AI-safe Job? Wine Appraisal Still Requires the Human Touch

Despite advances in technology like artificial intelligence, wine evaluation remains a complex human skill that cannot yet be matched by machines. The subtlety of human taste and smell, as well as the subjective nature of wine appreciation, underscores the continued need for expert wine professionals.

AI-safe V.S. Human

Wine is an enormously complex subject that technology has only begun to grasp. In some areas, it has made great strides – vineyard management leverages AI for tasks like monitoring irrigation and disease prevention. Robotic harvesters also now pick over 80% of grapes in regions like Bordeaux. However, when it comes to the subtle human elements of winemaking and assessment, machines hit their limits.

Even the most advanced artificial noses and taste simulation systems cannot match the nuanced aroma and flavor analysis of a seasoned wine professional. The human olfactory system can detect an astonishing one trillion potential aromas. Cataloging and organizing compounds at this scale poses major challenges for programming. Beyond analysis, assessing qualities like balance, harmony, and aging potential requires subjective human judgment.

Likewise, statistical AI can forecast wine market prices and quality using weather data. But this actuarial approach fails to replicate the nimble, qualitative assessments of experts during crucial evaluations like Bordeaux’s en primeur tastings. It also cannot match a wine to memory, history and personal preference like a human wine critic.

Standardizing wine criticism to a single, machine-driven “correct” analysis would negatively impact the diversity of opinion that many argue is essential to the wine world. For the foreseeable future, there is no replacement for human wine expertise.

In authentication, technology shows more promise. Systems that chemically analyze wines could help expose fraud and counterfeits. However, sample access and diversity issues exist here as well. Analysis requires purchasing and opening bottles beforehand. And the variation between regions, producers and vintages makes cataloging an immense challenge.

In summary, while AI and automation have uses in the wine trade, appreciating this complex craft ultimately requires human skill, at least for now. No machine can yet match the nuance, subjectivity and passion that experts bring to understanding wine’s ineffable pleasures. At its heart, successful winemaking and tasting will remain quintessentially human endeavors.