Wondering whether a Chardonnay pairs well with fish, or a nice juicy steak would work nicely with a Cabernet Sauvignon? In a few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) would address these dilemmas for you, playing its part as a virtual sommelier, according to Robert Joseph, a wine expert, wine producer and author of an upcoming book on the future of wines.
UK-based Joseph, who has authored 25 books, including “The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine”, has keenly watched developments in India’s nascent wine industry and says that Kashmir, with its climate and abundance of water, could be ideal for developing vineyards.
Over the next few decades, the wine ecosystem would undergo a sea change, right from the manner in which consumers buy wine to involvement of machines in the production process and AI coming to the aid of wine buyers and enthusiasts when it comes to choosing the right vino.
“AI will revolutionise wine-buying. I am going to tell my digital assistant, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri that I want to buy a bottle of red wine and it will say to me, ‘Do you want to have the one you had last time?’ It knows you so well, what you like and what your friends like. And what AI doesn’t know today, it will learn, very fast,” Joseph told IANS on the sidelines of ‘Sula Selections: Globe in a Glass Roadshow 2017’ event here.
And of course, technology will determine the growth of the industry, right from the vineyards to sales.
“Self-drive cars mean we will not have to worry about drinking and driving, spurring consumption. Labour is a big problem in the US and Europe. It will be possible to automate a vineyard completely within 5 to10 years. Robots will do the whole thing. Already we are getting drones to do the flying over the vineyards, which can tell you which vines need water or treating,” said Joseph, who is a partner at le Grand Noir wines in France.