Wineratings App Reviews

I’m already a subscriber to WS and I thought this would be a nice complement to the magazine so that when I’m at the wine store, I can look for the ones I’ve flagged as interesting. But $3 per month for the app when I already have the information I need through purchasing the magazine seems silly. I would have possibly paid a one time fee of $10 or $15 but I’m not paying for yet another monthly subscription. I was really hoping for something better.

I find it hard to believe that, with it being January 4, you haven’t added any new wines or made any updates since November 20. If you can’t update every month or sooner, you shouldn’t charge a monthly fee.

Same problems encountered by others following the latest update

The app works well on my iPhone and used to work well on my iPad, but, after the most recent update, I can no longer use it on the iPad. When accessing the app, I am blocked and prompted to start a 30 day trial and a subscription, which I have had for some time. When I accept the offer of a trial, I am told that I already have a subscription, but am still denied iPad access. Will wait a while for a bug fix, but will discontinue my subscription if not fixed. The app is suddenly unstable.

I have to agree with the previous review. This is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. I subscribed to wine spectator for 59.95/year. Only to discover a monthly billing from apple for 2.99/ month. Now here is the rub: I cancelled my subscription to wine spectator in July of last year. How can Apple continue to Pay wine spectator for a subscription I cancelled with wine spectator. Why didn’t wine spectator tell apple I cancelled. When you go to the wine spectator website from your phone it automatically shows you the download app from App Store. On wine spectators site there are multiple subscription options one of which is digital access. You would assume as a consumer that purchasing an online subscription when there is a option provided by apple to download the app that they would be one and the same. This is a deceptive practice. Hopefully there is a lawyer that will read the review prior to purchasing that will take the case. Mark

I’ve been a subscriber for about a year, and while I found the app to be pretty great overall (super useful to have vintage charts and trusted reviews at your fingertips!), with the most recent update I am unable to access the content, as the paywall seems to have ignored the fact that I’m already a paying subscriber. This is especially annoying as I’m currently in wine country, so now would be the time that this app is most useful to me, but alas...

Subscription has been renewed. Please fix bug blocking me from using app

Last wine update was Jan 15th. It’s now March 14 and no new wines. And there’s a monthly fee. For what?

I agree with other reviewers. Just recently the app is acting unstable. Each time I open up my Wine Spectator Plus it pops up a window offering a free 30 day trial and then and ongoing $2.99 subscription however I have had this paid subscription for a long time and now it keeps asking me to “Restore my Purchase “ in order to gain access to something I have subscribed to for 5 years ??? I hope they fix this bug I will cancel. It’s very annoying. I also got charged $4.95 from this app today and that is on top of the $2.99 monthly subscription fee. What happened to this app ???

Amazing app! Can't recommend it enough for anyone interested in learning abt wine. I found the app so useful, I especially like the new profile section to keep track of all my wines!

Always great to learn from the best. Big fan of this handy app and Wine Spectator!

The app is such a great, trustworthy resource. I use it all the time when buying wine in stores or ordering in restaurants.

Whether you are a wine expert or new to the category, you will love this app! Helps me with my decisions when I’m at the store buying for myself or trying to impress clients at dinner. I don’t trust any other wine reviewer - Wine Spectator is the best and my most trusted!

It’s always fun to learn about wine, but nowadays there’s too much information out there. Wine Spectator is the industry standard, so it’s great to learn from the best!

This app has proven especially useful when I am at a restaurant with a long and overwhelming wine list. Through just a quick search I gain the confidence I need to order a bottle that might be priced a bit higher than I normally get. Also really liking the new personalized section.

The app is constantly crashing on me now. Whatever fix you did did not help me. I even deleted it and lost all of my data in favorites. And when I downloaded it it's still crashes. What's that about? Very bummed out

I cannot access the site after the 4/19 update. There is no way to communicate with the developer.

This app has been around forever. If you look at the reviews some of them stretch back 7 years. I've used this off and on during that time, and it's gone from a borderline useless app to one that is pretty useful. I agree that the WS subscription model requires you pay separately for this, print magazines, and online access, but that aside this app is worth a few bucks a month if you buy wine regularly. Many times ratings labels in stores are for different vintages or releases, so it's good to double check. My one suggestion to improve this app would be to filter based on number of cases released. Many of the higher rated wines have very limited releases so it would be nice to sort out the ones you know you won't ever find in the local stores. Also adding the ability to filter multiple years. Currently you can only filter by one year at a time.

I have been using the newly released app for a week now, and I think it's tremendous. The search feature is so well done, allowing both casual browsing and laser-focused precision. I'm a fan of WS wine critics and scoring as well, so this app is ideal for me.

