It started with an email – a detailed breakdown of every bottle I lovingly cellared, cracked open, or craved in 2024. Sigh —another revelatory Year in Review. Spotify already recapped my questionable listening habits, Strava reminded me how little I ran, and even my grocery app had the audacity to tell me how many times I bought cheese last year. Now my wine consumption was being judged.

But while many might be fatigued by the onslaught of self-reflection during freezing, grey, post-Christmas purgatory (not to mention the dreaded dry January), the data-loving side of me perked up. How did my personal wine journey – blind tasting choices, impulsive purchases, and “why did I buy this again?” bottles — compare to the trends of the wider wine-loving community?

CellarTracker’s community stats revealed that California and France dominated (as they always do). Cabernet Sauvignon was king (of course), and people couldn’t get enough of Shafer Hillside Select or Château d’Yquem (because why sip a basic Bordeaux when you can sip a liquid banknote?).

No surprises here—CellarTracker is where the collectors congregate, treating wine with the same reverence as their retirement portfolios. For me, the platform acts my digital wine vault, my tasting journal. The community tasting notes, while not perfect, feel like they’re written by people who get it—or at least think about wine the way I do.

Vivino, on the other hand, is like your friendly neighbourhood wine bar—or, more often, the supermarket wine aisle. It’s the platform for people who care more about how a wine tastes now versus in 20 years. Its 69 million users gravitate toward crowd favourites, value-driven discoveries, and wines that won’t require a second mortgage to enjoy. But for me, Vivino tasting notes often leave a lot to be desired. When 95% of reviews read something like, “Jammy and smooth, yummy!” it’s hard to trust that I’ll agree with a wine rated 5 stars.

Vivino’s top 2024 picks included Jumilla’s Bodegas El Nido Clio—a wine that offers big flavours without the big price tag. A far less intimidating choice than Shafer Hillside Select, Penfolds Grange or Château Latour – the highest-rated wines according to CellarTracker, truly a collector’s fantasy list.

Here’s the thing: neither platform is “better”. Instead, each represents two wildly different wine worlds, each shaped by deeper cultural, generational, and economic trends. You can no longer paint a caricature of the ‘wine enthusiast’—we’ve long outgrown the notion of being “one-size-fits-all.”

Both platforms highlight the increasing role of data-driven decision-making in shaping how we choose, consume, and understand wine. Vivino, with its massive user base and instant feedback loops, is democratising wine ratings in real-time, empowering consumers to make informed choices without relying on traditional critics. CellarTracker, meanwhile, offers a wealth of detailed, user-generated tasting notes that cater to serious enthusiasts seeking granular insights.

My economist brain kicks in here… Platforms that cater to different audiences mean better consumer segmentation, giving retailers sharper tools to sell more effectively and ensuring consumers are matched with wines that suit their tastes. It’s a data-powered win-win—because in wine (and economics), the right pairing makes all the difference.

But is this consumer data surge improving the wine experience or diluting it? Wine is an experience good, meaning pre-purchase information is particularly valuable. Traditionally, professional wine critics have played a key role in guiding consumers, but the sheer volume of new products has always outpaced their capacity to review them. With digitization, this gap has only widened.

For crowd-sourced platforms to thrive, trust is key — it’s what ensures consumers can rely on the information to make informed purchasing decisions. Vivino’s ratings, while accessible, flatten wine’s complexity into a simplistic 5-star scale, leaving litte room for detail. Meanwhile, CellarTracker’s higher-barrier-to-entry might alienate casual drinkers who don’t know their Côte de Beaune from their Côte de Nuits, limiting its appeal to those already steeped in wine culture.

At a time when the wine industry is facing structural challenges – declining consumption, aging consumers, and fierce competition from RTDs and cocktails – this data-driven landscape is both an opportunity and a challenge. Platforms like Vivino and CellarTracker provide unprecedented access to information, but they also reflect the tension between accessibility and expertise, tradition and innovation.

What of my personal CellarTracker Year in Review? First, a confession: I share this account with my dad (we both picked up WSET certifications during Covid downtime). Together in 2024, we added 204 bottles to our cellar, consumed an impressive 401 bottles, and shared 103 tasting notes. That’s nearly a bottle per day! As Dad says, “Every bottle opened is a chance to learn.” Yes, we are wine nerds who frequently Coravin sips. Still, it is admittedly a lot of fermented grape consumption.

Back to bottle analysis: Our drinking habits reflected a mix of the familiar and the adventurous:

While our year reflects CellarTracker’s traditionalist leanings, I’d like to think we dabble in Vivino-esque exploration too. Whether it’s experimenting with Sicilian Carricante or stocking up on Tuscan classics, our tastes are a balancing act—one foot in tradition, the other in curiosity.

Statistics and crowd-sourced ratings aside, in the end, wine is personal. Whether you’re documenting every tasting note like a sommelier, or buying based on how cool the label looks (no shame), the key is to drink what you love. Because, as I’ve learned, the only real “trend” that matters is the one you create over time.