After 5 years of the wine cellar software Vinote+Plus being given away, the decision has been made to upgrade to a commercial edition.
Vinote Limited pioneered the use of uniquely numbered neck tags as a means of managing wine cellars.

Tags allow for a wine inventory to be accurately maintained, no matter how distracting the wine becomes. Each stored bottle has a tag applied and wine information is held in the database. Wine is chosen using the program's selection procedures and is found using the number on the tag. This tag is then held for a sober update of the data, long after the empty bottle has been discarded.

Vinote+Plus was offered as a free program to promote the use of the tagging system, but after 10,000 downloads and the emulation of the system by many other software houses, all still using Vinot? tags, it was felt that the cost of maintaining the program should be borne by users.

The new version, to be released this week, has been significantly upgraded and now works with printable tags as well as the original numbered tags. Printable tags allow a cellar master to browse a wine collection using the information displayed on each tag. However the Vinot? numbering system carries on each printable tag carries a unique number and barcode, so that inventory control is still accurately maintained.

The use of barcodes for cellaring was also pioneered by Vinote. A barcode scanner performs the dual role of assisting with the identification of wines entering the cellar, using the barcode on the label and in accurately recording removed wines by scanning the barcode on each tag.

James Wilson, CEO of Vinote, says that one of the many advantages of turning Vinote+Plus into a commercial package is that he will now get a more accurate indication as to how many people are using the system. As a free download, the only assessment could be made through the sale of neck tags, which continue to flow out into the wine world.

Virtually all of Vinote sales are through their web site, with the majority of product sold into North America.

Vinote continues to develop innovative concepts for the wine cellar and with over 10,000 visitors a month to the site, continues to influence the world's wine cellar software houses.