Pretty much worthless unless you want to spend $2.99 per month for the paid version. Deleting the app now.

Won't work. Can't find it. And you want to charge monthly? Fix your issues or take it down. It's really aggravating to pay for something you can't use.

They make you pay - not free

Looked up Ca wines, couldn't find a single named bottle in the free content? Found some weather and soil reports. I lived in Kenwood, Ca. Was hoping to find some Winery listings, and recommends first, before I upgrade app. Look yourself.

Monthly charge for FYI.

I held off for a long time upgrading to all of the reviews. Long story short, it's the best wine app for getting quick info that will help with your buying decisions. For the cost of a bottle per year :). I hate wasting time in the grocery store or wine shop looking up wine info. It can be slow and frustrating. This app makes it fun and quick.

This app helps me navigate through Wine Lists and store aisles to find the best wines and best values.

While I have a subscription to the magazine and website, I love how handy this app is. I can't tell you how many times I've pulled this app out when I'm in a restaurant trying to pick out a bottle of wine. Especially when traveling abroad recently, when I didn't recognize a single bottle of wine on the list (and I usually feel like I know my way around a wine list). It was so helpful to have this app! My other favorite use is to mark "favorite" wines and then I have a shopping list for when I go to a wine shop.

This app is basically useless unless you pay $2.99/mo. That's not worth it to me.

I found the app to be fairly useless without the subscription. It's better to search the Internet using Google or Bing.

It takes months even years for them to update their vintage charts. e.g the current version has Napa Cab back at 2010! Get with it WS - we are in 2014 and the 2012 cabs are shipping.

I tunes won't install because it says it requires a newer version of the software and Apple says I HAVE the latest version. This is the 3rd program that did this.

I would have thought this would be free for print subscribers yo magazine.

Too basic

Okay for older wines but because restaurants have recently bought vintages I find it less useful when I really need help

How completely moronic is it that I pay for a dual account for the magazine as well as online access, and I cannot use their own app??? So for the price of $2.99/month this app saves me the trouble of going through a Mobile browser! Ridiculous , I'll be ending all accounts with this asinine company!

Gaps. Not a ton of coverage for recent vintages. Basic, not overly impressed.

I sell wine in Texas and downloaded the app to help. But when sharing the accolades I wish that what was being sent was an attachment that I could print and place in my accounts. I think the website allows me to do this? Does anyone know if my subscription for the app works on the website?

F- on that. I pay for the online subscription and already get this content but I need to pay $3/month to get the same thing on the app?? Probably won't even renew my online subscription if this is how they want to do business.

The free version you can't search. You can't do anything. It's useless. If you got $3.00. Go try it

This is almost what an app should be - access to a vast database at exactly the time you need it: in a restaurant or a store. My only quibble is that it seems to take a bit too long for the database to be updated with new ratings from the magazine. Fix that (and improve the search function a bit) and it really will be perfect.

Love it!

The app is very helpful at wine shops when you are not sure what to buy. You can read ratings and tasting notes with you iPhone right at the spot.

Not a free app

Normally this app is fantastic. The latest version is broken. We can no longer search for basic terms like “Syrah”

This upgrade offers quite a lot of useful data in an easy-to-use format, with an expanded Feed that has lots of additional articles. And they've added more info to the vintage charts; I’d like to see them continue to expand this area. All the reviews you get are quite a bargain for the monthly fee!

This is a good app to reference while shopping for wine. However, the addition of a considerable amount of wine info would make this app great, info that includes more regions and types. In addition, when a person pays $2.99/mo for an app (with no annual subscription available), they expect premium content (i.e., pictures and video). And apps in 2015 should be optimized for iPhone 6/6+.

Looks hideous. Can't you come up with something better?

I'm a subscriber to the print and online Wine Spectator magazine...$75/yr for that privilege. Astounded that my membership isn't enough to get me access to even basic info via the mobile app. Very sad.

So I'm growing from a novice wine buyer and consumer to someone who is buying to both drink and age at home. If I had this app a few months ago I would not have been bamboozled by that awe full Vivino app as bad as I was. A must have guide.

Sure, you have to pay for it to unlock the real potential. But for the wine professional, or wine buyer, this app is a "go to." Every time I'm buying a new wine, and sometimes when I'm selling it, I refer to this app. It has definitely paid for itself.

Why do you have to pay a monthly fee when you subscribe to the magazine?

This app is so deep, I love how much better I can enjoy and understand wine. This is a must app for both the beginner and experienced wine drinker.

When it worked I'd give it 4 stars. However, for the past couple months it fails to search for any wines. Also, if I tap on a wine under the top 100 picks of 2014, the wine name pops up but the content never loads; you just get the loading symbol that goes and goes and goes. Since I'm paying money for the subscription, it would really be nice if it worked. No app update or bug fixes since Jan. 2015.

