Ohio Wines VIP adds photo booth and curated regions to Explorer App

Ohio Wines VIP has launched an upgraded Explorer App that adds a redesigned photo booth and curated winery regions to its digital passport experience. The update is meant to make it easier for visitors to explore Ohio wine country, share their trips and help wineries reach more potential guests.

Why it matters: - The update turns a winery passport app into a more interactive trip-planning and sharing tool. - Ohio wineries can gain more visibility from visitor-generated photos and social sharing. - The app aims to help visitors discover more wineries across the state, not just check in at one stop.

What happened: - Ohio Wines VIP launched an enhanced Explorer App on September 28, 2026. - The new version adds a redesigned Photo Booth and curated winery Regions. - The app is available as a free update for existing users on the Apple App Store and Google Play. - More information is available here.

The details: - The Photo Booth lets users choose themed photo frames. - Users can tag the wineries they visit. - Users can share photos to the in-app community wall, Facebook or by text message. - The app’s Regions feature groups wineries into curated collections for themed wine trips. - The regional collections are designed to help visitors plan routes across Ohio wine country. - The new navigation is aimed at making exploration easier and encouraging users to visit more wineries. - Local Explorers and Ohio Wines VIP have partnered since May 2024 on a digital passport experience for wine enthusiasts.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader push by tourism groups to use gamification to turn visitors into active participants. - User-created content can extend a winery visit beyond the tasting room and create unpaid promotion for local businesses. - The emphasis on themed regions suggests Ohio Wines VIP is trying to make statewide wine travel feel more guided and more social. - Susan Erickson, co-founder of Local Explorers, said the enhanced Photo Booth turns visitors into ambassadors for Ohio wine.

What's next: - Ohio Wines VIP will rely on the upgraded app to deepen engagement with existing users. - Wineries may see more exposure if visitors continue posting tagged photos and sharing trips through the platform. - The Regions feature could push more travelers to explore farther afield and build longer wine itineraries. - Local Explorers says its Explorer platform is built to help tourism organizations increase visitation and repeat engagement.

The bottom line: - Ohio Wines VIP is betting that social sharing and curated discovery will make its wine trail more memorable and more valuable for wineries.