One of our company goals is to reimagine what is already out there in the world by taking it, shaking it, flipping it, inverting it and gamifying it.

This idea came from an opportunity to present a new idea to a client. They were asking about food and drink related activities. We have always avoided these areas due to the perceived complexity of regulation around it. Until…

Three of us were sitting around discussing what we could deliver, and someone said those magic words:

What if

We made a wine tasting game?

Innovation starts with asking what about? What if? Could we?

I mean, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing I want to do with my friends, colleagues and anyone who breathes really. Yes, we must make this a reality.

What happened then?

To give you a little insight into our design process, this is how we approached rapidly iterating and creating a new product. To put this in context, this is a product we designed and delivered in under three weeks. With the right team and process, we have found a balance in being able to quickly turn an idea into reality. And nothing says motivation like a deadline!

1. Broad concept design and scoping, completed and documented by Matt and Giovanna. This included answering the ‘why’, identifying customer segmentation, the elements that will make this ‘extraordinary’, aesthetic and branding style, practical considerations and long-term viability test of the concept.
2. Hand over to Head of Design. The concept document was handed to Paul with a verbal briefing, who reviewed the document, developed an experience framework for how it might be put together and then brought the team together for a ‘sprint’ meeting.
3. Design Sprint. In this meeting the design was pulled apart, put back together and agreed upon. Tasks were divided and conquered before beta test 1, which involved family and friends.
4. Test 1 and debrief: first round of testing where we all drank wine, wore silly hats and commiserated with Dad Shak (resident cheerleader and dad of the founders) about losing we went back to the drawing board, fixed what wasn’t working and recruited testers for round 2 (1 week later).
5. Test 2: more wine was drunk, silly hats worn and a close finish for first place.
6. Final adjustments: following a rapid debrief of both tests we completed final development and sourcing.
7. Voila!

It is safe to say that over the next couple of months, as we continue to understand this product, further refinement and adjustment will always be on the table. I am a strong believer that none of our products will remain static in design and delivery, even if it’s tinkering with the last 2%. There is always room for adjustment and improvement as our customers grow with our company.

What is it?

We can’t take traditional wine tasting and gamify it by just throwing some questions around each wine (trivia style). Instead think trivia with a few curve balls, some cheeky sabotage, all in games to earn you extra mullah, personal tablets for each participant which interacts with a projected live leader board, a few dress ups and a throne.

• We start with blind tasting each wine.
• Each participant will have a personal tablet to interact with. This is where you log your answers, earn some bonus points and get some hints.
• The game master will guide you through the whole thing while giving you tips, clues and extra hints along the way.
• With power play cards that you earn and are given through the experience you’ll be able to buy Power Plays off the game master in order to influence the game and how you are sitting in the hierarchy of wine tasters
• The game master may (will) interrupt proceedings with some all in games where you can earn extra points/power play cards/high fives.
• There will be hats, a throne for the leader’s glass, plenty of cheek and a live leader board to know exactly where you sit at any given moment.

Don’t worry – you don’t need to know about wine to win! It will be a combo of employing your taste buds, nose and a little cunning to be an all-rounder at this game.

And hey, wine!!

Who is it for?

Who isn’t it for?? Oh yea, under 18’s… forgot about them for a second.

This is perfect for:

• Small groups of friends
• Corporate groups for team building and bonding
• Hens and bucks parties
• Birthday parties
• Christmas parties
• Bars who want to run something a little different (we can personalise the wine selection)

Stay tuned for beer, whiskey, gin, tea and coffee adaptions.

You’re welcome.

Where you can get more info

Check out further details on the Out of the Bottle webpage, or find information for corporate events, private events or ticketed events.