Updates introduce social platform for users

FRANKFORT (Sept. 8, 2022) - The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is introducing new features to its popular guide to the commonwealth’s wineries and craft breweries: Drink KY®. Initially launched in 2021, updates to the progressive web-app include social integration and content additions.

“Our Drink KY web-based app allows us to better showcase Kentucky’s ever-expanding number of wineries and breweries,” Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Ryan Quarles said. “These exciting updates will enhance consumer’s visits to tastings and taprooms across the commonwealth and provide fun new opportunities to engage with like-minded friends. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture plans to make a big push this year to encourage people to visit fall agritourism destinations.”

Drink KY is a free resource that allows users to plan and track their visits to Kentucky’s wineries and breweries, earn rewards through geo-fenced location check-ins, and learn about the commonwealth’s unique craft beer and wine scenes.

The new social integration provides functionality for networking that includes marking fellow Drink KY users as friends, finding others by shared preferences, and "liking" interactions. Individuals’ profiles will remain private by default, but users will have access to the new social integration features by changing their preferences to public in profile settings. Newly introduced notifications will alert individuals when they have a new follower, when someone has liked a user’s note or check-in, when a manual check-in request has been approved, and when reaching new reward levels. Additionally, the newly launched updates allow Drink KY users to add images to their notes and share those images in their public feed.

To begin your personal wine or craft beer trail, start using the Department’s official interactive experience at https://www.drink-ky.com/.

Drink KY, is a collaboration of the KDA, the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council, and the Kentucky Guild of Brewers.