Artificial intelligence (AI) can’t taste or smell – at least not yet – but it is now increasingly helping people buy a decent bottle of wine.
According to Blake Hershey, he had got an idea of developing an AI-based smartphone app for wine recommendation named “Sippd” from his wife.
One time she went with her friends over a weekend, being the “wine expert” in their couple, she sent him messages from various restaurant asking for recommendations.
According to Mr Hershey, this incidence gave him a new understanding that it should be better to offer people with some ease of choosing a bottle that may suite them either in the case of a dining place, general store or liquor shop.
He added that this may sound old as “in today’s advancement of technology, this was considered old,” he stated.
Thus, the concept of American Sippd arose, and it became functional in America in 2021. Other wine recommendation applications are also embracing AI like the market leader Vivino; however, newcomer Sippdd began based on AI from the start. Upon registering, the newcomers take a short survey concerning wine preferences like color, texture, sharpness, taste, cost etc.
Following this, the app’s AI software does all the “heavy work”, creating several thousand personalized wine suggestions that are appropriately referred as taste matches. They are ranked on a scale of hundred percent where ten markers out of a hundred would mean a real fit.
Sippd scans the wine list or label provided by the user using a smartphone camera. The tastes scores of the various bottles are determined from this information. Then, the user reports their purchases in order to help Sippd improve itself. The goal is for the recommendations of the specific app become increasingly precise over time.
“Newbie drinkers often feel a bit lost in the sea of wine options, not knowing where to even begin understanding their taste preferences for different flavors, characteristics, and styles,” he explains.
“That’s why our team came up with this simple introductory quiz. It’s a friendly way for beginners to dip their toes into the vast world of wine without feeling overwhelmed.”
Currently only serving the US, Sippd, based in Maryland, boasts 100,000 users, and the app is totally free to use. Their revenue comes from suggesting wines users can conveniently buy through the app for delivery.
In Norway, tech enthusiast Alexander Benz rolled out the initial version of his AI-powered wine recommendation app, FinpåVin, in 2020.
Benz describes the AI as a “living, breathing thing” that learns from users’ preferences, continually honing its recommendations. While the app presently focuses on wines available in Norway’s government-owned alcohol shops, Benz is exploring the idea of taking it global.
He shares his ambitious plan of training the AI “to give wines unique personalities based on their characteristics,” envisioning wines that can “speak” or, at least, have the AI simulate a conversation as if the wine itself is talking.
“I’m also working on a social network where wine steals the spotlight. With the help of AI, each wine can share social media content like pictures and text updates. Users can even have a chat with a wine to discover more about it.”
However, what thoughts do the professionals in the wine world hold regarding these apps? The view is mixed.
John Downes–a master of wine commented saying,” Overall, they could be very good wine provided they are used appropriately.” These apps reach out and talk to the man on the streets and even fail to do so where wine trade falls short.
“However, they possess lots of promises for helping, with regards to assisting people to understand wine better.”?
A lot of criticism to wine apps could also be found in Jamie’s blog. However, wine writer Jamie Goode is far more critical, saying that wine apps often promise a lot, but fail to deliver.
“I ask you this question – how do you break down a wine into its component parts, understand their nature and qualities, so that with this data you can play with it in an app?”.
And how do they expect the app to know that every year there are thousands of different wines whose varieties run into tens of thousands. For instance, if you are bored and wanting something better than the wine you usually find, then you should go to an authentic independent store or website where they pick wine with serious thought, rather than at the typical university in Oxford such as Sandra Wachther.” Considering her role an international expert in artificial intelligence, it is surprising that she can support wine app with AI.
She however replies that, as a place where human beings should try to find own good bottle without asking for the technical assistance. We would prefer “grazing and tasting at our leisure” when it comes to smells and tastes of food and drink – instead of adhering to recommendations.
“We all love trusting our instincts, savoring the unexpected delights that a dish or drink can bring. While AI has its cool uses in society, there are some things where our personal touch works best.”
Alicia Ortiz, Sippd’s head of marketing, jumps in, emphasizing that the app is just there to make life easier, especially for those new to the world of wine. “No more taking chances or wasting time on research. Just sip, savor, and enjoy without the hassle.”
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