Please note these help pages are formatted best for a large screen.
Help for using the current release of the app. Then Tap on this button to return to the app main menu.
Picture
Help Topics
A Few Navigation Hints
  • Buttons with Red or Green surround or play button are active hot links, ones with Black are not
  • All actions in Exploring Classic Wine Styles are Swipes except  Wine Vinotar® Selection or Wine Style Word Cloud Selections which are Taps these are steps in which you need to make a choice
  • The Dotted List Control (upper left) takes you back to the Vinotar®  Selection screen and the Line List Control (upper right) takes you to the Main Menu.
  • The Left Angle Control "<"  (upper left) is the same function as the "GoBack" function in your browser either will work
  • Tap the Magnifying Glass icon to input text searches, which you can also voice input on mobile phones. Note: Exact matches of multi-word search terms e.g  Cabernet Sauvignon, require "Parentheses" for an exact match
Exploring Classic Wine Styles
Discover wines by Varietal  Classic Blends, Taste Profiles or Appellation Standards
Find wines styles by menu lists, text input, voice input of a specific varietal, blend or appellation/region.
Discover wine appelation/regional standard styles
  • Tap on Explore Classic Wine Styles
  • Tap the Search Icon
  • Type in or dictate the appelation/region name
  • Tap Go
  • All the standard style names will be listed
  • Tap the style to see it's details
Discover your favorite varietal wine styles by exploring wines with our Vinotars® as guides 
  • Tap on Wine & Styles
  • Tap on a wine style Vinotar® (Varietal or Classic Blend)
  • Review the Serving Temperature, Key Traits & Distinct Style Differences
  • Tap on SipClip™ if you'd like a personal video introduction and a bit of a grin
  • Swipe left to WordClouds showing key markers of each of the wine's styles
Intro to Vinotars®
BottleCru® Vinotar® line-up
  • Each Vinotar® represents a classic wine type (varietal or blend)
  • They reflect in their appearance and personality key characteristics of the wine type or grapes from which they're made
  • Each of them have several wine styles which smell and taste very differently
  • Knowing these styles is the key to finding the wine you will love and successfully pairing food and wines!
Discover, remember and communicate wine styles and their key differences
  • Review  styles & note their nicknames, most wine types have 2-3 styles, some have even more
  • Review the WordClouds showing the key markers  and differences between them, the larger the word size, the more pronounced the "marker" is in aroma, taste or mouth-feel
  • Tap on the WordCloud of a style you want to review in detail
Explore the aromas and tastes of each wine style, see where they often come from and get recommendations of  other wine to try
  • Review the style page for details of its key "markers" of smell, taste and  mouth-feel
  • Scroll down to see the country and region it most often comes from
  • Scroll further down to see other types of wines are similar in style and which you are likely to enjoy, if this is one of your favorites
  • These other wines are also likely stand-ins for food pairing substitutions for wine-lovers seeking even more variety in the wines they consume.
Find food and cheese parings for each wine style using the Go-To Food™ Pairings
  • Swipe left to see the Go-To Food Pairings recommended for this style
  • Try one or more of these foods to expand your experience with this wine style and try both formal and informal dishes
  • Scroll down to review cheeses that are proven pairings for this style
  • Try this wine style with one or more of these cheese to really experience both in the best light
Browse selected/recommended wines of that style
  • Swipe left again to see an alphabetical list of Selected/Recommended Wines of this style ; producer name, release name, regional source, alcohol level and typical retail price range are shown
  • These wines are reviewed by a team of professional sommeliers to insure their quality
  • Try to taste at least one Selected/ Recommended Wine of each style (preferably several side-by-side) to reveal your preferred style, it's the best way to decide which you prefer
  • Record your ratings for each style by Taping My Bottle>Record A Tasting to record your ratings into  your Tasting History™ and creating a powerful personal Wine Styles Score Card™
Recording Wine Style Experiences
Record your tastings of wines with the My BottleCru™
  • Tap on My BottleCru™ (log-in required)
  • Tap on Record A Tasting
  • Scroll-down until you see the Vinotar® representing the wine type (varietal/Blend) you are reviewing
  • Tap on the wine style too if you know it or Tap on the Vinotar if you're unsure, you can edit it later or leave it blank
  • For BottleCru Curated Wines, Tap on it its label in the alphabetical listing, for other wines Tap on New Wine Entry
  • If the wine type is not displayed as a Vinotar, scroll down and Tap on the Additional Wines and scroll down until you see it in the list of over 200 additional wine types are listed and Tap on it
  • If your even unsure of the wine's Type or Style or it's a unique blend...just Tap on "Red Blend" or "White Blend" and edit it later..no problem!
  • If your looking for a specific wine you can Tap on the Search Icon and type in even part of the name of the wine to find it, regardless of its type or style
  • For BC Curated Wines just input your comments and star ratings, everything else is already filled-in.
