About BYO Somm
BYO Somm is a friendly, Australian-first app for learning about wine and enjoying it more. No snobbery, no jargon you're expected to already know, and no scores telling you what to think. Whether you're just starting out or already know your Shiraz from your Grenache, it helps you understand what's in your glass, find what you like and choose your next bottle with confidence.
Behind it is BYO Somm's own wine database: more than 1,000 search terms, more than 1,100 producers, over 400 cellar doors, and in-depth guides to the grapes and styles you'll meet most, with more on the way. All of it has been built up and checked over many months.
There are four main parts: Explore, Search, Scan and Track.
Explore
Build your wine knowledge, at your own pace.
- Australian regions: tap your way around Australia's wine country on the map. See what makes each region special and which grapes shine there, then browse its cellar doors, check which ones need booking ahead, and save the ones you want to visit.
- Wine basics and tasting: what to look for, how to taste, and the words that actually help.
- Flavours in wine: the fruit, floral, earthy and spicy flavours you'll come across, and which wines they show up in.
- Grape varieties: the main grapes, what they taste like, and how they change from a cool region to a warm one.
- Around the world: explore the world's great wine countries through maps and easy-to-read guides, from the classics of France and Italy to the New World. Learn the key regions and the styles they're famous for, so the names on a label or wine list start to make sense.
- Food and wine: how to match wine with the food Australians actually eat, from a Sunday roast to a Thai curry.
Use it when you want to learn from scratch, you're planning a trip to a wine region, or you want to fill in the gaps in what you already know.
Search
Ask anything about wine and get a straight answer.
Type a grape, a region, a word from a label or a dish you're cooking. With more than 1,000 search terms in BYO Somm's own database, most answers come straight from its checked guides, so they're quick and reliable.
Use it when you're standing in a bottle shop wondering what Fiano tastes like, you're deciding what to open with tonight's lamb, or you've spotted a word on a label you don't recognise.
Scan
Point your camera at a label, a menu or a recipe.
- A wine label: find out the style, how it's likely to taste, what to eat with it, and whether it's ready to drink now or worth keeping. You'll also get a short note on the winery behind it and how that year turned out.
- A menu or a recipe: get wine matches for what you're eating, explained so you know why they work.
Use it when you're choosing what to order at a restaurant, cooking something new at home, comparing bottles at the shop, or wondering if that bottle at the back of the cupboard should be opened.
Track
Remember what you loved, and plan where to go next.
- Wines: save the wines you try, with your own notes and a simple rating: loved it, liked it, OK or not for me. Over time you'll start to see a pattern in what you enjoy.
- Your collection: if you keep wine at home, see what's in your collection and when each bottle is best to drink.
- Wineries: keep a list of wineries you'd like to visit, and tick them off as you go.
Use it when you want to remember that great bottle from last weekend, you're planning a weekend away in wine country, or you want to stop guessing which bottle to open first.
How BYO Somm is made
AI helped me build BYO Somm, but it doesn't get the final word.
I used AI to help research and draft the lessons, region guides and search answers. Then I went through them myself: checking facts against trusted sources, fixing what was wrong, and rewriting anything that didn't sound like a friend explaining wine over a glass. AI is good at gathering information. Knowing when it's wrong, and how to explain it to someone new to wine, takes experience.
The same goes for the design. Every screen has been shaped around one question: will this make sense to someone who's never studied wine, and still be worth opening for someone who has?
Scan results are written by AI as you ask, but not freely. They follow rules I've set: they draw on BYO Somm's own checked guides first, stick to wine and food, describe wines in plain words rather than scores, and never push a brand or a shop. That makes them more reliable than asking a general AI. They can still get things wrong, so check anything important, especially allergens.
What BYO Somm stands for
- Independent. BYO Somm doesn't sell wine, and no producer, shop or brand pays to appear in it.
- Words, not scores. Wines are described by how they taste and what they're like, not by points or stars.
- Australian at heart, worldly in outlook. We love championing Australian wine, and you'll find it first throughout the app. But knowing the classics from the rest of the world is part of understanding wine, so they're right alongside.
Who's behind it
Hi, I'm Liam. BYO Somm is just me, built in Melbourne.
I spent years working in restaurants and wine stores, and later did formal wine training. These days I work in digital, helping build websites and apps. BYO Somm is where those two worlds meet: a passion project that's taken more than six months of evenings and weekends to bring to life.
I'm in this for the long haul and plan to keep making BYO Somm better. It's still new, and I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what you enjoy, what's confusing or missing, or what you wish it did. Or just say hello and tell me about a great bottle you've found. I'll write back, and your ideas will help shape what comes next. You can reach me at [email protected].
Cheers, Liam
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