Weingraf App Case Study | Digital Wine Tasting

Overview - The Weingraf App

Weingraf wanted to make the world of wine easier to access, more personal and more digital. The idea was to connect real wine tasting packages with a guided app experience: users activate a package with a code, taste and rate each wine step by step, and receive a personal taste profile with matching recommendations at the end.

Especial built a mobile-first tasting platform with a web app, an iOS app shell, real-time group tasting functionality and a deep Shopify integration. Product data, wine metafields, customer profiles, progress, results and group sessions are processed through Shopify APIs, while Socket.IO powers live shared tasting experiences.

Client

Weingraf GmbH / Pieroth Wein GmbH

Services

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UX Design

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UI Design

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App Development

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Frontend Development

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Backend Development

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Shopify Integration

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Mobile App Development

Project duration

3 Months

The team

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1 Project Manager

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2 UX/UI Designers

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2 Front-end Engineers

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2 Back-end Engineers

Onboarding screen where users decide which journey they'll take. From solo tasting, to group to a simple wine quiz.

Mobile mockup of the Weingraf App homepage showing users tasting progress with a progress bar and helpful CTA button.

Challenges & goals

The Weingraf App had to be much more than a simple product or content app. It needed to guide a real wine tasting, make wine knowledge approachable, capture sensory ratings in a structured way and turn those ratings into personal recommendations. At the same time, the experience had to work for users who may not know much wine terminology, but still want to understand which wines actually fit their taste.

Several technical requirements came together in one product: package codes had to connect physical tasting sets with digital sessions, rating data had to be stored over time, group tastings had to stay synchronized in real time, and Shopify had to act as the central commerce and data foundation. The goal was an app that feels simple and playful for users, while product data, taste profiles, customer information, live sessions and native app features work together in the background.

Our approach

We developed the app as a mobile-first product centered around the tasting journey. The experience starts with a package code, then guides users through each wine and each tasting step. The structure of a professional wine tasting remains intact, but it is translated into an accessible and intuitive product experience.

The technical architecture was designed around Shopify as the source for product data, metafields, customer profiles, tasting progress and results. For group tastings, we added a Socket.IO real-time server that synchronizes participant status, host control, ratings and progress. An Expo app shell embeds the web app into a native iOS experience and adds functions such as push notifications, deep links, navigation and other device features.We started with a structured concept and UX phase to align all stakeholders around the final feature set. The goal was to reduce project risk early, clarify the most important user journeys and create a shared understanding of how the app should work before development started.

Tasting modes for
solo tasting and group tasting

Platforms for
iOS app and web app

Package-code journey
from tasting package to digital session

Live group sessions

Host control, status and ratings in real time

Shopify Commerce data foundation

products, wine metafields, customer profiles and sessions

Concept & App Experience - Wine tasting without unnecessary complexity

The central product question was clear: how can a professional wine tasting be guided digitally in a way that remains simple for beginners, but still meaningful for users who want to understand their preferences in more detail? The app therefore does not only guide users through products. It guides them through a tasting logic that includes looking, smelling, swirling, tasting and enjoying.

Ratings for aromas, residual sweetness, acidity, tannins, star scores and personal notes are captured step by step. Progress is saved, so users can pause a tasting and continue later. The result is an experience that connects wine knowledge, product data and personal preferences without feeling like a complex questionnaire.

Package code as starting point: connecting physical and digital experiences

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Each wine package is connected to the app through a package code. This starts the digital tasting with the right wines, product information, grape varieties, countries of origin, regions, wine types and aroma profiles. Users get a clear entry point, while Weingraf gets a clean connection between commerce, the package and the app experience.

Mobile device showing the bundle confirmation screen where users input their bundle code.

Sensory ratings step by step: making wine knowledge approachable

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The app translates the logic of a professional wine tasting into simple interactions. Users rate detected aromas, residual sweetness, acidity and, for red wines, tannins. They can also add star ratings and personal notes. This creates a structured picture of each user's taste preferences.

Mobile device showing part of the evaluation process where users are asked to give the wine a star rating and include optional commentary.

Personal taste profiles: recommendations based on real preferences

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After the tasting, the app calculates a personal taste profile. It shows preferred aromas, less suitable flavor directions, sensory preferences and matching wine profiles. Based on this, individual recommendations for white, rose and red wines can be shown.