  • For other wines, Tap  Capture Bottle  and Take Photo to take a picture of the label with your phone camera or Tap Photo Library to select one from your smart-phone camera role and  then fill-in the other wine information.
  • Go ahead and use voice-input for common names, terms and numbers
  • Start putting-in an Appellation and the app will auto-fill its region and country or  you can over write it.
  • Tap on Save Tasting to add it to your Tasting History
  • To see your recorded reviews tap on ​My Tasting History™ which maintains a chronological list of your reviews
  • Tap on a stored small photo to enlarge it to read label details a second tap will scale it back
  • Tap on any review icon to review, edit, delete or share the tasting review
  • You can also search the web for information about any wine in a tasting and get reviews, pricing information and purchasing sources, Tap on "Search Web For This Wine"
  • You can also add a new entry into your wine inventory for a duplicate of this wine, just tap "Duplicate into inventory" and then select it and modify any field you want (vintage/storage location) and save and then tap "Update".
  • Tap on the Facebook or Twitter buttons to share your reviews on your Facebook page or Twitter account.
  • Lastly you can down-load a spreadsheet of your Tasting Journal by Tapping the spreadsheet Icon.
See your Wines Styles ScoreCard™
See an analysis of your wine style ratings by using My Wine Styles Scorecard™ feature
  • Tap on My BottleCru™ and Wines Style Scorecard™ to see the average star ratings of your tasting reviews of each wine style. 
  • The number in the circle shows in the number of wines of the style you've reviewed
  • The number is highlighted in yellow indicating your favorite style, if you've tasted each of the styles and few examples of your shown favorite. (A tie will highlight more than one style.)
  • Try a wine style several times, in order to gain confidence in your style preference
  • Tap on a style to see the wine reviews that contributed to that scorecard rating
  • Zero-star rated wines will not be included in scores, as that is meant for flawed wines
Learning to taste like a professional
Get the most out of your tasting experiences by following our BottleCru Tasting Guide™ feature
  • Tap on Guides
  • Tap on Tasting Guide
  • Review the nine steps overview
  • Tap on each step in turn to review the contents while listening to the voice-over to give you some additional useful insights, it includes some insider Sommelier tips
  • Especially review the Serving Temperature step as it gives important guidance on the effects of temperature on wine
  • When you about to taste a wine, just quickly review the Guides Overview screen to refresh your memory
 BottleCru® Curated Wines: Ordering wines in your preferred styles
Order wines in your preferred styles and price range using BottleCru® Curated Wines™
  • Tap on BottleCru® Curated Wines
  • Scroll-down until you see the Vinotar® representing the wine type you are seeking
  • Tap on the wine style if you know it or just Tap on the Vinotar® to see all styles
  • Scroll down the alphabetical list to find specific wine style you want by style, region or price range
  • By Tapping on the search icon, you can search by Producer Name, Appellation, Vintage or Price range ($$). Just separate the search terms with spaces.
  • Tap on the wine you want to see a list of web-sites which will help you order that wine.
Note
  • If you can't find the wine you want to order from our curated list of wines, use the style WordClouds to communicate to a server or sales person, what style of wine you want.
  • Also refer to the wine type's source regions listed on the style pages, as a check you are getting the style you're seeking (it's not exact but a great guide).
  • Only a knowledgeable wine professional who has tasted a specific wine release or its inclusion in the BottleCru Selected Wines listing will guarantee its style.
Confidently select and order the wines you prefer in "high pressure" restaurant situations following the BottleCru Dining & Ordering Guide™ feature
  • Tap on Guides
  • Tap on Dinning & Ordering Guide
  • Review the nine steps overview
  • Tap on each step in turn to review the contents while listening to the voice over to give you some useful insights, it also includes some insider Sommelier tips
  • When you about to order just quickly review the Guides Overview to refresh you memory and you'll order like a pro
BottleCru Food Pairing Guide™
Pairing wine to food & food to wine

Find wine styles that pair best with the foods you've selected or are planning to serve with the BottleCru Food Pairing Guide™
         
  • Tap on Great Food Pairings
  • Tap on the category of food/dish/cheese, ethnic or holiday meal you want to pair
  • Tap on a sub-category
  • Scroll down the list alphabetical to find your dish
  • Or alternately before selecting any food category Tap on the search icon and input in the search box key words describing the food, separated by spaces, either by typing them in or by using voice input on your phone and tap on Go. (Text Search Hints: Cheeses are even text searchable  by milk type, cheese type, hardness and aging. For foods with multiple word names, put in unique single words or both will be found.)
