Nov. 1, 2004
But Does it Do Solitaire?
By STEVE FRIESS
Some restaurant experts thought sommelier Andrew Bradbury was sipping too much vino a decade ago when he predicted he could make wine lists less intimidating by allowing diners to browse them at the table on a portable computer. Nobody's doubting him now: Bradbury's unveiling the second generation of his eWinebook this month at Aureole in Las Vegas, where he presides over a 50,000-bottle wine collection. The debut coincides with a $1 million ad campaign by Hewlett-Packard that touts the eWinebook as an unorthodox and innovative use of HP's tablet PCs.
Bradbury debuted Aureole's eWinebook on an HP tablet PC in 2002 and watched wine sales climb $750,000. The new tablet PC is faster and sleeker, but still reduces an imposing 8-pound, 150-page printed wine list to a 3-pound, 8-by-10-inch tablet. Customers can browse wines by price, varietal, region and year-and match them with menu offerings based on descriptions written by Bradbury and his staff. (Two Aureole sister eateries also use the device.)
The tablet feeds off wireless Internet that provides real-time updates of the cellar's supplies, eliminating the hassle of ordering a sold-out bottle. It also lets customers e-mail themselves the names and descriptions of wines they liked so they can ask for them again elsewhere. And, since it's Vegas, Aureole guests can watch live streaming video, from cameras inside the restaurant's four-story wine tower, of "wine angels"-black-clad sirens-ascending on ropes to fetch selected bottles.
Bradbury, a 35-year-old Seattle native, conceived the idea back in the mid-'90s as wine director for a posh Washington-state resort frequented by Bill Gates and other Microsoft royalty. "It took a while for the technology to catch up with what I wanted it to do," says Bradbury. But customers are happy, he says, because while the sommelier is still making suggestions, the diner feels empowered. "Even if I helped them choose their wine, the eWinebook makes them feel like they chose their wine."
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