How to Set Up VinLocate: Map Your Wine Cellar in InVintory
Madeleine Cruickshank
April 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Finding a specific bottle in a growing wine collection takes longer than it should. You know it's in the cellar somewhere, but looking through labels row by row or relying on a mental map of where things were placed six months ago is slow and unreliable.
VinLocate solves this. It creates a visual, searchable 3D map of your exact cellar or fridge layout so that when you search for any bottle, InVintory highlights precisely where it is. No scanning, no guessing, no unnecessary bottle movement.
This guide walks through how to set up VinLocate from scratch, what to think about before you start, and how to keep it accurate over time.
What Is VinLocate?
What does VinLocate do in InVintory?
VinLocate is InVintory's patented cellar mapping technology. It creates a realistic 3D view of your wine cellar or wine fridge, lets you assign bottles to precise locations, and shows you exactly where every bottle is stored so you can find any wine instantly.
You build your cellar layout in the app section by section, matching the physical dimensions and orientation of your racks, bins, and fridges. Once your bottles are assigned to slots, searching for any wine highlights its exact location in the 3D view. The guesswork is gone.
Before You Start: Prepare Your Storage Map
What do I need to do before setting up VinLocate?
Take a few minutes to survey your physical storage before building anything in the app. Walk your cellar and note every rack, bin, and fridge; their dimensions, how many rows and columns each has, and how they're oriented.
The more closely your digital layout matches your physical setup, the more useful VinLocate will be. A map that approximates your cellar gives you approximate results. A map that matches it exactly gives you precise bottle locations every time.
A few things to decide before you start:
Naming your storage locations
Give each storage location a clear, specific name that matches how you physically think about it, like "Home Cellar," "Kitchen Fridge," or "Garage Rack,” rather than generic labels like "Cellar 1." You'll be using these names every time you search, so clarity matters.
How to handle mixed storage
If a single rack holds multiple rows with different bottle orientations, map each section separately so every slot is accurately represented.
How to Set Up VinLocate
How do I build my cellar or fridge map in InVintory?
On iPhone and iPad:
- Go to your home screen and tap on Edit next to Cellars & fridges. Tap Create to map a new storage section.
- Enter the name of your storage section
- Tap Create next to Sections, then select either Rack or Bin
- Specify the slot type and bottle direction for the rack or bin
- Customize your storage section by selecting the number of columns and rows, plus the column & row depth
- Save your storage section
- Repeat for each section of your storage until the digital layout matches your physical cellar
On Web:
- Go to your dashboard and click New next to Cellar and fridges
- Select the storage type you want to map
- Enter the name of your storage section
- Select your storage section from the Cellars & Fridges list, at the bottom of your dashboard menu
- Click Create next to Storage Sections, then select either Rack or Bin
- Specify the slot type and bottle direction for the rack or bin
- Customize your storage section by selecting the number of columns and rows, plus the column & row depth
- Save your storage section
- Repeat for each section of your storage until the digital layout matches your physical cellar
For wine fridges, InVintory's templates for EuroCave, LeCavist, Wine Enthusiast, and other major fridge brands let you start from an accurate pre-built layout rather than building from scratch. Select your fridge model from the template library and customize from there. For a full guide to setting up a wine fridge using templates, this post on wine fridge setup covers the process step by step.
How to Assign Bottles to Locations
How do I assign a bottle to a specific slot in VinLocate?
Once your layout is built, assigning bottles to slots is straightforward.
On iPhone and iPad:
- Open your cellar or fridge from your home screen, then tap Add
- Search for the wine you want to place in it, then tap Confirm
- To add multiple bottles to this storage, tap Search again to find another bottle
- When you’re ready to add your selected bottles to specific slots in Vinlocate, tap Done, then Add to 3D
- Select a section, then tap on a specific slot to assign a bottle to it
- Tap Add to slot
- The bottle appears in that slot with its label visible in the 3D view
You can also assign a location when adding a new bottle to your collection; the VinLocate layout appears as part of the add bottle flow, letting you place it immediately.