  • The first blue Knife & folk "icon" indicates that the app is showing recommenced wine style pairings for that dish in recommended order with "best" fit first
  • Then you have three options:
  • Tap on "Style details & similar wines"
  • Tap on "Search your wine collection"
  • Tap on "Review your tasting history"
  • Tap on "Search BC curated wines"
Get a list of all the wine styles which pair well within a specific category of foods or cheeses     
  • Tap on Great Food Pairings
  • Tap on a meal category
  • Tap on a sub-category
  • Tap on the Wine Bottles "icon" to see a list of all the wines that pair well with that sub-category of foods or cheese
  • Tap on a wine style to see a list of specific foods that are recommended to pair with that wine style
  • This is especially useful in finding dishes/cheeses that pair well with a specific wine style you want to try or enjoy
Pairing two dishes with one wine
Find wines which pair well with multiple dishes using our Multi-Meal Paring feature (patent pending)     
  • First select the first meal to pair
  • Tap on the second blue Knife & fork "icon"
  • The app lists all the dishes that have common recommended wine pairings
  • Tap on the Second dish "icon" to see the list of recommended wines for both dishes
  • The wines are listed in recommended order
  • This will provide a single wine style to share without sacrificing great pairing for either
Finding wines of a specific style
Find varietals and blends that match a specific style profile
  • Tap on Wines By Their Taste Profiles
  • Tap on the profile you want; Sweeter, Sparkling, Dry Reds & Dry Whites & Pink
  • Tap on a specific wine in the profile list to see its specific profile, they are in alphabetical order
Investigate the world's most famous blends
  • Tap on Wines Blends Worth Knowing
  • Tap on a specific wine in the blends list to see its specific profile, they are in alphabetical order
Managing you wine collection
Creating your wine collection
  • Tap on My BottleCru
  • Tap on Your Wine Collection
  • Tap on Add A New Wine
  • Tap  the wine's Vinotar  (if a core varietal) or Style if you know it 
  • Tap on the wine if it's listed, as a BottleCru Curated Wine
  • Just make any required edits
  • Tap on New Wine Entry of it's not
  • If it's not a core varietal, type Tap on Additional Wines (at the bottom of the page) and Tap on the wine type
  • On the Add To Collection screen Tap on Capture Bottle to take the label image and use your phone's Camera app to capture it or select it from the Camera Roll, if you took an image previously.
  • You can even add a label image from the web captured on your Camera Roll, but it may need to be rotated 90 degrees using the Camera App first based on your camera settings.
  • If it wasn't a BC Curated Wine, Input all relevant information about a wine you'll like to record and later us as a  search term;  Producer, Release Name, Vintage, Appellation, Country, Wine Style (if you know it), price,  Alcohol by Volume (ABV), and storage location and other notes you like to record.
  • Start putting in Appellation and the app will auto-fill its region and country or  you can over write it.
  • (Note: If you only have to insert a label image and all the information of this wine once. Once the wine has been entered you can make a copy from you other entry that is either a stored tasting or an inventory wine. Just make any required edits such as vintage.)
  • The app allows you to input a : "Best Drinking Window" which is mean to be a  range of years to best enjoy the wine, if you know it. The second date  is the date by which we strongly recommend you plan to consume the wine, as it has likely reach its peak aging development. The app will remind you by flagging the image of  the wine label with a "Sand Clock Image" when that date occurs. If you insert a both a wine type & wine style it can also auto-fill that date for you. But you can delete it or over ride it if you desire.
  • Tap Add To Collection
  • When the app shows Added To Collection, if you want to store other bottles of a different wine, Tap on Add Another Wine.
  • If you want to add more bottles of the same wine,    Tap on"Duplicate This Wine" button and then make any changes you want for this next wine, such as storage location and then Tap on "Save Update" button. Repeat until you've added all your wines.
  • If your done adding wine Tap on View My Collection.
  • Your collection will be displayed, showing the label images with other key data overlay-ed.
  • Wine are listed showing the most recent entry first.
Editing/Searching your wine collection
  • To edit/delete any wine stored in the collection. Tap on that wine and use the same entry screen to edit or delete that wine
  • To Search Tap the Search "Icon" and type text search entries you made with the wines
  • You can use multiple terms separate by spaces and then Tap Go (Hint: use one unique word for two-word wine names or you will get matches for both words.)
  • You can record a tasting of any wine in the inventory. Tap the "Convert To Tasting" button. It will then be deleted from your collection and moved into your Tasting Journal
Other Wine Collection Functions
  • You can search the web for information about any wine in your inventory and get reviews, pricing information and purchasing sources, even label images (may need 90 degree rotation). Tap on "Search Web For This Wine".
  • To make another identical collection copy, Tap "Duplicate Into Collection". Edit nay changes, e.g. storage location and then tap "Save Update"
  • It also possible to Load an Existing Wine Collection you have in another computer application into the BottleCru app. All you need to create a CSV formatted Excel spreadsheet or equivalent in the format of the attached file. Send that file to support@bottlecru.com with your contact information. We will insure it's in the correct format/data syntax import it for you. We'll let you know when it's in the app.  Images are not yet insert-able but can be added by you later.
Learning wine Lingo
Decode the key terms surrounding the world of wine     
  • Tap on Lingo
  • Scroll down alphabetically to find the term you want to decode
  • Tap on the term and the app will show you an explanation
  • It also includes the icons and terms used in the app