Wine in Black
Wine in Black GmbH is a privately held German online wine retailer operating a curated D2C marketplace of 1,000+ expert-tasted wines across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands, serving individual wine enthusiasts with critic scores, tasting notes, themed packages, and editorial content.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Wine in Black does
Wine in Black GmbH is a privately held German online wine retailer founded in 2011, headquartered in Mainz, operating the curated direct-to-consumer storefront wine-in-black.de. The company positions itself as an online sommelier, with every wine in its portfolio of more than 1,000 SKUs tasted and approved by an in-house expert team before listing. It targets wine enthusiasts and collectors across five European markets — Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands — served via country-specific sister storefronts, with senior buyer Alexander Jansen as a public-facing brand voice through Verkostungsvideos (tasting videos) on YouTube.
The underlying platform is a Shopify-based e-commerce storefront with product catalog, customer accounts, and order management, complemented by native iOS and Android applications. The site supports browsing by wine type, country, region, grape variety, international critic scores (Robert Parker, James Suckling, Vinous, Luca Maroni, Falstaff, Decanter), and price, and is supplemented by an editorial layer (Wine in Black Magazine covering regions, food pairing, and lifestyle). Logistics run via DHL and DPD within Germany, and the company holds Trusted Shops certification with ~6,000 verified reviews at 4.76/5.0 stars.
The business model is straightforward D2C transactional wine retail with unit pricing and bundle pricing on themed wine packages (e.g., Bordeaux Tasting Set, Brunello di Montalcino Package, Parker Package), with no subscription or recurring payment structure. Prices range from under €10 for entry-level bottles to over €850 for premium and collector wines, with a €35 minimum order, €4.90 flat shipping within Germany, and free shipping above €90. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding or parent entity; Managing Director Christian Fricke leads the business.
Wine in Black firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wine in Black
- Legal name
- Wine in Black GmbH
- Website
- https://wine-in-black.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Wine in Black GmbH is a privately held German online wine retailer operating a curated D2C marketplace of 1,000+ expert-tasted wines across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands, serving individual wine enthusiasts with critic scores, tasting notes, themed packages, and editorial content.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wine in Black industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Wine Retail
- NAICS
- Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (4453)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants) (CRANABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE), Premium, Rare & Collectible Alcohol Retail (Fine Wine/Spirits) (CRANAAAJ)
Keywords
Where Wine in Black is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Wine in Black business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Direct Wine Sales: Wine in Black generates revenue through the direct sale of wines to consumers via its online storefront. Revenue is realized on a per-transaction basis, with customers purchasing individual bottles or curated packages. The company sources wines from international wineries and producers, offering products across a wide price range from budget-friendly options (under €10) to ultra-premium fine wines (up to €850+ per bottle).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual bottle purchases and curated wine packages at per-bottle or bundle pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Wine in Black product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wine in Black is an online wine retailer operating as a virtual sommelier, selling a curated portfolio of over 1,000 hand-selected wines from international wineries. Each wine is tasted and approved by in-house experts before listing, with detailed tasting notes, critic ratings from major international wine critics, and food pairing recommendations. The platform offers individual bottles, themed wine packages, and a premium Fine Wines collection aimed at enthusiasts and collectors.
Product overview
Wine in Black operates as an online wine marketplace and virtual sommelier service, offering a curated portfolio of over 1000 hand-selected wines through its main e-commerce platform. The core product is the Wine in Black Online Wine Shop, supplemented by themed wine packages and sets (Wine Packages/Sets), a premium Fine Wines Collection for collectors, and editorial content via the Wine in Black Magazin. The platform features expert tasting notes and critic ratings, customer account management, gift shipping services, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Key wine categories include red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines, with special collections for VDP-classified German wines and fine collector's items.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wine in Black Online Wine Shop Core e-commerce storefront offering a curated selection of over 1,000 hand-selected wines from around the world, with expert tasting notes, critic ratings, food pairing recommendations, and personalized recommendations for wine enthusiasts and collectors.
- Wine Packages / Sets
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 6,000 verified customers on Trusted Shops with a 4.76/5.0 star rating
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Wine in Black
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Wine in Black technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Wine in Black partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Karl Pfaffmann (Weingut)coreWine in Black features Karl Pfaffmann as a featured winemaker on their platform, offering an extensive selection of their wines. Karl Pfaffmann is a renowned German winery from Walsheim in the Pfalz region, producing premium Riesling, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder, and other varietals. The partnership provides exposure for the winery while enriching Wine in Black's curated German wine selection.
