Chart: Where is wine venture capital flowing?
There has been a spate of articles about a new gadget for preserving wine called the Coravin. What’s not been widely commented on is the fact that the founders raised a lot of money, notably almost $11.5 million in the last round.
The company, based in Burlington, Massachusetts, raised these funds from 106 equity investors, including restaurateur Joe Bastianich who had tested the product–formerly known as the Wine Mosquito–at his restaurant, Del Posto. The CEO, Nicholas Lazaris, ran Keurig before and after it was sold to Green Mountain Coffee Rasters.
Where does that put Coravin in terms of recent rounds of wine venture capital in apps and gadgets? At the top.
Two days ago, the team behind the label-recognition app Delectable announced a $2 million placement with angel investors. According to venturebeat.com, Club W has raised $3.1 million for their “personalized” wine club. The Danish company behind Vivino, also a label recognition app, has raised $10.3 million.
In previous non-winery M&A news, Lot18 raised $44 million though their last-completed round was in 2011. In December 2012, an anonymous group of investors from Singapore purchased a controlling stake in the Wine Advocate reportedly for $15 million.
On August 27th, 2013 at 10:34 am ,Thomas Pellechia wrote:
At $300 a pop, the price for Coravin smacks of prescience.
In other words, get as much money up front as you can, because later on, after someone does a series of tests, or the small market of potential buyers dries up, sales are likely to slump.
On August 27th, 2013 at 12:22 pm ,RobinC wrote:
Has anyone tried the Coravin? Maybe I’ll wait to buy it when the sales slump.
On August 27th, 2013 at 8:45 pm ,Dave Erickson wrote:
I tasted a Chianti Classico today that had been “opened” with a Coravin device ten days ago. It still needed air. At $300, this thing is a boon for small retailers who can’t pony up $30k for an Enomatic.
On August 27th, 2013 at 9:19 pm ,PhilippeN wrote:
I bought one for the importing business I run and I am sold on this device. The price is justified from a utility point of view. Perhaps imitators will bring the cost down, but the Coravin delivers now.
On August 28th, 2013 at 8:29 am ,Terroirist: A Daily Wine Blog » Daily Wine News: Coravin at Top wrote:
[…] In “recent rounds of wine venture capital in apps and gadgets,” Coravin is at the top. Tyler Colman breaks down the numbers. […]
On August 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am ,Thomas Pellechia wrote:
Philippe and Dave bring out about the Coravin what I have been thinking: if it indeed works for about ten days, its application is more than likely best for the trade rather than the consumer.