Swirl Launches in the Nordics With Wine Recommendations Built on Private Taste Profiles

Swirl, a Stockholm-based wine technology startup, launched in the Nordics in March with a pitch that stands apart from many wine apps: stop relying on crowd scores and start learning what each drinker actually likes.

The company’s mobile app, available on iOS and Android, lets users scan a bottle label or search for a wine, review information drawn from producers’ technical sheets, and then rate the wine privately for their own use. Over time, Swirl says, those ratings help build an individual taste profile that can be used to suggest other bottles with similar characteristics.

The approach puts the company in direct contrast with better-known wine platforms that lean heavily on public reviews and average ratings. Swirl argues that a bottle that scores well with a large group is not always the right choice for a specific person. Its founders say the goal is to reduce the confusion many consumers feel when facing long wine lists, store shelves, or online catalogs filled with thousands of options.

Swirl also says it has chosen not to build the product around AI-generated wine analysis. Instead, the company says it uses structured information from producers and wineries, then matches that data with a user’s own ratings and preferences. In its launch materials, the company described the system as data-driven rather than AI-led and said that decision was intended to reduce errors and keep recommendations grounded in source material from winemakers.

Jade Arana, a co-founder who leads product, design and growth, said in a statement that wine discovery remains too dependent on broad public opinion. “Wine is deeply personal,” Arana said. “The wine I enjoy might not be the same you do.” She said the company wants users to “stop drinking ratings” and focus instead on understanding their own palate.

The recommendation engine was developed by co-founder Emil Hed, according to the company. Swirl describes Hed as a sommelier with a robotics degree who leads engineering. The company’s head sommelier, Marcus Henningsson, previously worked at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Frantzén, according to Swirl. The startup says that mix of technical and wine expertise is central to its product design.

Founded in 2024, Swirl says it has built a catalog of more than 10,000 wines. Beyond scanning and recommendations, the app includes tasting notes, favorites, wish lists, personal collections, home cellar tracking, food pairing guidance and access to selected wine retail partners. The company says users can also shop through partner stores, with wines sorted by how closely they match the user’s taste profile.

A key part of the company’s pitch is privacy. Swirl says ratings and notes are private by default and are not posted to a public social feed. That differs from several large wine communities, where user reviews are visible to others and often shape a bottle’s reputation on the platform.

The startup is trying to position itself at the meeting point of consumer technology and a category that has often been seen as hard to navigate. Swirl says many drinkers, especially younger consumers who are comfortable shopping online, want simple digital tools that help them make decisions without needing deep knowledge of grapes, regions or wine terminology. Its press materials frame the product as a way to make wine more accessible without stripping away detail for users who want to learn.

The company also links the app to a broader message about more deliberate consumption. Swirl says it wants to help users find producers whose wines suit their tastes rather than pushing higher volumes of drinking. In future versions, the company says it plans to give more visibility to smaller wineries, organic and biodynamic producers, and traditional estates that emphasize sustainability.

Swirl has not released a full breakdown of its user base in the materials it provided, but it says it has attracted thousands of sign-ups and has users returning each week. The company also says it has built an audience of about 27,000 Instagram followers and generated more than 40 million organic views without paid marketing. Those figures could not be independently verified from the company’s press materials.

The company’s launch comes as digital personalization has spread across consumer apps in retail, food and entertainment. Wine has been slower to move beyond broad review systems, in part because taste is subjective and product information can vary widely across markets. Swirl is betting that a recommendation model based on personal feedback and structured wine data can do a better job than a crowd score that treats all users as if they want the same thing.

In launch comments, Hed said better personalization could strengthen trust and long-term engagement in wine buying. That argument points to a larger business opportunity for apps that can connect discovery with purchase, especially as more wine sales move online and consumers grow more comfortable choosing bottles on a phone screen rather than with in-store help.

Swirl says it is supported by KTH Innovation, Sting and Betula Partners. The company is based in Stockholm but offers the app globally in English, an early sign that it sees the product as addressing a wider market than the Nordics alone.

For now, its main claim is simple. Most wine platforms tell users what other people liked. Swirl is trying to build one that tells users what they are likely to like themselves.