FOOD & WINE Reviews

by Johnslayer

I love Food and Wine. Subscribed to the print version for years and a couple years ago added the digital version. FOODWINE is unusable though.

It constantly logs me out, so I have to log back/restore purchases to access my magazines. It is also unbearably slow. Trying to read a new issue on the fly ends up with me waiting up to a minute for each page to load. I decided to just download each issue in advance. It’s taking over 2 hours to download a single magazine? How is that possible? I thought I would just queue a bunch of downloads and leave it plugged in over night, but queuing multiple just results in FOODWINE timing out and giving an error message for all the issues that queued. Figure this out and I’ll give you 5 stars because I LOVE the content.

by Bradyldc

Latest version crashes constantly when flipping pages of the digital magazine.

by Bjctbone

I originally had FOODWINE on my iPad 2. I purchased the digital subscription through iTunes directly from FOODWINE and I was able to download and read the digital Food and Wine monthly issues. However, when I purchased the newest iPad (iPad 3) and restored my applications I wasn't able to download past or current issues without having to pay again for the issues. I contacted Food and Wine and they suggested I call iTunes because my account wasn't with Food and Wine. The iTunes support was able to credit me my subscription but explained to me that since Food and Wine was FOODWINE developer that they should've been able to correct the issue. So, watch out for this serious issue with FOODWINE and the iPad 3 and poor Food and Wine customer support!

by Mmbrownie

I subscribed to the magazine and the iPad version, and if you don't mind books being ordered for you, your money being taken for books not ordered or wanted, and dealing with a company who will do nothing when it happens, please subscribe. I ended my subscription because the book company wouldn't refund my money when it took out bogus charges, and they still came after my money a month after I ended all ties with the magazine just in order to have nothing to do with them. They refused to remove the charges so I had to fill out a form and sign it at my bank, cut up my card, and get a new one to HOPEFULLY keep them from trying to take my money- they may still be able to take it without me even ordering anything. The magazine wing seems not to care at all that this is going on. It is a tragedy that such a wonderful magazine is associated with American Express Publishing (who handles the books) and lets its name go down the drain with such sleazy business practices.

by Elf1

If you decide to download FOODWINE and subsequent magazines be advised that any so called free magazines may now cost you money. How will you know? You won't because none of my purchases indicated I purchased them ( even at 0.00) until i hit the buy button. If you are lucky, you'll get a brief pop up that indicates you have already purchased it and if not you will wind up paying. I had no problems with the Martha Stewart app. In Martha's app all my purchases were clearly indicated and I had no unwanted charges. Very poor programming on the Food crew. I guess those "free" downloads weren't free after all. I did go to the Food and Wine web page before posting but could not find any obvious way to contact FOODWINE folks. Though they did have this in your face big pop up soon after I got to their website. Disgusting.

by Stupidaki

Horrible search function

by Anicknamexxxx

Terrible app. I subscribe to the magazine yet can not open the digital issues. Instead I am asked to subscribe and I already do. I’m signed in so should be no problem.
Also if you search for a recipe from a recent edition it rarely is available so I must resort to keeping hard copies. FOODWINE really needs an update and made more user friendly. Almost worthless although the magazine is enjoyable.

by Phaniefield

I like this magazine and when I can actually get into my subscription.

But there are clearly issues dealing thru iTunes. When you go to support the have a special subject for these issues. I’ve had this problems on and off for years.

FIX IT.

by Cvdfoodie

There is a bug for the ipad app where the magazine just closes repeatedly- very annoying.

by ROGER7225

Have fixed my access, at least for now. I’ll wait and see.

I have both the print and digital subscription but FOODWINE only recognizes my print subscription and so limits my access to the digital content. Have contacted support but it was useless. Probably an automated system which just kept telling me how to log on.

by Pansy1

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by Minordomo

Of the magazine apps, Food & Wine is one of the better designed ones. It's still a bit tedious to get content out and into a recipe organizer but it's far better than most (like Saveur). The quality of the content is great. I think F&W is what Bon Appetit used to be before BA decided to go after the quick and easy food enthusiast.

