Able Grape Is Not Google

Pardon the silly title, but with all the buzz on Bing (“Bing Is Not Google”) I just couldn’t help myself. And please, no silly questions about whether or not I’m going to change Able Grape‘s name to “Aging…”

It’s been unbelievably busy here at Able Grape central, and I’ve been quite remiss on my blogging. Hoping to get back to a more regular pace soon! In the mean time, here’s a quick update on recent changes.

This morning, I put live Able Grape’s largest — and, hopefully, best — database ever, clocking in at nearly 20 million pages of wine information from just shy of 41,000 websites. Lots and lots of new sites, and lots of improvements across the board.

Here’s a smattering of examples. Try them — they’ll open in a separate window — and compare to Google (or to Bing, for that matter) – I hope you’ll be pleased.

• Lots of info on 2008 Bordeaux (page through the results – there are many pages of great references)
• We’re doing an even better job of returning official information for wine terms and appellations like Wine of Origin or Beaune Cents Vignes or Ribera del Duero.
• Hundreds of new producers, from K-J Thul to the Cave des Vignerons de Tavel. Nearly 200 new producers from Beaujolais alone, from Alain Passot to Clos des Garands or Domaine de la Ronze.
• More, deeper scientific research content. For example, find research on Albariño (the query “Albariño” with the “Research” filter applied).
• Improved language detection, and recognition of more languages – Catalan, Croatian, and Slovenian.
• Better handling of Eastern European accents, so we return better results for things like the grape varieties Žilavka or Hárslevelű, or the producer Ščurek.
• Lots of good new information on the wines of Herzegovina.
• We’re doing an even better job of returning the producer’s own page as the top result for wine searches, always a key goal: try 1995 Ducru, 2001 Angélus, 1996 Veuve Clicquot Rosé, Hill of Grace, 1996 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, or the hot hot 2004 Grange.
• The default font has changed, and query terms are now highlighted in the titles of search results, making it (hopefully) easier to find relevant results, and also making the experience more consistent across Macs and PCs.

This is just a smattering of new stuff – there’s lots more “under the hood,” as it were. Should you find anything missing, or have suggestions, comments, or questions, as always, please let me know! I’d like to make Able Grape the best it can be.