The best wine app for friends depends on what with friends means. Choose Sommo for private tastings and personal records, Vivino for a public ratings network, Delectable for a professional-led feed, or TasteWine for a recurring club with structured events.
Full disclosure: I build Sommo. I compared each app by the job a group actually needs to finish, not by who can assemble the longest feature list. The four jobs are discovering bottles, rating without influence, remembering the evening and keeping a group active after the glasses are cleared.
The Four Picks at a Glance
| App | Best for | Social model | What remains after the night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sommo | Private tastings and connected wine lives | Invitation-led groups | Each person’s journal, Taste DNA and shared results |
| Vivino | Crowd ratings and public discovery | Large public network | Ratings, reviews and saved wines |
| Delectable | Following professional palates | Expert-led public feed | Personal notes and shared recommendations |
| TasteWine | Hosted club tastings | Join code and club membership | Results, guesses and club history |
1. Sommo: Best for a Private Table
Sommo is built around a different social rule: your wine journal starts personal, then you choose when to bring other people in.
In a Sharing Party, the host adds the wines and sends a code or link. Everyone rates each pour on their own phone without seeing the other verdicts. The reveal then shows where the table agreed, which bottle split the room and who found the surprise favourite. Each guest can save their ratings into their own wine journal, so the group result does not replace personal taste.
Mix Palate handles a different question: what will all of us enjoy? A pair or a consenting group of up to eight can compare Taste DNA and find common bottles. Friends can also share a live cellar rack or send a designed tasting card without turning every note into a public post.
Choose Sommo when you want one private place to scan, cellar, taste, compare and remember wine together.
2. Vivino: Best for a Public Crowd
Vivino is the closest option to a conventional social wine network. Scan a label, read community scores, post your own rating and follow what other people are drinking.
That scale is useful when your friends want quick public consensus before buying. It is less suited to a blind group tasting where scores should remain hidden until a reveal, but it wins when the crowd itself is the product.
3. Delectable: Best for Expert-Led Discovery
Delectable combines label recognition and personal notes with a feed shaped by sommeliers, winemakers and critics. It suits a group that swaps recommendations and wants to follow particular wine voices rather than rely mainly on an aggregate score.
Use it when the conversation continues through expert bottles and tasting notes. Choose a private-group tool when the evening itself needs invites, independent ratings and a shared reveal.
4. TasteWine: Best for a Recurring Club
TasteWine is designed around the hosted event. A host creates a blind or open tasting, friends join, score and guess, and the group can keep a history through a wine club.
Its leaderboards and guessing fields make it a strong choice when competition is the ritual. Sommo is stronger when each tasting should connect to a broader personal journal, cellar and palate profile after the event.
Which One Should Your Group Use?
Start with the behaviour you already repeat. Publicly scan and compare? Vivino. Follow professional drinkers? Delectable. Run a formal club night? TasteWine. Taste privately, reveal together and keep every bottle useful afterwards? Sommo.
If the beer check-in habit is your starting point, the Untappd for wine comparison maps that exact behaviour. For the event itself, the guide to hosting a wine tasting party covers themes, quantities and order of service.
Sommo gives your group a shared moment without taking ownership of anyone’s palate. Try Sommo free and use the next bottle to find out where your friends agree.
How do you want to share wine with friends?