However, if you have a problem of any kind with the F&W app you'll find their "help" is frustratingly inadequate. The F&W help section on their website is nothing more than a how-to for basic setup of subscriptions. It offers no help or guidance in solving error messages. Buried within their FAQ page is an email address to send help requests but it's easy to miss which tells me they aren't really interested in providing support.

I'm having trouble getting the F&W app to recognize my subscription credentials. I can't believe this is an unusual problem but the F&W help section doesn't address the problem at all. Even if the problem I'm having is an Apple issue and there's nothing F&W can do to help, it would be helpful if the F&W help section would tell me that and point me in the right direction.

by Sgthalka

This is a real stunner to look through. Gorgeous photography and design makes browsing through the issue a real treat. Sortable recipe lists at the front of the mag are a clever idea, but maybe not as effortlessly packaged as some online resources.

This looks like it was built with WoodWing's production software. Their servers must need some extra juice because all magazines built with their tech suffer from extremely slow issue downloads and snail-like streaming video. Which is a real shame with Food & Wine, in particular. They obviously went to great effort to include tons of instructional video, but the streaming speed is so slow, I wasn't patient enough to watch any of them. I'd take a larger download upfront if it meant once I'm reading the mag, the entire experience is seamless.

Page scrolling is also a little tiresome. I'd prefer the "page snap" you see in other mag apps like Wired or People.

by Jason Ligon

Love the contents and design. The navigation is peculiar in several ways. For example, FOODWINE always opens to the first issue I bought instead of either the library or the most recent version. About 20% of the time FOODWINE will need to be re-launched after crashing immediately upon startup. Each new issue seems to have a new approach to a quick navigation page. The page that takes you to recipes sorted by staff favorite etc. and separately to wines should be just a tap from anywhere in the issue. Maybe a standardized toc that allows you to choose by article or recipe/wine? More information about wines, even just taps to producer pages would be nice. Cellar tracker integration would be fun. Overall great source of recipes, beautifully presented.

by Debmarino

Wow, people, have some patience! Yes, it took a long time to download the free issue and that's something they'll definitely need to fix, but it was 10 minutes that were well worth the wait! What a gorgeous magazine! It's incredibly well done and chock full of beautiful photos and scrumptious-sounding recipes. This is seriously the first app review I've written and did so because of all of the bad reviews from people who didn't actually get to see the product. This is the absolute best digital magazine I've seen yet...by far. Kudos to the developers!

by AspenKyp

Downloaded FOODWINE pretty easily over WiFi - this method is the only way to go, as there is a ton of content included and FOODWINE is large

For a first version of FOODWINE I am pretty impressed... The photos are stunning and the video content adds a new level of depth to the magazine experience. As a subscriber to the print version I appreciated the extra content that came along with the Ipad version. I don't think I would ever give up the print version but I am excited and curious to see how they are going to use the Ipad in the future to bring the content to life. I can imagine propping up the Ipad in the kitchen while following recipes or video tutorials (custom stand and food-proof screen anyone?). I'm already looking forward to the next edition...

by Grocery Go!

I am surprised at how elegant this little app/magazine is. Just enough interactivity placed in just the right places. Buttons, links, and digital enhancements are smoothly integrated into the traditional format so that I feel like I am reading a magazine.

I like the way it handles recipes (the vertical sliding marker), the navigation between stories and related recipes, and how it lets me make recipe notes. Visually, it is as beautiful as the paper edition.

On my wish list? I would like it to be landscape orientation compatible, and I wonder if they could incorporate the page turning simulation used in iBooks?

Up to now I have been very old-school when it came to my magazines, buying my Food & Wine from the corner newsstand. This one is my first try at digital magazines. I wondered if it would be worth the price. At it turns out, it is. This was a near-perfect way to start. Thank you, Food & Wine.

