The wine retail industry is continuously evolving and technological advancements cannot stay far from this business. Let’s take a look at the most promising establishments destined to improve the wine business.

Technological advancements in the wine industry are happening! Numerous tech organisations are working towards yielding a better vine crop and helping the winemaker as well as enabling the customers to make the perfect wine selection with the help of artificial intelligence.

A lot of winemakers are opting for this technology as it provides concrete data about the yield, flavour structure of the resultant wine, and even the potential distribution market to target. 

What is Artificial Intelligence?

It refers to duplicating human intelligence in machines that can think, learn and solve problems that humans are capable of. New technologies and data sources include satellites, drone imaging, field sensors, and automated weather sensors that can predict and offer concrete data to bring innovation to this ancient art of winemaking.

We have listed down some of the companies which offer such services and help to create a better experience or manufacturers and consumers. 

1. SwiftERM

This UK startup, founded in 2014, provides its services to wine consumers, be they sommeliers or budding newbies. The AI-based recommendation platform collects information about each consumer and their taste profiles through an app running on your ecommerce platform and recommends the wine accordingly. Running completely autonomously the ROI has been verified by retailers to achieve over 11,000%. After a free viability trial for a month, for those with less than 20k database, it comes in at just £100 ($126 pm). This way, the company has created the perfect global solution through which the retailer understands perfectly what each individual they serve wants to buy next. It also saves an enormous amount of wasted money, saving on speculative marketing with low returns.  

On the back end, they can be used to predict sales and target specific products each consumer’s taste dictates. SwiftERM is an AI hyper-personalisation SaaS that watches not only the buying habits but the impressions and navigation of each individual and their selection process, to identify patterns and predict imminent purchases, then offers those wines to them at the perfect moment.

SwiftERM has won multiple awards for its innovation, been appointed as a Microsoft partner, and enrolled into the Knowledge Transfer Partnership for Universities and other seats of learning.

This sector of the wine industry was not explored before as the computational load of such data is very high. This startup is expanding and is now represented in London, Lille (France) and New York.

2. Tule

This California-based startup is considered to be a vintner’s best friend. It focuses on helping growers make irrigation decisions. Founded in 2014, Tule brings together agronomic prowess and state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence to help growers take better control of their vines. With the sensor installed in the field, farmers can gather information about the water stress level and actual Evapotranspiration (ETa).

Moreover, the Tule Vision offers winegrowers to take midday leaf water potential readings on their mobile phones which helps to understand the vines better. The app showcases the daily water stress in real-time and alerts before the moisture content of the soil gets depleted. Unreliable weather has made it necessary to take the support of such technologies which provide conclusive data. The irrigation recommendations and monitoring that the sensor provides are extremely beneficial to maintaining a steady balance of water between the vines.

3. Wine Cab

The robotic arm can collect, scan, store and dispense wine and is the first real robotic arm ever installed in a residential setting or restaurant, Source: Wine Cab

An innovative solution for storing, protecting, and showcasing wines with the help of robotics and artificial intelligence. This luxurious system helps to collect wines in a way that has never been done before. Through this wine management system, bottles are scanned robotically and are displayed on the portal accessible via a mobile device. It has a memorized collection of over 600,000 bottles and the “AI Sommelier” helps you pair meals with the wines stored, and give personal wine recommendations. Users can set privacy settings and allow only authorized personnel to access it. Users can customize it exceptionally to integrate seamlessly in any environment.  

When the inventory is almost depleted, the AI notifies the user through a notification on their mobile device. The wine club customers can get at-home assistance for wine selection from Virginia Phillip MS and get their wines delivered at their doorstep. 

4. 5. Sun’Agri

This system can be used by farmers, electricity producers, and even local authorities, Source: SunAgri

This French company, founded by Antoine Nogier has spent 13 years developing such a state of an art sunshine management strategy. Numerous French wine growers have adopted this AI-backed new method to safeguard the vines from unpredictable weather. The Dynamic Agrivoltaic system installed over the crops limits the excess solar radiation and extreme temperatures that affect the vines and adapt to climate change. The anti-frost nets protect the fruits from hail. The weather station installed on the top gathers information about the weather and overall condition of plants through AI. The Bifacial panels optimize the solar energy and convert it into electricity which can be used to power the winery. The weather station works in coordination with the trackers on the axis of the panels and tilts them accordingly to provide the necessary sunlight and shade throughout the day. 

The findings of this system are compelling as it reduces the water stress, with a 40% reduction in evapotranspiration. The resultant grapefruit is low in sugar and 15% more acidic than those produced in control plots. Farmers can use the MySunAgri application to monitor the data collected from the plots. They can also ass the weather data and alerts for irrigation requirements. 

This gives better control over the vines and can result in consistent fruit every year. 

5. Vivino App

Users can scan wine labels, and wine lists and pick the wine based on reviews and taste profiles, Source: Vivino

The wine media giant launched an AI-driven app that builds the taste and flavour profile of every individual based on their user history and the wine they have interacted with digitally. Keeping this in the memory, the AI sends a personalized newsletter to its users through email recommending wines with purchase links and suggesting wines that people in their vicinity are opting for. 

This app received immense success as emails drove a significant rise in online sales. Holidays drove this momentum and gave the company a boost to increase its marketing.