We have been planning a trip to Sonoma for past several weeks and much like planning for any vacation, it takes some time to prepare an itinerary especially when you’re looking to visit several wineries a day. There are several approaches we like to use and after polling some wine friends, we’ve learned of other things to consider, which I’ll compile here shortly. But, in the meantime I came across this article from the Pressdemocrat.com about an iPhone application called iVisit Sonoma County from the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau. Let’s see how it works and if I think it will be helpful for when we are in Sonoma next month.
Of course, the first thing I look for is the wineries by selecting the wine icon which brings up a list of all the wineries in Sonoma county initially listed in alphabetical order. Here are the pros and cons:
PROS
1. You can sort the list of wineries by distance to your current position, which is cool if you are travelling the wine country roads of Sonoma and want to be spontaneous and hit the next winery near you. Note: I was in Atlanta when testing this which explains why the wineries are over 2000 miles away — depressing, really.
2. You can filter the list by the types of varietals the wineries are producing. If you only like Gewurztraminer, no need to gamble that the winery you’re rolling up to only makes Cabs.
3. Oh, it’s FREE!
CONS
1. When you select a winery, the Details tab does not give you the option to get directions from your current position to the winery like Google Maps does. You can “Map It” but that doesn’t really do you much good if you’re more than a mile or two away.
2. Limited in number of options overall. This is only the first release of this application and enhancements are forthcoming. I would like to see more filters (include and exclude) to narrow down the list of wineries such as those requiring appointment only, wineries open at 10 am, and tasting fees (yes, no or $$). How about some social media links, especially if the winery is on Twitter or Facebook and links to review sites.
All of the other menu selections function in the same way: List of the establishments including distance from your current location and some options to filter the list by type of establishment and sort by distance or name. The Dining selection doesn’t offer any additional filters at all such as type of cuisine or price, though with Sonoma County Restaurant Week just around the corner, it may still come in handy. Right now this application doesn’t do anything more than show me a list of what’s nearby. I look forward to version 2.0.
Cheers!
Thanks for your review of our recent iPhone app. We are always looking for feedback on improving the app and I enjoyed reading your Pros & Cons. Our Phase 2 will have lots of cool new features that I think will address some of your concerns.
Obviously we have plans to make the iVisit Sonoma County app the most useful free app in visiting our area and look forward to hearing more ideas on improving the app.
Thanks
Keri
Sonoma County Tourism Bureau
Hi Keri! Thanks for commenting and letting us in on some of your plans for the application. Let us know when we can learn more about what features are coming in phase 2 and if you want some Beta testing assistance too. I am sure we can find some folks willing to help… can’t wait to see it!
I would be curious to hear your take on the LocalWineEvents.com iPhone app as well, if you are so inclined.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wine-events/id352070012xmWOO3zQ0
EVO
Thanks, Eric for the request… I have downloaded and reviewed the application and will post a review this week. Cheers!
Ed – iVisit Sonoma County v1.1 is available for download. This update adds (1) Driving Directions; (2) smoother map interface; (3) improved data management.
We have several other cool enhancements we’re busy working on, which we hope to get into the app before the Wine Road Barrel Tasting – Featured Event.
Thanks for your candid review. Enjoy your time in Sonoma Wine Country.
Cheers …
Ron
iVisit Mobile
Ron, you guys rock! Nice quick turnaround on some new features and I especially like the Directions integration with Google maps… this is VERY helpful. Can’t wait for more as we’ll be in Sonoma next week.
What is your opinion of cachable data? I tested the Sonoma app in “Airplane Mode” and it faced challenges. Does integration with Google Maps impact that?
Also, the link below isn’t an iPhone or Android app, but it is a different way of looking at a destination other than Google Maps and we’d be interested in your opinion. We noted your comment on integration of social media feeds so would be interested to think of what we’ve done with Twitter, Facebook and Yelp feeds: http://www.sidestreet.com/alexandervalley/
This is an active demo and we are in beta but any opinion is helpful!
Thanks!
Sean at SideStreet
Ed – iVisit Sonoma County v1.2 was rolled out today. New features include: lodging & winery profile details; dining categorized by cuisine; make reservations at restaurants via OpenTable; and Social Media share/follow.
Cheers ….
Ron ∞ iVisit Mobile
Ron, thanks for the update! I will check it out and encourage others to do so as well… cheers and keep up the good work!