2017 is the year of the booze gadget

Alcohol companies are gearing up to bring boozy versions of Nespresso coffee machines to kitchen benchtops.

Following last week's launch of a gadget that prepares the perfect glass of wine - D-vine - Pernod Ricard has announced the launch date for its internet-connected home spirits dispenser, Opn, while AB-InBev has teamed up with a coffee machine maker to develop an "in-home alcohol drink system.” 

Created by a French start-up called 10-Vins, D-Vine takes a vial of wine, detects the style, adjusts the temperatures, aerates it and pours it through the machine exactly as the vineyard recommends. The process takes around one minute to deliver the perfect glass. 

Opn - to be released in early-2018 - comprises cartridges filled spirits from the Pernod portfolio (pictured above). The cartridges are housed in a docking station that can dispense measures and monitor when the contents are running low, allowing refills to be ordered automatically online. The station also connects to Opn's central operating system to tell users what cocktails can be made - from a database of 300 - from what spirits are available.

"We are utterly committed to developing the future of entertaining at home: an experience that is connected, engaging, tailored and responsible", said Alain Dufossé, MD of Pernod's Breakthrough Innovation Group. "With Opn, our goal is to make it easier to enjoy meaningful moments of conviviality at home."

Meanwhile, AB-InBev and Keurig Green Mountain have teamed up to create an at-home alcohol maker.

Details are sketchy, but the two companies announced in a press release that the new venture would “build on the Keurig KOLD technology and system innovations and AB InBev’s brewing and packaging technology, and evolve them within the realm of the full adult beverage category.” 

It's believed the machine will be designed to serve beer, spirits, cocktails and mixers.

Fortune notes: "That's an interesting pivot for Keurig as the company debuted a $370 cold beverage making device in the fall of 2015, only to stop producing the system after less than a year. The do-it-yourself fad seemed to fizzle by the time Keurig debuted that item—which aimed to replicate the success it had with single-serve coffee machines—and the high price was also viewed as a barrier.

"AB InBev and Keurig appear to believe that an at-home system that focuses on alcoholic beverages could find a viable market. Already, devices that help consumers brew beer or make cocktails have percolated on crowdfunding sites. But no companies as large as AB InBev and Keurig have announced their intention to tackle the market."

Well, aside from Pernod Ricard.

Interesting times ahead for the drinks industry and home entertainment sectors.