The short answers to what everyone asks. Something missing? Tell us.
Is VinoStash really free?
Yes β the Free plan is free forever: up to 50 bottles, label scanning included (adding by hand is always unlimited too), and the full cellar, journal, wish list and events experience. Bigger stashes upgrade to Cellar Plus ($3.99/mo or $39/yr, 500 bottles, unlimited scans) or Collector Pro ($7.99/mo or $69/yr, 2,000 bottles, advanced insights). The limited π€ Founder Plan is $89 once for everything forever, with permanent Contributor recognition. Members who joined during early access retain their lifetime Founder Plan access exactly as promised. Founder numbers are reserved for VinoStash's two founders, #001 and #002.
What happens if I hit my plan's bottle limit?
Nothing scary. You can always read, search, drink, edit, delete and export every bottle you own β only adding more bottles waits until you make room or upgrade. Consumed bottles never count against the limit. Your data is never held hostage.
How do payments work? Is my card safe?
All payments run on Stripe, the same processor used by millions of businesses β you pay on Stripe's secure page and VinoStash never sees or stores your card. Manage cards, invoices, plan changes and cancellations anytime from Settings β Membership & billing.
Do I need to download an app from the App Store?
No. VinoStash runs in your browser on iPhone, Android, and desktop. For an app-like experience, open the app in Safari or Chrome and choose Add to Home Screen β it then launches full-screen with its own icon. See the step-by-step guide.
How does the label scanning work?
Just snap the label β nothing to set up, nothing to configure. VinoStash reads the producer, vintage, region, and grape, estimates the current market price, and suggests a drinking window based on industry aging standards for that varietal.
What is the Wine Passport?
A travel journal for your wine life. Stamp every winery visit, tasting, restaurant discovery, region trip or unforgettable bottle β with the place, date, style, companions and a photo. Track your wine-club memberships too β tier, shipment schedule, pickup windows, customization and cancellation deadlines, renewal dates, member benefits, member number (always private) and account links β and the Passport timeline reminds you when a shipment is coming (or asks if a missed one arrived). Free tracks one active club; paid plans track every club with shipment history and calendar export. Wine-club memberships belong to their wineries β your VinoStash Founder Plan is separate. Stamps can link to your journal and events without copying anything, milestones reward exploration (never consumption), and members create their own Wine Trails for any region, grape or style they want to explore; Napa Cabernet appears only as an example. You can also print your passport or share a single stamp β sharing sends only the place, region, date and style, never your notes or photos. Free passports hold 10 stamps; paid plans are unlimited. Founder #001 and #002 receive the Founder Edition; Founder Plan members receive the Contributor Edition.
How do wineries work in the Passport?
Every winery you visit, love, or belong to can get its own page that ties everything together β your visits (Passport stamps), your wine club and its tier, upcoming shipments and pickups, member benefits, events you logged there, and safe links to the winery's site and your member account. Add one in seconds: open your Wine Passport, tap β Add a winery (or the My Wineries card on your home screen), start typing to pick from the built-in directory or add any name, then tap π Visited, π Member or π Save for later. Known clubs show their usual tiers (labeled "verify with your winery") and can start the membership for you. Nothing is ever copied β a winery page links back to your original stamps, club and events, so your wording is preserved β and your private notes, member numbers and benefits stay private to you. Adding wineries is unlimited on every plan; only the number of active wine-club memberships is limited on Free (one).
Can VinoStash pick tonightβs wine for me?
Yes β tap π€΅ Whatβs for Dinner? on the welcome screen. Choose Steak, Pizza, Salmon, Chicken, Pasta, Spicy food or Cheeseβor describe dinner. The sommelier ranks bottles from your own stash, weighing the pairing, drinking windows, quantities, your Drink Again answers and context tags. You can show all matches or open the selected bottle directly.
Does VinoStash track a bottle after I open it?
Yes. Choose Open & track instead of finishing it immediately. The Currently Open screen records the opening date and remaining amount and shows a general style-based freshness window. Finish it into the Journal, update it, return it to the stash or discard it.
Can VinoStash notify me when the app is closed?
Yes, on Cellar Plus, Collector Pro and Founder memberships. Open Settings β Device notifications, choose the alerts and local time you want, then tap Enable device alerts. Permission is optional and requested only after that tap. On iPhone or iPad, add VinoStash to the Home Screen first and enable alerts from the installed icon. Wine names are hidden on the lock screen unless you choose to show them.
Can I tag the occasion and remember the restaurant or store?
