Vivino raises $25M round, led by Moet Hennessey’s CEO, for its wine discovery app

Vivino, the Danish-based company managing an app-based wine community announced a $25 million Series B round led by SCP Neptune International.

Balderton Capital (formerly known as Benchmark Europe), Creandum, SEED Capital Denmark and Iconical, all existing investors in Vivino, are contributing to the round as well.

This follows Seed and Series A funding rounds bringing Vivino's total funding to date to $37 million since the company was founded in 2010.

SCP Neptune International, advised by Dial Partners LLP in London, is the family office investment vehicle of industry icon, Christophe Navarre. Mr. Navarre has also agreed to join the main Board of Vivino as a non-executive Director, representing his Family office, to advise on the company's future growth.

Vivino's massive growth and community of 13 million global users prove there is a paradigm shift happening in the industry and that the way consumers discover and select wine is changing rapidly. The Vivino community is democratizing an industry that was typically left to the critics, with users contributing tens of thousands of ratings every single day, forming the world's largest wine library.

Vivino will use this investment to expand its presence in the world's top wine consumption regions like the United States, Italy, France, Spain and Germany. The funding will also allow Vivino to continue to build the world's largest wine marketplace, helping users worldwide discover their next wine from one of the 11,000 merchants on Vivino.

The Series B funding coincides with a newly formed partnership between renowned wine author Karen MacNeil and Vivino. MacNeil, author of the single bestselling wine book in the United States, The Wine Bible, will serve as an editorial advisor to Vivino. MacNeil will provide real-time insights, intel and advice on wine trends and the greater wine industry and she will also develop content for Vivino.com and the Vivino app.

Skype Co-Founder Janus Friis was Vivino's inaugurating angel investor in 2010 and in 2011, Seed Capital Denmark contributed preseed funding. Creandum was behind the Series A funding in 2012, and follow on Series A funding of $10.3 million was led by Balderton Capital (formerly known as Benchmark Europe). In May of 2015, Vivino added several new wine loving angel investors, including Melo7 Tech Partners, LLC, cofounded by eight time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony.