Planned Visit

Choosing wine at a restaurant is a decision made badly on purpose. Not because anyone lacks taste, but because it happens at the worst possible moment: a list you've never seen, people waiting, a server hovering, and roughly a minute to look decisive.

Planned Visit moves the decision somewhere better. Tell Sommy where you're going, and by the time you arrive you already know what you're ordering.

Tell it where you're going

Name the restaurant when you book, or days ahead, or on the way. You can also just mention it in conversation. Say you're going to a particular place on Friday and Sommy Chat recognises it as a plan and sets the visit up without you filling anything in.

From there it's Sommy's problem, not yours. It goes and finds that venue's wine list, works through it, and scores every bottle against your taste while you get on with your day.

[SCREENSHOT: Planned Visit - an upcoming visit with the venue's wine list already scored and ready]

You get told when it's ready

Reading and matching a full list takes a moment, so it happens in the background and Sommy notifies you when your visit is ready to look at. No waiting on a spinner, no checking back.

Open it whenever suits you. On the sofa the night before is the honest answer for most people, which is the entire point: you get to think about it properly, with nobody waiting, instead of scanning four pages under pressure.

Arrive already knowing

By the time you sit down you have a shortlist that fits your palate, with prices, and a reason attached to each pick. Ordering becomes a sentence rather than a negotiation.

It also changes what happens when someone hands you the list and asks you to choose for the table. That's a much easier moment when you looked at it yesterday.

How it differs from Current Venue

Same underlying job, different moment. Current Venue is for when you're already there and want the list sorted now. Planned Visit is for the wine you'll drink on Thursday, decided on Tuesday.

Use Planned Visit when the meal matters, when you're booking somewhere new, or when you'd rather not be the person holding up the table.

When it helps, and when it doesn't

It's at its best for places you've never been, for occasions where the wine is part of the evening rather than an afterthought, and for restaurants with lists long enough to be intimidating.

It needs a venue it can find, so somewhere very new or very small may not have a list to work from. In that case photograph the list when you arrive and Vision handles it on the spot. And spontaneous dinners are what Current Venue is for.

How far ahead do I need to plan?

Long enough for Sommy to fetch and work through the list, which is usually a short wait rather than a long one. Setting it up when you book is comfortable, and so is doing it on the way.

What if the restaurant's list has changed by the time I get there?

Lists move, especially by the glass. If what you planned isn't available, Current Venue re-reads what they're actually pouring, or photograph the list and work from that.

Can I plan more than one visit?

Yes. Your upcoming visits sit together, so a week with two dinners out is two lists already worked through.