Vinix.it - A Food Network Born and Bred in Italy

Italy is known for both its food and its wine. With delicious, mouth watering Chiantis, cheeses, pastas, and breads, Italy is a foodies heaven. It’s only fitting then that new food network Vinix is the work of Italians. The site gives users ample opportunities to display their food love with pictures and reviews. There are of course your usual personal profiles but Vinix offers users a lot more as well. Beyond that there are blogs, videos and photo albums. There are also wine tasting events, classifieds, and RSS feeds. The site allows wineries and boutique food producers to sign up as well, increasing their profile and giving admirers a chance to connect. Vinix can be accessed in English or Italian.

"Vinix is an interaction tool conceived for wine & food professionals and lovers. On Vinix you can find contacts, place images, tastings, reviews, announcements, start blogs up. Signing up on Vinix-no matter if you have chosen the 'Free' or 'Pro' Plan-is the first step to take to be able to enjoy the functions of this wine-and-food social network at its best."

This site has a sparse minimalistic design. This approach puts more focus on the eats and the people. Moreover, despite its rather flair-less looks, Vinix packs a robust pack of features. It focuses on establishing a true network connecting food suppliers, connoisseurs and producers. In fact merchants are charged upwards of 100 euros to join. This only goes to prove that this site really does mean business.

Vinix first has the unfortunate position of being just one of a growing niche market. Food and Wine sites are cropping up rapidly and many have not only better looking sites with lots of food porn, but they also have better features—wine and food pairing recs, search engines, etc. What’s more, the site leans to heavily on the Italian market—half the site is in Italian; it needs to further its reach.