In a region known more for its cheddar than Chardonnay, Wisconsin-based von Stiehl Winery has produced wines from grapes grown in California and Washington, and is now introducing a new scheme to bring AI (artificial intelligence) to the science of winemaking.
"Technology has helped advance wine quality immensely in the last few decades, now we want to see if AI can help us raise the flavour bar even higher," said Brad Schmiling, co-owner of von Stiehl Winery.
However, AI requires human taste buds and the input of personal preferences to make recommendations. Schmiling admits that wine preferences are subjective, and winemaking is complicated by several factors. The winery plans to use two baseline wines to gather feedback, which it will utilise as input for new wines to be blended based on Artificial Intelligence output.
Schmiling acknowledged the idea launched and took off fast.
"We trademarked AI for wines, then proceeded to figure out what to do with it. We blended wines from 2022, and released them in the summer of 2023," he said.
"Now we're seeking feedback and comments on these wines to input to AI. Our new wine will be blended according to the interpretation of suggestions for v2.0."
Von Stiehl Winery began in 1967, with a focus on heritage and tradition. It has since evolved using cutting-edge technology along with the rest of the wine industry. The Schmiling brothers recognise that embracing AI is risky, but they're fascinated with the potential.
"There's no running from technology. We're open to the possibilities and to including others in the journey to see how AI can help wine evolve into v2.0 and beyond."
Von Stiehl Winery has invited wine consumers to get involved in merging the wine and technology worlds by participating with critical input on the next wine release. The current AI White and AI Red wines are $16.49 each and are available for purchase online. Tasters can sample each wine, and then return to the website again to rate the wines. Data collection will conclude on January 15, 2024. The new blends will be released on April 15, 2024, when participants will be able to purchase the wines and taste the evolution and AI influence.
