There is a fantastic new mobile phone application that offers up to 380,000 food and drink pairing possibilities. It's the new Drinks Matcher iPhone and Blackberry mobile application created by Natalie Maclean in collaboration with bitHeads web developers. She also offers top ten barbecue food and drink matchings for the summer. Here's the press release provided for by Natalie MacLean.
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New York, June 19, 2009 - Which pairs best with barbecued steak and chicken: red or white wine? Does barbecue sauce, relish or ketchup change the match? Which grilled grub will please those who prefer beer or gin-and-tonic to wine?
Whether you kick back at the cottage, the campsite or your own backyard this summer, you can find delicious pairings in this comprehensive food and drink mobile application. The new Drinks Matcher from Nat Decants is available now for your smartphone. It's like having a personal sommelier and a bartender at your side.
Natalie MacLean, creator of Nat Decants, the wine web site at www.nataliemaclean.com, has teamed up with the software developer bitHeads to create an application that works on your iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve.
"We all want to enjoy great food and drink, but in the summer we don't want to be tied to our office computer looking for information," MacLean explains. "We want to do a quick search while we browse in the liquor store, grill beside the pool or order drinks on a patio."
You just choose a match on your mobile device and then you can find the top drink picks either in your local liquor store or on the restaurant menu. Unlike MacLean's popular pairing widget on her web site, this new tool doesn't require a connection to the Internet and so can be used in remote locations.
"There are two trends that are exploding in popularity now: interest in food and wine, and the convenience of mobile apps," says MacLean. "That makes the Nat Decants Drinks Matcher a natural fit-like steak and shiraz. As a wine-loving geek, I love finding ways for new technology to help us savour all of life's pleasures, wherever we are."
Nat Decants Drinks Matcher
Features:
Start with either a drink or a
dish
Choose Bubbly, White, Red, Rosé,
Dessert
Pair beer, spirits, cocktails, liquor,
coffee, tea
Select from 292 grapes, wines and
blends
219 cheeses and cheese dishes
61 pasta dishes, 118 vegetarian & salads
57 chicken, 59 beef, 41 pork, 112 seafood
27 types of pizza plus other take-out favorites
48 herbs, spices and sauces
94
Asian, Indian and Chinese dishes
123 types of
chocolate and desserts
More than 380,000
pairings, with new ones added daily
The Nat Decants Drinks Matcher
is only $2.99 and you can download it in two minutes from the online stores
for iPhone or BlackBerry.
For Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch App Store,
visit:
www.nataliemaclean.com/iphone
For the BlackBerry App
World, visit:
www.nataliemaclean.com/
Note: The BlackBerry link takes you directly to the matcher app only if you click on it while using your BlackBerry device.
For a quick video demo on how the
app works, visit:
www.nataliemaclean.com/
Top 10 Barbecue Food & Drink Matches from the Nat Decants Drinks Matcher:
1. Planked salmon with Oregonian Pinot
Noir
2. Grilled portebello mushrooms with New Zealand
Sauvignon Blanc
3. Shish-kabob lamb with Chilean
Cabernet Sauvignon
4. Skewered chicken with Provençal
Rosé
5. Marinated pork chops with Italian Chianti
6.
Barbecued spare ribs with Australian Shiraz
7.
Grilled pepper steak with Rhône Valley Syrah
8.
Herb-rubbed chicken with Argentine Malbec
9.
Grilled hamburgers with Californian Zinfandel
10.
Roasted marshmallows with German Late Harvest Riesling
For more
food-and-drink matching tips, visit the Nat Decants web site at www.nataliemaclean.com:
- Free e-newsletter, recipes, blog, wine glossary, podcasts, articles, wine links, events, Twitter updates and RSS feeds
- Daily matching tips: Twitter.com/NatalieMacLean and Facebook.com/NatalieMacLean
- More than 50,000 wine reviews that you can search by price, score, maturity date, food matches, recipes and the liquor store closest to you:
http://www.nataliemaclean.com/
http://www.nataliemaclean.com/
About
Natalie:
Natalie MacLean is an independent journalist and author of the bestseller Red, White and Drunk All Over. For Google searches on popular terms like "food and wine pairing," "food and wine matching" and "wine newsletter," Natalie's site is often on the first page of the results as it has become a go-to resource for food and wine lovers. Natalie has won four James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award. At the World Food Media Awards in Australia, she was named the World's Best Drinks Writer.
About bitHeads:
bitHeads is the software product-building partner that has helped RIM, HP, InfoLogix, Vaultus Mobile and many others get award-winning iPhone, BlackBerry and other mobile applications to market faster. bitHeads' unique approach provides teams of mobile experts, a proven methodology for quickly building applications that users love, and a partnership model based on a commitment to successful delivery. Millions of people around the globe use mobile applications and other software products that have been built by bitHeads. For more information, visit www.bitheads.com or contact Scott Simpson at scotts@bitheads.com.
Definitely a big help for decent restaurants when you can't get a wine list before-hand.
Thanks for the post, I've seen Iphone apps before...never anything for my Blackberry
Posted by: Wine Club Guy | July 30, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Seems like a pretty usefull app. I need to get on the smart phone bangwagon, but as always I'm the last to upgrade on everything tech. Cheers
Posted by: wine blog | July 25, 2009 at 06:51 AM