Wine-Searcher
A global beverage-search and price-comparison platform for wine, beer, spirits and whisky.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Wine-Searcher is a global vertical search and market-information platform focused on alcoholic beverages. Its core service helps consumers identify retailers, producers and auction businesses offering a particular wine, beer, spirit or whisky, while also allowing them to compare prices and availability across markets. Rather than functioning primarily as a conventional online retailer, the platform directs users to businesses that sell the products listed in its database. The service was established in 1998 by Martin Brown, who had previously worked as an e-commerce manager for the London wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd. Brown developed the first version of the website over approximately six months, and the service launched in 1999. In 2006, the operation moved from London to Auckland, New Zealand, Brown's home country. The company later expanded its international presence with a London office opened in 2019, intended to support its European and United States activities. Wine-Searcher's database is built from online wine lists and other commercial data supplied by retailers, producers and auction houses. The company uses proprietary web crawlers, data feeds and custom integrations, supported by manual and automated checks designed to identify inaccurate, obsolete or duplicate listings. According to the referenced material, the platform had approximately 20 million wine, beer and spirit listings in November 2024, covering 126 countries and more than 80 currencies, with listings collected from roughly 38,000 stores and producers. The consumer-facing service includes product searches, price and availability comparisons, retailer discovery, professional and critic scores, tasting notes and an encyclopedia covering grape varieties, beverage categories, producers, wine regions and vintage reports. Users can maintain records of products they have tried or bought, create wish lists, assign ratings from one to five stars and submit reviews. The Wine-Searcher and WhiskySearcher mobile applications also include label recognition, allowing a user to photograph a bottle label and use the resulting identification to investigate product information, prices and nearby availability. The business also operates as a data and insight provider. It retains historical pricing and availability information, enabling market reports and analysis of current and long-term trends. Those services can be configured for multinational or regional commercial analysis, or narrowed to an individual product and merchant. The company's income sources include advertising, paid access to professional content and the sale of market data and insights. Martin Brown left the chief executive role in April 2018 and was succeeded by Julian Perry. Wine-Searcher received the Casa Ferreirinha Innovation Award at the Golden Vines Awards in October 2022. The company was acquired by Flaviar in 2023 and, according to the supplied reference material, was subsequently acquired in May 2026 by GLX U.S. Inc., a New York-headquartered company wholly owned by Platin Sàrl, the investment company of the Goudet family. The supplied material describes the business as self-funded throughout its history and reports an approximately 80-person workforce in mid-2026.
History
Wine-Searcher originated in the late 1990s as an online response to the difficulty of locating particular wines and comparing prices across merchants. Martin Brown, formerly an e-commerce manager at Berry Bros & Rudd in London, founded the company in 1998. He wrote the initial website himself over roughly six months, and the service went live in 1999. The platform was designed as a vertical search engine rather than a single-store catalogue. It aggregated product and pricing information from businesses selling wine and later broadened its coverage to include whisky, other spirits and beer. Its principal function was to let users search for a named beverage, compare offers and find a business able to supply it. Over time, the service added critic scores, tasting notes and reference material on producers, grape varieties, categories, regions and vintages. In 2006, Wine-Searcher's operations moved from London to Auckland, New Zealand. The company continued to expand its data collection and international reach, gathering lists from retailers, producers and auction houses through web crawling, supplied feeds and tailored technical integrations. Its data-quality processes combined automated systems with manual review to remove obsolete or inaccurate information. The company developed a second dimension beyond consumer search: the collection and retention of historical market data. This enabled reporting on pricing, availability and market trends for industry customers, with analysis available at global, regional, merchant and individual-product levels. Revenue came from advertising, subscriptions or paid access to professional content, and commercial data and insight services. Brown remained associated with the business as its founder until stepping down as chief executive in April 2018. Julian Perry succeeded him. In 2019, Wine-Searcher opened a London office to improve its ability to serve European and United States markets. The company later extended its consumer offering through mobile applications for Wine-Searcher and WhiskySearcher, including bottle-label recognition, saved product histories, wish lists, user ratings and reviews. Wine-Searcher won the Casa Ferreirinha Innovation Award at the Golden Vines Awards in October 2022. It was acquired by Flaviar in 2023. The supplied reference material further states that GLX U.S. Inc., a New York-based company wholly owned by Platin Sàrl, acquired the business in May 2026. The same material describes Wine-Searcher as self-funded throughout its history and reports a workforce of approximately 80 people in mid-2026.
- 2026
Acquired by GLX U.S.
[1]The supplied reference material states that GLX U.S. Inc. acquired Wine-Searcher in May 2026.
- 2023
Acquired by Flaviar
[1]Wine-Searcher was taken over by Flaviar.
- 2022
Golden Vines innovation award
[1]The company received the Casa Ferreirinha Innovation Award at the Golden Vines Awards.
- 2019
London office opens
[1]Wine-Searcher opened a London office to support its European and United States market activities.
- 2018
Leadership transition
[1]Martin Brown stepped down as chief executive and Julian Perry succeeded him.
- 2006
Operations move to Auckland
[1]The company's operations moved from London to Auckland, New Zealand.
- 1999
Website launches
[1]The first version of the Wine-Searcher website went live after Brown developed it over approximately six months.
- 1998
Company founded
[1]Martin Brown founded Wine-Searcher after working in e-commerce for Berry Bros & Rudd.
Products and positioning
An independent-style global discovery, comparison and data platform connecting beverage consumers and industry users with retailers, producers and auction houses.
Search and price comparison · 1999
Wine-Searcher website
The core web platform searches wine, beer and spirits across retailer, producer and auction-house listings. It presents price and availability information, identifies businesses selling particular products and provides access to critic scores, tasting notes and beverage reference content.
Mobile search application
Wine-Searcher mobile app
The mobile application extends the website's search and comparison functions to iOS and Android. It supports product discovery, nearby-store searches, saved product records, wish lists, ratings, reviews and label recognition for investigating a photographed bottle.
Mobile spirits-search application
WhiskySearcher mobile app
WhiskySearcher is the related mobile experience for whisky and other spirits. Its functionality includes label-based product recognition and tools for examining prices, availability and nearby merchants, alongside consumer saving and discovery features.
Business intelligence
Market data and insights
Wine-Searcher collects and stores online beverage lists over time, creating a source for current and historical pricing and availability analysis. Commercial reports can be scoped to global or regional markets, individual products or particular merchants.
Brand decisions
2026
Acquisition by GLX U.S. Inc.M&ABackground
The supplied reference material reports a subsequent ownership change after the Flaviar takeover.
Action taken
GLX U.S. Inc., wholly owned by Platin Sàrl, acquired Wine-Searcher in May 2026.
Aftermath
The supplied material describes the company as active with an approximately 80-person workforce in mid-2026.
2023
Takeover by FlaviarM&ABackground
Wine-Searcher had developed a global beverage-search and data platform spanning wine, whisky, spirits and beer.
Action taken
Flaviar acquired Wine-Searcher.
Aftermath
Wine-Searcher continued as an active beverage-search and information service.
2019
Open a London officeStrategyBackground
Wine-Searcher sought to strengthen its presence and support for European and United States markets.
Action taken
The company opened a London office.
Aftermath
The office provided an additional base for international market development.
2006
Move operations from London to AucklandStrategyBackground
Wine-Searcher's founder was from New Zealand, and the company had originally operated from London.
Action taken
The company shifted its operations to Auckland in 2006.
Aftermath
Auckland became the company's principal operating base while the service continued its international expansion.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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