My setup: the "next generation iPad" (iPad two and a half? Third generation?) running iOS 5.1.

by Bricks & Walls

Yes it's a beast to download, but my lord FOODWINE is more than worth the wait! Toggle off your 3G, same with Auto-Lock, make sure you have a good Wi-Fi connection. Start the download and then go do something else, knowing when you come back, you will have one of the coolest content experiences you can find on the iPad platform. There's a reason the download takes long -- it's rich with content, video, recipes, great photos, etc. You will find it WELL worth your wait. I'm a geek and love my gadgets, but even Wired's iPad version easily pales in comparison to this. Food & Wine thought this through really well. Download it, be patient, you won't regret it.

by Jbitson

Beautiful graphics and a slick interface make this a must have app for food and wine lovers. Yes it took a few minutes to download but after viewing the elaborate content it was well worth the wait. The two free issues are chalk full of interesting articles and delicious recipes. It is easy to navigate through the magazine and find exactly what you are looking for. You can always take a screen shot (using the power and home key) to save the content you need. Also you can get on their web site if you want to save a recipe. I use then Paprika app and am able to find the recipe on their website and save it to my iPad. Thanks Food & Wine for an amazing app that sets the standard for all electronic magazines.

by VfxKen

Food and Wine is presented with beautiful photography and design, and is extremely easy to navigate. An initial "how to" page gives the reader the basics immediately, but the format is intuitive, and clear icons throughout make it a pleasure to use. A helpful recipe index, and lots of in-story links made it easy to get to the information I wanted with the least amount of searching. I especially appreciate that digital videos are presented within the layout so that the reader is not taken out of the magazine format when watching video.

I timed the download of the free issue over a WiFi connection at 5 minutes. I may be on an exceptionally fast network, but the slow download speed others are complaining about was not an issue for me.

I hope future digital issues of Food and Wine live up to this initial offering, and I hope that the annual subscription price is reasonable enough for me to continue to enjoy this excellent iPad magazine.

by Dallas111

The new format is so cumbersome and difficult to navigate. Definitely not an upgrade and they need to change things back or do something better.

by Aikiboy

I cannot believe you switched formats. Annoy navigate like the actual magazine. Please restore the previous version of FOODWINE or cancel my subscription!

by MDM1955

Why is your i-pad app user interface so difficult to use? Needs simplification.

by Kkirchho

FOODWINE takes to long to download, to many distractions, content pages pop ups, etc.

by Lance White

I have an active subscription to F&W and FOODWINE has not given me access to any issues since August.

by DocTorri

I love Food & Wine. It is my "go to" when looking for inspiration or instruction. I think Grace Parisi's recipes are particularly great - always creative, even elegant, but accessible for a not -so-expert cook (me). I also think having this digital add-on to my print subscription is wonderful. So why 4 instead of 5 stars? The downside is the fuzziness of the print in the digital recipes. The pictures are as clear as can be but the quality of the print type is a disappointment and distraction from an otherwise excellent offering. (I wish I could rate this as 4 1/2 stars but that is not possible).

by Fauquierfinest

We worked with ZINIO to get app running. Works great now. Content and user interface is easy. Library and bookmark features we use often.

by RoyWagner

This premiere eMagazine is an outstanding example of the future of magazine publishing. Beautiful photos, touch to expand text and comments, click videos and extras. The display of each wine bottle was very much appreciated by me; a wine lover. The recipes are great.

The only thing I wished was to be able to better capture (pressing the on/off button and home button at the same time) the full text of the recipes. Maybe allowing text pinching might help this.

But over-all, this is one great magazine. My biggest problem is that I probably won't be buying any more because of what I am expecting them to price it. Publishers NEED to realize that most people won't pay more than they can pay for a subscription to get all these extras. Once the interactive copy is produced, granted at a high labor intensive cost, there are no more printing or distribution costs. There are so many good eMagazines available. I can't afford to pay more than $.99 an issue or a reasonable annual subscription.