This is a good and reliable resource that is easy to use. I wish it carried a broader variety of wines.

When I had this app on my iPhone 5s, I could upload reviews to Facebook instantly, now no sharing options go through, and Facebook isn't even listed. Is anyone else having this problem? I am an avid poster to help spread the word of the amazing wines in this world, I would like to continue to do so.

I use this app every time I'm in a restaurant or wine shop. Really improves my chances of finding the right wine.

Ignore all the crybaby people who complain that the app costs money. If you want value and quality, you pay for it. Obviously. You want free, c***** reviews from non-experts, have a good time. You want discussions and ratings from world renowned connoisseurs, pay for the app. On that same note, the free content has many wonderful articles and expert advice. I have removed one star because there is confusion about what content is on what source and there is no way to get an easy answer. I want to be able to have one source, pay one fee and have access to everything.

2.99 a month? Virtually no info without a paid subscription? Don't bother!

Awful customer service. I never asked for the magazine but they continue to send it to my house for free. It's huge and takes up my whole mailbox. Because I live in an expensive community , they want to use the average income as stats to impress their readers . It's junk , I don't want it never asked for and asked them no less than 5 times to remove me from their mailing list

Horrible. I won't pay for a subscription to be able to search. I agreed to have advertisement of wines and related or suggestions, so get paid by the advertisers , not me the end user. Not agreed, so already deleted and happy using another app.

I love the concept, but for some reason, the only wines available to me are an Australian one called "Blood of the Elderly" and one from California called "Capri-Sun Pacific Cooler." Do I have to buy the pro version to unlock the other wines?

Wine Spectator is my go to for making great choices and purchased. This App is my shopping companion I don't buy without it. Great App for wine lovers.

For $2.99 / month you can search the rating database for a specific wine. You cannot search for general characteristics like “Napa Cabernet > 90 pts and 2007, 2008, 2009”. Additionally, there is no local database so you need a good net connection and patience. If you’re in a wine shop and don’t have a good connection (all that wine does absorb RF signals) you’re out of luck. It’s basic. And of course their brilliant marketing program means you don’t get access to the wine database on the web, that’s a separate subscription. This is strictly iPad/iPhone. I’d like an app that helps me in the store, and in a restaurant. A 10yr old California Chardonnay that only produced 300 cases is not relevant!

The updates to this app are a big improvement and there are new wines added regularly. Very useful when I am looking at a wine list in a restaurant.

Not great, but not bad. Does not have all wines and vintages but general information.

WS has separate subscriptions for this app $36, WS online $60, and WS magazine $50. Each has overlapping content but different services. Type-in versus barcode or label-scan search is a major drag.

They state the pro version is 2.99. However, if you read the terms, it says a monthly subscription of 2.99. Pretty deceptive. Removing.

I use this all the time. Well worth the subscription fee. Occasionally wines that are on the shelves are not in the database.

Just be up front and say the app is useless unless you buy the $2.99 library. Or a subscription. Deleted and decided to stick with Vivino.

Its a great idea, similar to Leafly BUT you cant really use any of the features without doing a 30-day free trail. Meh.

It's fast, intuitive and hasn't let me down yet.

I pay full freight for this content happily. But recent design changes have added more work for the user to find what they are looking for. What used to be a good autocomplete on a character by character text entry has, with the latest design, made the user work harder to find what they are looking for. Frustration. Bring back the old interface.

I use this app every time I go wine shopping. It has easily paid for itself in steering me away from poor and often expensive wines and towards less expensive more highly rated ones.

Just of no use unless you loose your wallet on this. If you are hoping that you can access a world of wine just by downloading, you are mistaken. All you are doing is increasing number of downloads of a useless wine app

Sad that this is "free" when you download but there is absolutely nothing you can do with it without adding the paid subscription. Going with Vivino.

Not a week goes by with me using the WS app.

You have to buy the subscription if you want to use what it advertised.

I was pleased to see an update to this app. The subscription fee was always making me wonder if I should continue. Well this update is great. Way more features and I love the news feed. Great work!

While I agree with others that the content should come free with the print and online subscriptions, the app is very easy and quick to use in restaurants and other situations where you want a quick check on a couple of ratings. The app is very easy to check and the database is extensive.

Handy. Does what it says it does, and is quick and free from obvious bugs.

Had to pay just to save a list of favorites. No thanks.

36 bucks a year. Free version useless. Not for me.

If you are new to wine this app is fantastic. However once you have immersed yourself into the world of wine for a while the articles and info seem childish. I only kept it for the Matt Kramer articles and now they disappeared. So...