Business 2.0

We wanted to take a moment to say hello and thank you for your interest in what Business 2.0 magazine just heralded as one of �The Coolest New Products on the Planet�: the WinePod.

While we appreciate all this fanfare and attention, we know that ultimately our success will be based on your success as winemakers in our online virtual community. We will make every effort to make sure that you have the best equipment, updated software, grapes, consumables and winemaking knowledge available to you. Our goal is simply to make great wine with you. We want you to become great winemakers!

Over the past year, the innovation and design of the WinePod has been our main focus. With a small but highly motivated team of winemakers in California, software programmers in Ukraine and Russia, product designers and R&D in Silicon Valley, we have created a product that we think you are going to love.

As news of the WinePod has spread around the globe, we have been featured by news media from over 20 countries. With that coverage, we have gotten a lot of questions about the specifics of the WinePod. I would like to cover some of the more common questions in this newsletter and let you know what we have been doing since you put your name on the WinePod waiting list.

The waiting list is a first come-first serve system. Each person on the waiting list is put in a group such as A, B, C, etc. The groups are arranged by the date of entry on the waiting list. When we have systems available, we send an email to group A for example. Group A will all have a chance to purchase a WinePod with a scheduled delivery date. If we have some systems that have not been purchased, we will move to the next group. Those from group A that do not respond by a specified date will stay on the waiting list, but go to the end of the line. If someone is no longer interested, they will be removed from the list entirely.

There are some exceptions. We have many people on the waiting list from outside the US and Canada. As of today, we don�t have any international distribution capabilities, so those people will remain in their place on the waiting list and will be sorted based on their location. When we have distribution and support capabilities in their countries, those who are earliest on the waiting list will be offered systems on the first come-first serve basis described above.

We will also from time to time, make small quantities of WinePods available to select retail partners. For example, a few of Neiman-Marcus�s best customers will be able to redeem their InCircle program points for a WinePod.

Finally, many of you want to know where you are on the waiting list. Please look at the top of this newsletter page for your assigned group letter.

We expect to make WinePods available to many of you this year and will be in contact with you as they become available this summer, crush and the holiday season. Even if you delivery date is after crush, we will still have outstanding grapes available for winemaking during the holidays.

The 2007 WinePods will have some improvements over the 2006 versions. The main difference is a removable tank. The 2006 WinePods did not have a removable tank and many thought that it made cleaning the system more difficult. The 2007 WinePod�s inner tank will slide out of the Pod�s outer shell so that the tank itself can be cleaned without moving the entire WinePod unit.

We will also continuously improve our winemaking software. We will always make the latest versions available to you, so you have the most advanced and sophisticated winemaking information available.

More news to come soon!

Many of you have asked very specific questions about how the WinePod works, step-by-step. We won�t go into every detail here, but we will update our website soon with detailed step-by-step information. For now we will give a more general view.

Winemaking is as old as civilization itself. From that point of view, the WinePod uses traditional winemaking techniques with a modern twist of technology. Red wine and white wines are made a little differently, so in this issue we will focus only on the making of red wines.

Simply stated: the WinePod is your winery, you are the winemaker, and the software is your winemaking coach. It�s that simple. Ultra-premium grapes from select California vineyards in Napa and Sonoma are made available for purchase and sent to your home. The grapes are sent to you pre-crushed. The cold soak and fermentation all happen in your WinePod unit. The winemaking process is closely monitored through patented technology within the WinePod and sent wirelessly to your home computer. Easy-to-use software and the online expertise of professional winemakers guides you step-by-step through each procedure.

During the initial fermentation (1-2 weeks depending on fermentation temperature) you will interact with the WinePod 2-3 times per day. During this period you will smell and taste your fermenting must, punch down grape skins that rise to the top with the CO2 and record your impressions into your PC using a drop down menu of smells and tastes. If anything else needs to be done, the WinePod will ask you to do it.

At the end of the fermentation, the WinePod will alarm that the sugar level is approaching the ideal for pressing, using its patent-pending Brix (sugar) sensor.

At this point, its time to press the grapes. The WinePod walks you through the press process. After pressing the grapes, you will siphon your newly born wine into your choice of a small barrel, carboy or into a temporary vessel for temporary storage until you clean the WinePod and put the wine back inside.

It takes several months for the wine to mature. The maturing process includes racking the wine (to remove solids and yeast remains), secondary fermentation and oak. So in total it is anywhere from 6 to 12 months. You can make a first-rate Pinot Noir or Zinfandel in your WinePod. Bottle, label, and call it your own!

By the way, we provide everything mentioned above to you from our website. This includes barrels, bottles, bottling tools, additives, punch down tools, and test kits. You just need to bring your passion for wine and a little time!

We couldn�t resist the invitation to go down to Hollywood during the Oscars. The WinePod made a shining debut during the 2007 Academy Awards weekend as we introduced the WinePod to a glittering array of people in the entertainment industry at Melanie Segal�s Platinum Publicity event.

You could say that even in Hollywood, people were intrigued and awed by its innovation and design. Many stars posed for pictures with the WinePod and the press gathered product information.

No, we weren�t giving away WinePods! But, people sure tried! We did sample the wine and have nice little bottle totes as gifts.

�WWF� and �Dancing with the Stars� favorite, Stacy Kiebler, poses with the WinePod in Hollywood during the 2007 Oscars weekend.