Vinfolio raises $4.5 million

San Francisco-based online wine marketplace looking to expand into Asia and accelerate growth

Vinfolio, an online marketplace for wine enthusiasts, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding led by Panorama Capital.  

Based in San Francisco, Vinfolio said it offers a supply of over 250,000 wines.  It's built an online marketplace where users can buy and bid on these wines.  It's also added a new feature where users can sell their wine at whatever prices they want, Vinfolio gets a cut of 15%. 

Steve Bachmann, founder and CEO of Vinfolio said on his blog that this round brings Vinfolio's total funding to approximately $14 million.  The first $9.5 million came from individual investors including himself.  Bachmann remarked, "So while this is a Series A round, it is not a typical one given the amount of prior investment."

Vinfolio is looking to spread internationally.  "The investment will accelerate the growth of the Vinfolio Marketplace and our expansion in Hong Kong,"  stated Bachmann in a press release.  The startup said that following the elimination of wine duties in Hong Kong, Vinfolio launched operations there in 2008 to sell to the Asian market.  

The company has been named one of the Bay Area's top five fastest growing private companies by the San Francisco Business Times for the past two years.  

To try and set itself apart from its competitors including Wine.com and Snooth, Vinfolio markets itself as a place for, "fine wine, finer service."