Celeb chef Josh Emett has teamed with developers NetPotential to create a website designed to give Kiwi wine labels a marketing edge.

Emett’s done the tasting to pair the wine maker’s product with his recipes and take a place in the Master Match virtual cellar. The wine gets a Master Match sticker and a QR code which sends customers who scan it to a recipe created for the dish to go with the drop.

“We designed Master Match to enhance people’s wine experience and create a new platform for wineries to speak to their customers and bring their brands to life through food and wine pairing,” Emett says.

He’ll also offer tips for repicating the recipes and answer cooking questions tweeted to him via @joshemett.

Major labels Villa Maria, Sacred Hill, Kumeu River Wines, Akarua, Soho, Vidal and Crossroads (owned by Yealands Wine Group) are on board, with Villa Maria founder George Fistonich saying the initiative is a new way to showcase its wines.

Yealands’ global brand manager Angela Flynn says it was attracted to be on the platform because it was a new way to add to the customer experience.

“The consumer’s appetite to learn more about wine is on the rise. This concept will give them the confidence to talk about wine and food with their friends” says Flynn.

The group has already exported Crossroads bottles with the Master Match sticker to Australia and other wineries are looking to use Emett’s international profile and the Master Match platform to promote their wines in the US, he says.

Emett is the owner of restaurants Rata and Madam Woo in Queenstown, food director at Auckland’s Ostro and a Michelin star recipient during his time heading restaurants for chef Gordon Ramsay.