The Sippd app uses AI to help drinkers find wines they’d really like
Artificial intelligence (AI) can’t taste or smell – at least not yet – but it’s now increasingly helping people buy a decent bottle of wine.
Blake Hershey says the inspiration for his AI-based wine recommendation app Sippd came from his wife.
One weekend she was away with friends, and since he’s the wine expert in their relationship, she kept texting him from restaurants asking for his suggestions.
Mr Hershey says the situation made him realize there had to be an easier way for people to choose a bottle they liked, whether in a restaurant, supermarket or wine shop.
“For all the advances in technology, the process of flipping through large wine lists full of obscure wine jargon until you give up and ask the wait staff for a recommendation when they don’t know your preferences felt outdated to me,” he says.
And so the idea for US-based Sippd was born, with the app launching in the States in 2021. While other wine recommendation apps are already increasingly incorporating AI, such as market leader Vivino, the difference with Sippd is that it’s based on technology from the begining.
Blake Hershey launched Sippd in 2021
New consumers begin by completing an online wine test that analyzes their wine preferences, such as color, body, acidity, flavor, sweetness and price.
The app’s AI software then does the “hard work,” generating thousands of personal wine recommendations it calls “taste matches.” These are rated in percentage terms, with results of 100% aiming to be a perfect match.
You can then start scanning wine lists or labels with your mobile phone camera and Sippd will give you taste match scores for each bottle.
Sippd then continues to learn when the user tells the app about their wine purchases. The goal is to make the app’s personalized recommendations more and more accurate.
“Novice drinkers are often overwhelmed by the number of choices they have when buying wine and often have no idea where to start learning about their preferences for certain flavors, characteristics and styles,” he says.
“So our team developed the introductory test to provide novice drinkers with a simple and accessible way to enter the vast world of wine.”
Currently only available in the US, Maryland-based Sippd already has 100,000 users and the app is free to use. The business makes its money by inviting people to buy recommended wines directly through the delivery app.
In Norway, tech entrepreneur Nicolas Benz launched the first version of his AI-based wine recommendation app FinpåVin in 2020.
Mr. Benz describes AI as a “living, breathing thing” that learns from user preferences, forever refining its recommendations.
Although the app currently only works with wines sold in Norway’s state-run liquor stores, Mr. Benz is looking at expanding abroad.
He says he is now looking to train AI to “create unique personalities for wines based on their characteristics”, with the wines being able to “speak”. Or at least make the AI a talking wine.
“I am also developing a social network where the wine takes center stage and with the help of AI, each wine shares content on social media such as photos and text updates. Users can even chat with a wine to learn more about it.”
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But what do professional wine experts think about such applications? The view is mixed.
“Overall, I think they can be really good if used properly,” says John Downes, who is a Master of Wine – the highest qualification in the industry. “These apps connect with the people, the man in the street, in a way that the wine trade often fails.
“They have great potential to help people and help them understand wine more.”
Wine writer Jamie Goode is much more critical, saying that wine apps “often promise a lot but fail to deliver.”
“The problem with trying to match wines with consumers is – how do you break down the wine into its components and then understand their nature and qualities in a meaningful way that gives you data to play with in an app?” he asks.
“And how does the app know about the tens of thousands of different wines produced each year, with multiple vintage variations? If you want to find a more interesting bottle to drink, go to a really good independent shop or website that will have a carefully selected range of wines.”
At the University of Oxford, Sandra Watcher is Professor of Technology and Regulation, where she researches the legal and ethical implications of AI. Given that she’s a global leader in the study of AI, you’d imagine she’d fully support AI-based wine applications.
Instead, she says it’s an area where people should really try to find a good bottle on their own, without resorting to technology. “When it comes to smell and taste, food or drink, we might want to graze and try for ourselves instead of following recommendations (from an app).
“We can enjoy following our own eyes and noses and appreciate being surprised by a dish or drink. While I see many exciting roles for AI in our society, some areas of expertise may be better left to ourselves.”
Sippd’s head of marketing, Alicia Ortiz, counters that the app is simply meant to help people, especially novice wine drinkers, “so they no longer have to roll the dice or spend unnecessary time researching when they would they could just sip and enjoy themselves’.