WineCab said its new luxury wine wall includes a ‘seven-axis, industrial high speed robotic arm’.
The technology is capable of fetching a fine wine from the collection and delivering the bottle to drinkers via a glass-paneled hatch.
The launch is another example of how fine wine displays have become increasingly popular in homes and also restaurants.
Yet with prices starting at $179,000, the temperature-controlled WineCab has very much aimed at the higher end of the market and ‘serious oenophiles’.
‘There are several units for private clients in the design process,’ she said, adding that the company has also been working with two fine dining restaurants in New York, in particular.
There is a waiting list for new orders, and WineCab was working to a delivery time of four months, she said.
Buyers can customize the design of the wine wall, but each has a ‘virtual sommelier’ system installed that can offer wine and food pairing advice, as well as personalized recommendations, said WineCab.
New bottles are ‘robotically scanned’ into Delectable, the cellar management app, said the firm.
The system also has facial recognition security, which can ‘lockout important bottles from certain users’, said WineCab, which was founded by president and CEO Mark Chaney, an entrepreneur and investor who previously founded Calvary Robotics.
The robotic cellar doesn’t look too shabby, either. Designed for serious wine collectors, each model is built to each individual’s specifications by skilled artisans and craftsmen. You can pick from an endless array of custom cabinetry and finishes, including rich wood, metal trims, and interior wallpapers. You can even opt for personalized engravings.
The wine wall is currently offered in a small freestanding form for those who literally want a wine vending machine. There are also more dramatic models that basically cover an entire wall.
Source: The Decanter