Real-time group tastings: shared tasting sessions with live synchronization

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A host can create a group session, share a code and invite participants in real time. Names, avatars, progress, ratings and status are synchronized live. The host controls the tasting flow, while the app calculates both individual and shared group results.

Between wines in a group tasting users find a waiting screen which shows how many wines they've tasting and which participants are still busy submitting their reviews.

Digital wine tasting - from tasting package to recommendation

The app guides users through the full tasting journey, from activating the package to receiving the final profile. For each wine, it displays relevant information such as grape variety, country of origin, region, wine type and matching aroma profiles. The tasting is not only documented, it becomes a guided learning and enjoyment experience.

This matters because Weingraf is not only selling wine. The brand helps customers understand their own taste. The app makes this advisory approach scalable: recommendations are not only derived from broad product categories, but from the actual ratings and preferences of the user.

Group tasting - a shared experience instead of isolated ratings

One of the key features is group tasting. A host creates a session, shares a group code and guides participants through the tasting together. Progress, ratings and status update live, so the group stays in a shared flow even when everyone uses their own device.

After the tasting, the app calculates not only individual results but also shared group insights. These include the group's favorite wines, participant profiles, group results and shared recommendations. Participants can also receive push notifications when they still need to complete a tasting step.

Evaluate the wine app screen where users are asked whether they identified certain flavours.

Mobile device screen showing the "How to Taste Wine" instructional modal.

Shopify integration - product data, profiles and sessions in one system

The Weingraf App is closely connected to Shopify. Product data, wine metafields, customer profiles, tasting progress and results are processed through Shopify APIs. Commerce data and the app experience are therefore not separated, but directly connected.

Group tasting sessions are stored as Shopify Metaobjects. This makes sessions traceable and ensures important session data can be restored after server restarts. Shopify is not only used as the shop system, but as a robust data foundation for a digital product built around advice, tasting and recommendation.

Visual Design

The interface had to make wine knowledge easier to understand without losing the character of a high-quality enjoyment brand. The experience is therefore clear, calm and strongly guided. Users should always know which wine they are tasting, which step comes next and how their rating contributes to the final taste profile.

The main challenge was the balance between information and lightness. Product details, aroma profiles, rating questions, notes and group status all had to work on small screens without making the interface feel overloaded. The result is a mobile app experience that gives orientation while leaving room for personal enjoyment.

Mobile mockup on a wooden background showing a Pause Tasting modal, prompting users to correctly store their wine.

Mobile mockup of group results on a red wine coloured background. The user interface includes the most loved wine and an accordion to view other participants results.

Frontend Development - Mobile-first, responsive and app-ready

The platform was built as a Next.js web app with a responsive mobile-first interface. This allows the same product logic to support both the web app and the native app shell. For users, this creates a consistent experience. For the product team, it reduces duplicate development and maintenance work over time.

The Expo app shell embeds the web app through a WebView and adds native functions such as push notifications, deep links, app navigation, clipboard, calendar functions and store reviews. This combines the flexibility of a web app with the advantages of an installable mobile app.

Backend Development - Real time, Shopify APIs and persistent tasting data

The backend brings together Shopify Storefront and Admin APIs, Shopify Metafields, Shopify Metaobjects and a Socket.IO real-time server. The architecture processes product and customer data, stores progress and results, and synchronizes group sessions live between host and participants.

A stable reconnection logic was especially important for group tastings. If a connection drops, the session needs to recover without participants losing progress or the shared flow breaking. This makes the app more reliable for real-life use at home, at events or during shared wine tastings.

Front-end

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Next.js

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React

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Responsive mobile-first UI

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Expo WebView app shell

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iOS app

Back-end

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Node.js

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Socket.IO

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Shopify Storefront API

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Shopify Admin API

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Shopify Metafields

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Shopify Metaobjects

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Push Notifications

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Deep Links

Final screen of the wine tasting app, congratulating users on completing their journey and summarising their results.

Impact & Results - A digital product platform for personal wine discovery

The Weingraf App became a digital tasting platform that connects wine packages, advice, tasting, taste profiles and recommendations in one coherent experience. Users can taste wines alone or together, understand their preferences better and discover new favorites based on their own ratings.

For Weingraf, the app creates a scalable foundation for digital wine commerce, personal recommendations and new tasting formats. The combination of Shopify, app experience, real-time sessions and native app shell turns a tasting package into a digital product that brings advice and commerce closer together.

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