I get asked this a lot. Someone opens a bottle, we're chatting, and they say "Luis, what wine app do you actually use?" So I thought I'd just write it down.
Over the past few months I have tested ten of the most popular wine apps on both iPhone and Android, with the same six bottles each time, four Portuguese and two from elsewhere. Here's what I found, which option is best for each person, and what I actually keep on my phone.
Quick answer:
- Best wine app overall: Vivino, for label scanning and community reviews
- Best for serious collectors: CellarTracker, for cellar management
- Best for finding a specific bottle in the UK: Wine-Searcher
- Best for beginners: Hello Vino
If you only download one, make it Vivino. If you have a cellar worth tracking, add CellarTracker.
How I tested each wine app
I scanned labels in low light and bright light, checked how each app handled Portuguese grape varieties like Touriga Nacional and Alvarinho, looked at whether UK prices and retailers actually showed up, and tried the food pairing suggestions with a real Portuguese meal. A wine app is only useful if it works on the wines you actually drink, and a lot of the big apps still skip over Portugal.
1. Vivino
Vivino is the biggest wine app in the world, roughly 60 million users, and it's the one I open first when someone hands me an unfamiliar bottle.
- Best for: anyone who wants label scanning and a quick community rating
- Pros: huge database, fast label recognition, handles Portuguese labels well
- Cons: the marketplace is patchy in the UK, ratings are averages and can drown out great niche wines
- Price: free, with a Premium tier
2. Delectable
Delectable is the wine app I recommend to anyone who cares more about what sommeliers think than what the crowd thinks.
- Best for: drinkers who want expert notes rather than star averages
- Pros: clean design, real tasting notes from professionals, good for learning the language of wine
- Cons: smaller user base than Vivino, less useful for very obscure bottles
- Price: free
3. Wine-Searcher
Wine-Searcher isn't a social app, it's a price comparison engine, and it's the one I use when a customer asks where to find a specific bottle in the UK.
- Best for: finding where to buy a bottle and at what price
- Pros: huge retailer coverage including UK independents, historical price data, honest about availability
- Cons: not a discovery tool, no social element
- Price: free, with a Pro tier
4. CellarTracker
If you own more than twenty bottles you don't want to lose track of, CellarTracker is the wine app built for you.
- Best for: tracking a collection, drinking windows, provenance
- Pros: decades of user tasting notes, proper cellar management, not trying to sell you anything
- Cons: interface looks dated, steeper learning curve than Vivino
- Price: free, with voluntary donations
5. Wine Enthusiast
The Wine Enthusiast app is essentially the magazine in your pocket, with access to their 100-point scores.
- Best for: readers who already follow Wine Enthusiast and want their scores on their phone
- Pros: authoritative reviews, good editorial content
- Cons: US-heavy, subscription wall on the best content
- Price: free, with subscription options
6. Wine-Searcher Pro
Same product as Wine-Searcher above, but with historical pricing, vintage charts and price alerts. Worth it only if you are buying for investment or collecting seriously.
- Best for: collectors and investors watching specific bottles
- Pros: pricing history, vintage analysis, alerts
- Cons: paid only, overkill for casual drinkers
- Price: paid subscription
7. Hello Vino
Hello Vino is the wine app I put on my father-in-law's phone when he said he wanted to learn more but didn't want to feel patronised.
- Best for: beginners who want straightforward recommendations
- Pros: simple, asks what you like to eat and suggests bottles, no jargon
- Cons: not a scanner, smaller database
- Price: free
8. Wine Spectator WineRatings+
Wine Spectator's app gives you access to their tasting database, with scores from their panel.
- Best for: fans of the Wine Spectator scoring system
- Pros: trusted scores, huge archive of professional reviews
- Cons: requires subscription for full access, US focus
- Price: subscription
9. Plonk
Plonk is less about rating and more about learning. It covers grape varieties, regions and tasting technique.
- Best for: drinkers who want to actually understand what's in the glass
- Pros: educational, nicely structured, good for sitting down with a bottle and reading
- Cons: not a scanner, not a marketplace
- Price: free, in-app purchases
10. Corkscrew
Corkscrew is a personal tasting log. You log each bottle you drink, add notes, and build up a picture of what you actually like.
- Best for: drinkers who want to remember what they've tried
- Pros: private, simple, useful for spotting patterns in your own taste
- Cons: minimal community features
- Price: free
Which wine app is best for Portuguese wine?
This is the question I care most about, because almost every big wine app is built around French, Italian and Californian bottles. Portugal, which makes some of the most interesting wine in the world, often gets overlooked.
From my testing:
- Vivino is the best of the mainstream apps for Portuguese wine. It usually recognises labels from the Douro, Alentejo and Vinho Verde correctly, and it has enough Portuguese users for ratings to mean something.
- CellarTracker has strong coverage of Portuguese wines from the main producers, especially Port and Douro reds.
- Wine-Searcher is the best for finding Portuguese bottles in the UK, including ones stocked by specialists like Portugal Best Wines.
If you're new to Portuguese wine and want to know which grape varieties to look for before you scan anything, have a read of my guide to Portuguese grape varieties and my ultimate guide to Portuguese wine.
Do I really need a wine app?
Honestly, no. Wine has been enjoyed without any apps for a few thousand years. But a good wine app saves you from buying the same disappointing bottle twice, helps you spot which producers you keep coming back to, and gives you a way to look up a label before you commit ten or twenty pounds to it. That's worth the few seconds it takes to scan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best wine app? Vivino is the best wine app for most people, thanks to its label scanning, huge community and good coverage of UK and Portuguese wines. Serious collectors should add CellarTracker. For finding specific bottles in the UK, Wine-Searcher is unmatched.
Is Vivino free in the UK? Yes, Vivino is free to download and use in the UK. The Premium tier adds extras like unlimited expert reviews and merchant shipping estimates.
Can a wine app scan Portuguese labels? Vivino and CellarTracker both handle Portuguese labels well in my testing, including Douro, Alentejo and Vinho Verde wines. Smaller producers are hit and miss, which is normal for any scanning app.
Which wine app works offline? CellarTracker is the most useful offline, because your cellar and your own notes stay accessible. Vivino and Delectable need a connection to scan and fetch ratings.
Is there a wine app for beginners? Hello Vino is the best wine app for absolute beginners because it asks what you like to eat and makes simple suggestions. Vivino is the next step up once you want to start scanning labels.
What's a good Portuguese wine to try first?
Start with a Douro red or a Vinho Verde or an Alentejo white. Portuguese sparkling wines are also well worth trying, made using the same traditional method as Champagne but often at a much better price.
If you're feeling a bit adventurous and looking for something new and different, try a Curtimenta, a Pet Nat or an Orange wine. They won't disappoint.
Explore our Portuguese wine collection to discover the range, or read our Portuguese white wine and Portuguese red wine guides to help you choose.
