselves, and even email wine labels". As a wine lover myself, I think this is a fantastic idea! On numerous occasions, I have found myself desperately searching for a pen and paper to write down the wine information or taking pictures of wine labels for future reference.

Las Vegas is host to numerous conventions year-round. MGM Resorts' new WI-FI system also caters to convention attendees. Previously, their WI-FI system was only able to support roughly 4,000 concurrent users. Today, with the new and improved WI-FI, MGM Resorts now has the capability to support up to 120,000 concurrent users in Las Vegas. In addition, convention groups will find that the system is user-friendly and allows for network customization. It also includes location-based services and fast download/streaming speeds (for video presentations). MGM Resorts is clearly an industry leader. Most of their resorts, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and The Mirage already have this enhanced WI-FI in place. Final installations to additional resorts will be complete in 2013.

The wine world is growing and normally a person goes to the grocery store to purchase their wine. Now there are groups or clubs that will give the option to purchase wines from all over the world at a discounted price. The average spent on each transaction is over $220. While these clubs are not as popular yet they idea that one can purchase wine online is creating a more convenient way of purchasing wines that the consumer can enjoy. Although less that 15% of sales are coming in from these wine clubs they are becoming a more popular and practical options for some consumers.

Tastry uses sensory science, chemistry, and AI to help winemakers better cater to a specific palate, and consumers to better know which wines best match their taste.

With restaurants having to go dark to most of their customers, it has become essential to reinvent and find a way to connect through online events. Using newer technologies like Zoom, Tock, and other social media platforms, closed restaurants and bars can find a way to connect and engage their customers, and sometimes even find a profit in it. In this article, we follow the path of a wine bar owner who closed his doors early on. He then moved to zoom classes for his servers, and decided to tailor them to his consumers. Now, he offers virtual tasting experiences that are followed up with the options to buy those wines directly from his bar. He also has done classes for 25-35 that engage his consumers in a positive experience. I've seen this happen a lot lately with successful pivots in restaurants. Girl and The Goat did this with goatceries, where she has created multi-day groceries that are partially prepared that guests can pick up and then follow her online cooking class directions. I've also seen this with Christina Tosi as she has started online baking classes through Instagram. If restaurants can continue this through the pandemic, it might offer another new option for revenue in the future.

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the New York City Food and Wine Festival Burger Bash.  This large scale event held 300 people and utilized 28 burger places to demonstrate their burger might.  The technology they used was interesting.  They first had ticket scanners that corresponded with bracelets, clearing you for admission.  They gave everyone coins to vote in a process that would declare the Burger champion.  On stage, they had many microphones, with a whole band rocking out.  They used ID scanners to check how old people are.  I think that this event utilized effectively technology, but only used somewhat dated means due to their relaxed nature.  It was highly successful, but in terms of tech, very simplistic.

A local restaurant in LaSalle Illinois, Uptown Grill, has turned their full menu into an e-menu, or electronic menu. All customers are to use an android-based tablet in replacement of the traditional paper menu along with their entire wine menu. The e-menu is simple to use. There are two apps available to the customer one of the apps it the restaurants menu. The other renders the tablet useless if a patron were to walk out of the restaurant with, their way of decreasing the thought of theft of their new tablets. The e-menu allows for guest to find out more information for any food item on the menu, all they have to do is tap the image. It pulls up with a full description of the item along with another option, wine pairing. Their menu comes equipped with a wine paring, or suggestion, for each dish. They sell, "hundreds of different wines", and this is a great way to help guests who are inexperienced with wine. For those patrons that have not adopted the e-menu, Uptown Grill provides their paper menus.

This article gives more information on the impact E-menus have on the hospitality industry. It shows a different positive perspective on this system, and explains how Food & Bev sales can increase while operating costs decrease; thus enhancing profits. The example being used is a digital wine platform, and proves that by incorporating the e-menu it motivated workers to learn more about the wine and products they were selling.

New apps are being developed for digital menus. Pros and cons and tablet menus and traditional menus. Many restaurants around the world are already implementing this type of technology.

The apps are searching within several options. Apps are various while somebody is searching. I like the example to show on menus that wine would offer grape variety and climate zone. There are more offerings on iPad about food suggestions. While clients are taking an option inside, everyone should take an insight. They are going on SmartCeller for e-digit selling. Even some of the groups are keeping software digital menu inside. How many more options are keeping to get papers and get owners. Data source are concerning more about processing like reservations online due to everyday data source. If there are more current contents. I would like to be offered more about networks and payments solving via cards no matter member cards or savings cards.

This article helps us to understand the benefits of eMenus. The main point is that eMenus do not replace waiters or waitresses but help them. For example, it lets people see the actual pictures of the dishes so they are more willing to order something new and maybe even something more expensive than usual.

This is great example of a hardware technology that has been implemented in London West Hollywood hotels to improve and personalize customer experience. This technology also helps in driving F&B profits while reducing labor costs. The customer gets to enjoy a quality glass of wine at their own convenience.

eMenu systems can cause customers to order more when they see images and descriptions on a tablet. There has been an average of a 6% increase in checks in restaurants that utilize digital menus. It can also save the restaurant money to use this system instead of printing new menus. eMenu systems can be customized to promote whatever the restaurant wants to promote. These menus can also be translated so guests can read the menu in their native language, a feature which would be useful in a city such as Miami.