- Ruinart ChampagnecoreRuinart, the oldest active Champagne house (founded 1729), is featured as a key winemaker on Wine in Black. The partnership allows Wine in Black to offer prestige cuvées including Dom Ruinart, Blanc de Blancs, and Rosé variants to German consumers.
- Feudi di San GregoriocoreFeudi di San Gregorio is a leading Campanian winery (Irpinia region, Italy) featured on Wine in Black, known for Aglianico-based Taurasi and Greco di Tufo wines. The B-Corp certified winery represents Italian fine wine excellence in Wine in Black's curated Italian selection.
- Cune (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)minorCune (Cvne), founded in 1879 in Haro, Rioja Alta, is a historic Spanish winery featured on Wine in Black. The partnership expands Wine in Black's Spanish wine selection with classic Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva wines.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Wine in Black competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flaschenpost: Flaschenpost is a major German alcohol e-commerce and rapid-delivery operator (now part of Oetker Group), offering beer, wine and spirits online with strong logistics — competing for the same online wine basket in Germany.
- Weinfreunde: Weinfreunde is a German DTC wine subscription club delivering curated boxes of sommelier-selected wines; it overlaps directly with Wine in Black's curated positioning and targets the same German enthusiast buyer.
- Wine.com: Wine.com is the largest US online wine retailer with curated assortment, critic scores and logistics, providing a direct US analog for Wine in Black's curated e-commerce model.
- Vivino: Vivino operates a global wine marketplace and discovery app combined with e-commerce checkout, directly competing with Wine in Black on curated online wine discovery for enthusiast consumers across European markets.
- Naked Wines: Naked Wines is a UK-headquartered DTC wine retailer with a curated/independent-winery funding model; it competes in the same curated online wine space, particularly in the UK and parts of continental Europe.
- Ludwig von Kapff: Ludwig von Kapff is a long-established German fine-wine mail-order specialist with expert-led curation, very closely comparable to Wine in Black's sommelier-curated model and DACH customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Hawesko Holding: Hawesko is Germany's largest specialist wine mail-order group (Jacques', Wein & Co., Vinos), with a much broader portfolio and physical/online reach than Wine in Black; it competes across the same DACH fine-wine retail segment.
Emerging players
- 8Seasons: 8Seasons is a smaller German curated wine club / online retailer with a sommelier-led concept targeting the same German enthusiast segment as Wine in Black, though at a meaningfully smaller scale.
- Decanter (Fine Wine & Retail): Decanter combines authoritative wine editorial with curated retail offers, overlapping with Wine in Black on the critic-ratings + curated-selection angle, primarily in the UK market.
Regional players
- Majestic Wine: Majestic is a UK specialist wine retailer with both stores and online, serving a similar enthusiast/fine-wine customer but in a different geography from Wine in Black's core DACH+ footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Wine in Black social profiles
Digital presenceWine in Black compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Wine in Black financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wine in Black leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Wine in Black funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wine in Black M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Wine in Black
What does Wine in Black do?
Wine in Black is an online wine retailer operating as a virtual sommelier, selling a curated portfolio of over 1,000 hand-selected wines from international wineries. Each wine is tasted and approved by in-house experts before listing, with detailed tasting notes, critic ratings from major international wine critics, and food pairing recommendations. The platform offers individual bottles, themed wine packages, and a premium Fine Wines collection aimed at enthusiasts and collectors.
Is Wine in Black a public or private company?
Wine in Black is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Wine in Black founded?
Wine in Black was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wine in Black based?
Wine in Black is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Wine in Black make money?
One revenue line is on record: direct Wine Sales.
Who are Wine in Black's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flaschenpost, Weinfreunde, Wine.com, Vivino, Naked Wines and Ludwig von Kapff. Hawesko Holding is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are 8Seasons and Decanter (Fine Wine & Retail). Majestic Wine is listed as a regional player.
Does Wine in Black have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wine in Black.
What industry is Wine in Black in?
Wine in Black's product category is Online Wine Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRANABAB, Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants), with a secondary code of CRANABAE, Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail. Its NAICS code is 445320 and its SIC code is 2080.