Old world, new tricks?
How AI is shaping the future of wine
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As an industry that values tradition, provenance, and heritage deeply, innovation in the wine category has been accordingly slow. But with supply challenges, falling consumer engagement in some sectors, and increasing competition, change is afoot. Could AI be the key to unlocking wines’ future?
What’s more romantic to you… a dusty wine cellar, untouched in centuries, where master wine makers who have honed their craft, nurture wine from grape to bottle? Or an algorithm? It’s not a hard question. After all, wine must be romantic.
Or should it? Wines’ storied history, its traditions, and the knowledge it requires from consumers to navigate it, have long been seen as intimidating and a barrier to entry. Yet, new technology – though undoubtedly less sexy – has massive potential to welcome more consumers in.
Speeding up innovation
And it’s already speeding up innovation. From managing irrigation, monitoring and adjusting fermentation, and aiding precision harvesting where grapes are selected at their peak, to formulating blends, AI is impacting wine production greatly. It’s hoped it will help winemakers boost yield, adapt to climate change, and allow them to explore more flavours and styles.
In fact, AI has already created its first wine. Launched in April 2023, The End, from French producer, Aubert & Mathieu used ChatGpt to decide the blend, what the wine should be called, how it should be bottled, and even its price. It created the marketing plan, press release and text for the back label too. Which we’re either deeply impressed, or abjectly terrified by. Perhaps both.
Brand new, there’s even AI to detect wine fraud; new programmes can trace a wines’ specific origins through chemical analysis. It’s not sexy, but it’s important.
Here comes the revolution
But perhaps most revolutionary for the category, new tech is improving access. AI is speaking consumer’s language, meeting them where they’re at in their wine knowledge, and making personalised recommendations based on their moods, weather, favourite foods, and previous purchases. No wine knowledge required.
Can’t tell your buttery Chardonnay from a Chablis, but know that you like buttered crumpets and truffle? No problem. Have no idea how the terroir of an Argentinian red impacts a wine versus that of say, Australia, but know that you’re in the mood for something that makes you feel cosy? Fantastic.
Though far from mainstream, there’s already a few brands and programmes operating in this space. Tastry claims to “empower winemakers and retailers by providing unparalleled visibility between your wine’s chemistry and how consumers will perceive it”. It says its technology predicts which wines an individual is going to like before they try them by combining a database of wine’s chemistry with another of “248 million consumer palates”. Where that mega database has come from, we know not.
Others are consumer-facing; think of them as digital sommeliers. They include Vivino (using data garnered from 51 million users) and app Hello Vino, described as a wine virtual assistant. Tell it what you like, and it will tell you what to buy.
New styles ahead?
So where could this lead? On the producer side, AI could help create brand new flavour profiles, and varietals, that’s for sure. Changing when a grape is harvested, how it’s fermented, what it’s blended with is easy. But crucially, from a consumer point of view, AI could also help identify flavour profiles or consumer needs that no product yet exists for. Linking the two, may be AI’s superpower.
Wine consumers, what they need from a wine, and when they want to drink it, are changing. Just look at Pernod Ricard’s latest play for evidence. Greasy Fingers, a brand-new wine range intended for pairing with greasy/ gourmet fast food, was launched to recruit young adults at a time when the number of wine drinkers under 34 is falling. It includes a buttery Chardonnay; a style created in the 80s through malolactic fermentation to give it a bold, cheesy note, and which fell deeply out of favour until its recent revival. And check out the now rampant wine and crisp trend on TikTok (it does exactly what it says on the tin) if you need yet further proof of changing attitudes and tastes.
Most excitingly for brands, AI is a direct line to consumer preferences, opening-up access at a time when non-wine consumers seem tentatively willing to explore if brands can reach them. Put simply, AI could help tell new, relevant stories to consumers, breaking down barriers and speeding up innovation, and that’s something which is much needed.
Consumers are ready to interact with wine differently. But is the wine industry?