Almost everyone has a smart phone now and days. Apps are used for almost anything and this article gives evidence to how much you can do with an app. The article focuses on Las Vegas and how many hotels have different apps for every occasion. Vegas Mate caught my attention from how it has things such as "a listing of resort fees, top suites, information for travelers on getting around, conventions, gambling and more" that other Vegas apps don't have. I believe it takes great time and money for these companies to keep up with the ever changing schedules for each hotel. I'm a planner and I was really intrigued on how this certain app pulls up the latest update and weather from around the city and even "keep all those show tickets, dinner reservations and hotel bookings in order." I mean who can beat that? There's no excuse to why hotels and many other tourism spots don't have an app for all the amenities that are offered. It'll surprise guests and make them really pleased with their stay.

"With a cloud-based system, merchants are able to run numerous reports from your computer by simply pressing a button. Data that highlights top selling items and customer favorites will help business owners, like Larry, to make smarter decisions. Reliable POS software will decrease the time customers spend at the register and will eliminate human error by employees. Merchants are now able to organize menu items on the iPad based on category and can make colored-coated "hot keys". Retailers that have large amounts of inventory no longer have to worry about slow transactions or inventory errors. Many POS software providers now offer integrated barcode scanning, which will increase speed and efficiency. This foolproof method eliminates the process of manual entry. Speedier transactions will keep customers smiling while generating more business. Quality POS software can help business owners acknowledge loyal customers by allowing for quick pre-programmed discounts at the register. Additionally, customers now have the option to receive an email receipt, which can help merchants to not only recall their customers' name at the time of checkout, but also build targeted email campaigns informing their customers of current promotions and recommending new product based on previous purchases. " https://diigo.com/0befg9

I enjoyed reading this post as it came from the perspective of a customer. Companies, such as the local wine store mentioned in this article, can truly take advantage of POS to improve customer satisfaction. With a reliable POS software, the transaction does not have to be time consuming and consumers can use additional payment methods such as Apple Pay. I also think that POS helps with the replenishment of inventory. Customers can be very loyal, but if they feel that their needs are not taken into consideration, such as the case of the Malbec wine, then they will start to drift to other wine stores that can offer this. I believe POS has numerous benefits and this article has a very straightforward and clear way of presenting this.

Coming from a catering and cooking background I was happy to discover how many ways AR is being used. As soon as we started exploring this topic the first thing that came to mind was what an amazing selling tool this would be. Whenever i sit with clients they always ask me if I have pictures of parties we have done and food we have served. Being able to show it to them with a 3D perspective will make it all the more appealing. The goal of your first meeting with a client is to make them excited about what you have to offer and make not decide not to meet with any other caterers! Take it a step further and what an amazing selling tool it would be if you could say take a picture of a persons backyard where the party is being held and you could place a picture of your buffet so they can actually visualize what it will look like. I am very excited about the potential of this technology

The enhancements of ordering food & beverage by this improved app will help to reduce the need for staff and provide a more personalized experience for guests. It offers the ability to manage new revenue streams for example wine sells can be sold as a glass that were not a previous option unless ordered with a staff member. There are endless possibilities of using this app with other hotel departments as well.

MenuPad is a mobile POS system designed to operate with existing POS systems, making the system easy to incorporate into a restaurant's operations. Customers can place orders and pay bills with this appilication on iPad. Carmel Café & Wine Bar in Sarasota, Florida, now has this app for the restaurant. The server's traditional role of order-taker is replaced with technology when a mobile POS menu is implemented. However, the still server plays a crucial role in introducing guests to the iPad itself and the software it is running.

Illasi Valleys, which is composed of 52 companies, has been created in Verona, Italy. Even though the area in the Province of Verona is not that well-known, many popular brands of wine and olive oil are exported from there. The purpose of this network is to "promote local hospitality, increase visitors to the area, and to share the benefits between all members". Illasi Valleys is a network made up of companies from the wine and olive oil, hospitality, and manufacturing sectors of Verona. Illasi Valleys is expecting an ambitious budget of 1,200,000 euros. Part of this budget will fund the activation of an E-Commerce website. Important partnerships and collaborations are forming to implement this project. According to the article, "a network of international brand ambassadors located in various countries has also been created and a contract with US tour operator TourCrafters has been signed". The focus of Illasi Valleys is to increase the numbers of Northern European and US visitors.

Mobile users are not just playing Angry Birds or checking the local weather, 38% have used their mobile devices to plan a trip and 60% of respondents said they have downloaded travel apps on their mobile devices, according to a TripAdvisor survey. While travelling, 62% of travelers said they use their mobile devices to research restaurants. 51% check their flight status and 46% research attraction, 28% have checked in to a restaurant, hotel or attraction using their mobile device while on a trip, according to TripAdvisor. (travelmole, May 2011). A research conducted by PhoCusWright shows that 75% of frequent business travelers (those making at least five trips a year) are smartphone owners. About half of frequent leisure travelers have smartphones. There's more than enough evidence for the hospitality industry to use mobile apps, and some hotels have already started and are successfully doing it.

Many restaurants have taken step to use improved POS software. A London restaurant use interactive touch tables with digital tablecloth and e-menus. This device has a lot of functions. Customers can order the food by themselves instead of waiting for the waiters. During the time of waiting for food, customers are allowed to see the food preparation. After finish the food, customers are also separate the check by themselves. Besides, ipads are also a popular pos system to attract customers. They have the similar function with digital table cloth. The author thinks that in the next five years, this e-menu trend will grow rapidly. And the author listed five reasons. First, customers can entice by interactive suggestions and well designed screen. Second, this system is easily to share with friends. Third, restaurants can sell more wine and beer because ipads' suggestions. Fourth, customers are more likely to order food in a well presented recipe. Fifth, entertainment function will give guests impressive experience.