London-Based Wine Platform Curated Ventures into the Metaverse

Curated, a UK-based wine platform, has launched a new metaverse experience for its community members allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the provenance of wine.

In a press release, Curated said it using the latest technology to develop a metaverse tailored for passionate wine collectors of all ages to enrich their journey.

Users will access the virtual world through VR headsets. The metaverse tour will kick off with a virtual wine cellar experience this spring, allowing owners to showcase their bottles, deepen their knowledge and virtually walk guests through their fine wine collection.

Curated said by the end of 2024, Apple users will also be able to access the metaverse using Vision Pro, bringing interactions that feel intuitive and magical.

“We want to nurture the passion of Collectors, support them in a way that hasn’t been done before—all our technological developments point in that direction. Our metaverse is the first step in giving Collectors an immersive, engaging experience, an alternative to a list of wines on a spreadsheet,”  said Alfonso de Gaetano, the founder of Curated, in a press release.

The metaverse continues to gain momentum and most recently has been a topic of intense debate in the tech world, with some industry leaders like Bill Gates expressing a tepid outlook.

Curated Dabbling in NFTs 

In 2022, Curated raised 3 million euros to further build out its blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology efforts within its platform.

The UK-based platform claims to be the first blockchain-based fine wine community; each bottle owned by a Curated community member is certified with an NFT.

“As the wine travels from vineyard to collector, the data is recorded on the blockchain giving a full account of the bottle’s journey, but also telling the complete story in the asset-backed redeemable NFT,” according to Curated.

‘Today bringing this blockchain data to vibrant life in a virtual environment, Curated is the first company to release a real-world asset blockchain-backed metaverse,” said the firm.

Disney Reignites Metaverse Efforts

Last week, Entertainment giant Disney and video game developer Epic Games joined forces to build a new immersive virtual universe tied to Fortnite. Disney said it also plans to invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside the multiyear project.

Previously, Disney pulled the plug on its metaverse division, eliminating the entire team of 50 people tasked with exploring ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats.

The metaverse division was tasked with finding ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property. However, with the new collaboration, Disney is making a major foray into the gaming world.

Meta’s Rocky Start

So far Meta, a subsidiary Reality Labs, which focuses on the development of the metaverse, has had a rocky start. Meta recorded a significant operating loss of over $4.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. In its fourth-quarter report, released on February 1, Meta revealed that Reality Labs reported a loss of $4.65 billion during Q4, while generating nearly $1.1 billion in revenue.