On Web:
- Open your cellar or fridge from the Cellars & Fridges menu
- Click Add Wine to add bottles to that collection
- Return to Storage Sections on the Cellar’s profile page, then click the three-dot menu next to a storage section > Add bottles
- Click any empty slot and search for the bottle you want to assign
- Confirm the assignment
As you fill in slots, your cellar comes to life visually. Labels populate the 3D view and every bottle has a specific, searchable address in your collection.
How to Find a Bottle Using VinLocate
How do I find a specific bottle in my cellar using VinLocate?
Search for any wine in you collection and open its bottle profile. The VinLocate coordinates for each bottle with that label opens automatically. You can also ask Vincent, InVintory’s AI sommelier, to locate a specific bottle for you.
You recreate your fridge or wall row by row or bin by bin, assign your wines to slots, and VinLocate shows you visually where each bottle is. When you search, that visual reference tells you exactly where to look: no scanning shelves, no pulling bottles out to check labels.
This is especially useful for large cellars where similar bottles are stored across multiple racks, and for fridges where label visibility is limited by the door orientation.
Keeping Your Cellar Map Accurate Over Time
How do I keep VinLocate accurate as my collection changes?
VinLocate is only as accurate as the data behind it. Two habits keep it reliable over time.
Update when bottles move
When you relocate a bottle to a different rack, a different cellar, or a different fridge, update its location in the app at the same time. Leaving old location data in place is the most common cause of VinLocate showing a bottle somewhere it no longer is.
Pro tip: Vincent can add, remove, or update bottles in your collection, making it easier than ever to keep your VinLocate storage sections properly organized. More details on Vincent’s ability to organize your collection are here: Vincent Now Manages Your Collection and Remembers Your Taste.
Remove bottles when you consume them
When you open a bottle, mark it as consumed in InVintory using the Remove button or by asking Vincent to remove it. This keeps your VinLocate layout current without a separate cleanup step.
Run an occasional audit
Once or twice a year, walk your cellar and spot-check a handful of bottle assignments against what's physically in the rack. Catching small discrepancies early prevents them from compounding into a map that no longer reflects reality.
For collectors who have just imported a large collection and need to assign locations to hundreds of bottles, the process is easier than it sounds. Start with your most frequently accessed wines and work outward; even a partially mapped cellar is more useful than none, and you can fill in the rest over time.
VinLocate and the Rest of InVintory
VinLocate works best as part of InVintory's broader collection management experience. Once your cellar or fridge is mapped, Vincent can reference your physical layout when making recommendations, suggesting what to open from your ready bottles and knowing exactly where to find it. Collection Analytics shows how your collection is distributed across your storage locations. And the Ready to Drink list, which surfaces bottles currently in their peak window onto the home screen, becomes more actionable when you know precisely where each bottle lives.
For collectors new to InVintory who are setting up their collection from scratch, this getting started guide covers the full setup process including adding bottles, importing from other apps, and meeting Vincent.
Set Up VinLocate in InVintory →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is VinLocate in InVintory?
VinLocate is InVintory's patented 3D cellar mapping technology. It creates a visual map of your exact cellar or fridge layout and lets you assign every bottle to a specific slot. When you search for any wine, InVintory highlights exactly where it's stored.
Is VinLocate available on all platforms?
Yes. VinLocate is available on iPhone, iPad, and the InVintory web app.
Do I need to map my entire cellar before VinLocate is useful?
No. A partially mapped cellar is immediately useful for the sections you've completed. You can map your most frequently accessed storage first and add the rest over time.
Can I use VinLocate with a wine fridge?
Yes. InVintory includes fridge templates for major brands including EuroCave, LeCavist, and Wine Enthusiast. Select your fridge model from the template library and your layout is pre-built, ready to customize and populate with your bottles.
What happens to my VinLocate map when I consume a bottle?
When you remove a bottle from your collection, its slot in VinLocate becomes empty automatically. The layout updates in real time as bottles are added and removed.
How do I move a bottle to a different location in VinLocate?
From your Collection list, open a wine label’s profile and select the bottle you wish to relocate. Tap the three-dot menu > tap Add to 3D position > Select a cellar or fridge > Select a section > Select a slot. The bottle moves to the new position in VinLocate immediately. You can also ask Vincent to relocate the bottle for you.
A wine collection you can navigate in seconds is a collection you actually use. VinLocate makes that possible from the moment your layout is built.
App Store