From algorithms to appellations: the rise of AI in wine
From predictive analytics to fine wine fintech, industry leaders are harnessing technology to make wine more personal, more accessible, and more relevant to a new generation.
Artificial intelligence is helping the wine industry move beyond generic algorithms to offer tailored, data-driven experiences, Pam Dillon, co-founder and CEO of Preferabli told the audience at db’s annual conference on Wednesday.
“Our approach, however, needed if we were going to preserve the analog world, it needed to go one person at a time, one product at a time,” said Dillon. “We actually build an individual profile from which to make recommendations, whether we know who you are as a user or we don’t know who you are as a user, because that’s what a human expert would do, and that’s what our software does.”
Preferabli, which holds 15 patents, uses proprietary algorithms and data collected by the largest group of Masters of Wine and master sommeliers working together worldwide. “Our software mirrors what a human expert would do,” said Dillon. “We work like a human expert at scale in the context of what we think of as horizontal AI.”
She contrasted this with large language models such as ChatGPT, which she described as “great predictors of words” but lacking in domain-specific understanding. “These general, large language models and general functionality don’t solve the user problems that actually exist, and the reason that they don’t is because they don’t have the data,” she explained.
The company’s mission, she said, is to help brands “create digital experience loops” that merge retail, hospitality and e-commerce. “There is a sudden, a deep demand for personalised experiences,” she said. “People are now working together to understand how they can use those tools to create the experiences that they’re looking for, and there really isn’t competition, because each one of you has a different brand. Each one of you has a different story to tell.”
Predictive AI meets personal taste
Preferabli’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Andrew Sussman, demonstrated how predictive analytics underpin the company’s recommendations.
“Our first patent issued three years before the transformer model was even written about,” said Sussman. “When it comes to the kinds of things that we do and the kinds of questions that we can answer you, they are focused on, as Pam said, one person at a time, one product at a time.”
The company is merging its Preferabli and Tastefully platforms to power what Sussman described as the “first experience ecosystem for the industry,” initially centred in Napa Valley and expanding globally. “At the end of the day, alcohol is an experience in a glass,” he said. “People ultimately can go ahead and book their reservations right here within the application.”
Sussman also illustrated how Preferabli’s AI integrates with large language models to enhance creativity without compromising accuracy. “I asked ChatGPT, ‘What is the difference between you and Preferabli?’ and in the end, it said, ‘Use Preferabli when you need accurate, consistent, taste-based product recommendations… use an LLM when you need explanations or customer interactions,’” he said.
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He went on to show how the system can adapt brand voice – demonstrating a Snoop Dogg-style review of a Sicilian wine. “You can bring a human element into AI,” Sussman said. “Be thoughtful about what you’re using in terms of technologies, what data, and as I like to say, you know, don’t hit everything with the hammer because you think it’s a nail.”
Fintech brings fine wine investing to the masses
Elsewhere in the sector, technology is helping to open fine wine investment to new audiences.
Callum Woodcock, founder and CEO of WineFi, described how his fintech platform allows investors to co-invest in diversified portfolios of fine wine. “The mission behind the business is to make it so seamless and cost effective to invest in fine wine that it could feasibly form a part of every portfolio for the very first time,” he said.
WineFi launched in October 2023 and achieved seven-figure revenues within its first year. “This growth has really come from helping to bring a new demographic to fine wine,” said Woodcock. “By lowering the cost of entry and by positioning it as an investment, we believe that we could draw a new demographic into wine, almost through the back door.”
Woodcock said that around half of the company’s revenue now comes from investors aged between 30 and 49. “Innovation doesn’t mean tearing up tradition,” he said. “It means finding new ways to make tradition relevant, scalable and enduring.”
Connecting a new generation
For the wine trade to thrive, connecting with younger audiences is essential, argued Matt Tilbury, founder of Clarity, a growing wine community for the younger generation.
“The future of wine doesn’t belong to the past. It belongs to my generation,” he said. “Clarity exists to open wine up, to make it a shared experience, not a gated one.”
Tilbury said the industry needs to rethink how wine presents itself. “Fine wine risks stagnation in the very years when overall alcohol spend remains robust,” he said. “The real solution is to rethink how wine presents itself to new audiences, to stop asking, ‘How can we get young people involved in wine?’ and start asking, ‘How can we make wine a place they feel they belong?’”
For Tilbury, the opportunity lies in combining sophistication with accessibility. “Fine wine can be both serious and fun, both prestigious and approachable,” he said. “Habits form early. Wine isn’t something you grow out of; it’s something you grow into.”
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