What is the one type of chocolate you could eat for the rest of your life? How do you like your tea? If you’re wondering how these questions are related, both purportedly provide a window into your “wine profile” — your likes and dislikes as a consumer of the grape.
At least that’s the theory behind Bright Cellars, a website dedicated to educating the palates of wine novices to help them home in on their preferences. The site was developed by two MIT graduates, Richard Yau and Joe Laurendi, who were themselves newcomers to the infinitely complex world of wines. In order to overcome this hurdle, they developed an algorithm that develops an individual user’s taste profile based on seven questions, some (like the two that opened this post) seemingly unrelated to wine, all answered by selecting from a range of six choices.
The ultimate goal of the site is to sign you on as a member (read: customer). In that capacity you sample four new wines each month that are matched to your profile. The cost, $80 a month, is frankly relatively gentle if you’re sincere about wanting to acquire a wine education.