Yes. Bottle openings and Journal entries support quick context tags such as Date Night, Patio, Great Value and With Friends. Venue fields are editable. If you tap π Suggest, VinoStash requests a one-time device location, suggests a nearby place and saves only the venue name you acceptβnot the GPS coordinate.
Can I see a visual map of my wine fridge?
Yes. Open Cellar maps, choose a storage location and create its rows and columns. Tap an empty slot to place bottles; tap a filled slot to view, move or clear it. Existing wines remain safely unassigned until you map them.
Can I send friends a view of bottles for a dinner party?
Yes. My Profile β Dinner Party Stash creates an expiring guest link for bottles you select. No account is required. Guests may suggest bottles, while purchase prices, receipts, storage locations and private notes remain hidden. You can revoke the link immediately.
How accurate are the market prices?
They're lowβhigh estimates based on typical retail pricing for that exact wine and vintageβuseful for a ballpark replacement value, not a formal appraisal. You can edit any range, and every bottle has a one-tap Google search for checking current exact-bottle listings.
What are drink-by windows?
Every bottle gets a drinking window based on industry aging standards β Zinfandel 8β10 years, Cabernet Sauvignon 15β20, and so on β tuned to the specific wine and vintage. The app flags bottles that are ready, that should be drunk soon, or that are best held.
Can I track bottles at more than one home?
Yes. Set up your storage locations once under My Profile β My storage locations β "Wine storage 1", "Home wine storage in CA", "Wine storage in Mexico" β then pick the location (and the rack inside it) when you file each bottle. The Cellar tab's location filter is pre-populated from that list and shows per-location bottle counts and value.
How do racks work?
Every bottle can carry a Rack / shelf inside its storage location β "Rack B, shelf 2". It shows on the bottle's card, in the search, and in your Excel cellar report, so you can walk straight to the bottle.
Can my partner and I share one cellar β signed in at the same time?
Yes. Go to My Profile β Share my cellar and send an invitation to your partner's email. They create their own free account with their own password β no credentials are ever shared β and your cellar opens for both of you. You can both be signed in at once on any devices: changes sync both ways within moments, nothing gets overwritten, each journal entry is stamped with who logged it, and you can revoke access anytime.
How do I find what we drank last week?
The Journal (menu β Journal) lists every opened bottle newest-first, dated and named β last week is right at the top. For the longer story, β° β My History shows month by month what came in, what got opened, and where your stash stood. And if you forgot to log a bottle on the night, you can backdate it on the Drink screen or edit the Enjoyed on date later.
What's the wish list?
Spot a bottle at a store, restaurant, or party? Open β° β Bottle Scout and add it one of three ways: snap the label, upload an image, or enter details by hand. VinoStash identifies snapped bottles β region, grape, estimated price, drinking window. When you buy one, a single tap moves it into your cellar with everything pre-filled.
Where do I get help inside the app?
Open the menu (β°) and tap π Help & search. Type what you're trying to do β "backdate", "rack", "partner" β and the matching step-by-step answer appears instantly.
Is my cellar backed up?
Yes β quietly and automatically. VinoStash keeps your last 10 snapshots: one each day you use it, plus one right before anything big is erased. Deleted something by accident? Settings β Backups β Restore this backup rolls it right back.
Is my cellar private?
Yes. Your cellar lives in your own password-protected account and is visible only to you. We don't sell your data, and there are no ads.
Does it sync between my phone and my computer?
Yes β sign in with the same email anywhere and your cellar, journal, photos, and wish list stay in sync automatically. Several devices can be signed in at the same time β each one refreshes itself every couple of minutes and whenever you come back to the app.
Can I get my data out β or bring an existing cellar in?
Anytime. Settings β Cellar report builds an Excel file of your full cellar (locations and racks included), journal, and wish list that you can download or email. Going the other way, Settings β Import your cellar (Excel) gives you a template to bring a whole cellar in at once. Your data is yours.
I have a promo code β how do I use it?
Enter it when you create your account (there's a promo code field on the sign-up form). It's validated instantly and locked to your account.
I forgot my password.
On the sign-in screen, type your email and tap Forgot password β we'll email you a reset link. Already signed in and just want a new one? Settings β Change password sets it right in the app.
Can I delete my account?
Yes, right in the app: Settings β Delete my account. It permanently erases your account, cellar, journal, photos, backups and invitations β no undo, so consider downloading your Cellar report first. Prefer email? Contact us and we'll do it for you.
A label was misread. Now what?
Every scan shows you the result before saving, so just tap any field and correct it. Dim light, unusual labels, and very small text are the usual culprits β a straight-on, well-lit photo of the front label works best.