Category: Wine Technology

Wine of Moldova offers a glimpse of the future with its game-changing AI tool

The Moldovan wine industry, following its reception at ProWein, has entered a critical juncture. After the successful unveiling of two wines produced with the support of Artificial Intelligence, key stakeholders will seek further collaboration with the nation’s burgeoning tech and design sectors in the coming years, using innovation to strengthen their global competitiveness.

According to Wine of Moldova, this new landmark AI project involves a strategic partnership between several institutions: the National Office of Vine and Wine, the creative media technology hub, Mediacor, and the Technical University of Moldova. The goal is to set a global precedent for the unification of Artificial Intelligence and human expertise, in addition to facilitating ongoing development via the use of new technologies; $500 million has been earmarked for vineyard expansion, technological innovation, and production capacity.

Robert Joseph, consultant and author, commented: “A changing climate – which means far greater vintage variation as well as higher temperatures – requires innovative solutions. This project gives wine producers access to the nation’s growing AI expertise that could be a game-changer.”

At ProWein this year, a white blend of Feteasca Alba, Feteasca Regala and Viorica and a red wine Feteasca Neagra were presented to an international audience, both created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.

The wine industry is essential to Moldova’s economy, contributing around 3% of GDP and 8% of total exports, contributing to the livelihoods of over 50,000 families in rural areas. Premium labels are exported to 72 different countries – 55 percent of the country’s total exports are shipped to the EU.

“Moldova boasts a growing number of small new wineries, with young winemakers, while its larger ones are investing in vineyards and cellar equipment to produce more premium wines,” said Diana Lazar, AI Wine project lead.

Like every other wine-producing country, Moldova faces a range of challenges. However, stakeholders are in a strong position to meet these difficulties head on, taking full advantage of the solutions presented by future tech. A new era of cooperation between winegrowers and digital innovators has begun as Moldova offers valuable lessons for the rest of the world.

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCDUwK3Nv7A

European Drinks Industry Unveils System For Developing E-Labelling

The CEEV – Européen des Entreprises Vins, and spiritsEUROPE have teamed up with QR code compliance solutions firm Scantrust, to unveil an updated version of the U-label labelling platform.

According to the groups, the strategic partnership will facilitate the easy creation of e-labels for both the wine, aromatised wine and spirits drinks.

The U-label by Scantrust aims to simplify compliance with the new EU labeling regulations for wineries in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, it assists spirits producers in advancing the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on consumer information, which was adopted in June 2019.

Empower Wine Producers
“When we conceived U-label, our goal was to empower European wine producers large and small with an affordable turnkey solution for navigating the new labeling regulations,” commented Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, CEEV Secretary General.

“This partnership with Scantrust represents a significant milestone in achieving that goal.”

In a statement, CEEV and spiritsEUROPE expressed their commitment to continue supporting and contributing their expertise in the wine and spirits industries to the U-label initiative.

The new U-label by Scantrust platform meets EU Regulation 2021/2117 requirements, including recent clarifications by the European Commission.

Comprehensive Information
“As European spirits producers, we are progressing fast in providing comprehensive, easily accessible consumer information via e-labels in combination with energy-information on-pack,” said Ulrich Adam, Director General of spiritsEUROPE.

U-label will allow spirits producers large and small to roll out state-of-the-art digital labelling solutions together with an experienced and reliable partner.

Taste-Driven AI Algorithms Enhance Wine Selections

For wine enthusiasts, choosing a bottle of wine can be challenging when scanning unfamiliar labels, while shopping. Questions that come to mind: What does it taste like? What was the last one I bought that tasted so good? Vivino, Hello Vino, Wine Searcher and other apps let wine buyers scan labels to get information about the wine and read reviews of others. These apps have been built from artificially intelligent algorithms.

Using taste or other sensory inputs as data sources is entirely new.

Now, scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the University of Copenhagen and Caltech have shown that you can add a new parameter to the algorithms that makes it easier to find a precise match for your own taste buds: Namely, people’s impressions of flavour.

“We have demonstrated that, by feeding an algorithm with data consisting of people’s flavour impressions, the algorithm can make more accurate predictions of what kind of wine we individually prefer,” says Thoranna Bender, a graduate student at DTU who conducted the study under the auspices of the Pioneer Centre for AI at the University of Copenhagen.

More accurate predictions of people’s favourite wines
The researchers held wine tastings during which 256 participants were asked to arrange shot-sized cups of different wines on a piece of A3 paper based upon which wines they thought tasted most similarly. The greater the distance between the cups, the greater the difference in their flavour. The method is widely used in consumer tests. The researchers then digitized the points on the sheets of paper by photographing them.

The data collected from the wine tastings was then combined with hundreds of thousands of wine labels and user reviews provided to the researchers by Vivino, a global wine app and marketplace. Next, the researchers developed an algorithm based on the enormous data set.

“The dimension of flavour that we created in the model provides us with information about which wines are similar in taste and which are not. So, for example, I can stand with my favourite bottle of wine and say: I would like to know which wine is most similar to it in taste – or both in taste and price,” says Thoranna Bender.

Professor and co-author Serge Belongie from the Department of Computer Science, who heads the Pioneer Centre for AI at the University of Copenhagen, adds:

“We can see that when the algorithm combines the data from wine labels and reviews with the data from the wine tastings, it makes more accurate predictions of people’s wine preferences than when it only uses the traditional types of data in the form of images and text. So, teaching machines to use human sensory experiences results in better algorithms that benefit the user.”

Thoranna Bender points out that the researchers’ method can easily be transferred to other types of food and drink as well:

“We’ve chosen wine as a case, but the same method can just as well be applied to beer and coffee. For example, the approach can be used to recommend products and perhaps even food recipes to people. And if we can better understand the taste similarities in food, we can also use it in the healthcare sector to put together meals that meet with the tastes and nutritional needs of patients. It might even be used to develop foods tailored to different taste profiles.”
The researchers have published their data on an open server and can be used at no cost.

“We hope that someone out there will want to build upon our data. I’ve already fielded requests from people who have additional data that they would like to include in our dataset. I think that’s really cool,” concludes Thoranna Bender.

Key Facts:
1. Wine apps are using AI algorithms to assist users in selecting wines based on labels and reviews.
2. Researchers integrated people’s flavor impressions into the algorithms for more accurate wine recommendations.
3. This approach can be extended to beer, coffee, and personalized food recommendations, benefiting various industries.

Source: Neuroscience News

Announcing Liz Palmer is Guest Speaker at the 7th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism

I’m so thrilled to have been invited as a guest speaker at the upcoming 7th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism!!

The topics for the 7th Edition include “Inclusive, Sustainable and Digital Wine Tourism: Building Stronger Territorial Cohesion”

This yearly conference has become a leading international forum on trends, tools and opportunities to advance global wine tourism. It also provides opportunities for experts and professionals, as well as consolidated and emerging destinations in this tourism segment to exchange knowledge and experiences.

Since 2016, the Conference has highlighted the importance of wine tourism to the socio-economic development of destinations and has served as a platform to exchange experiences, identify good practices and promote wine tourism as a tool for sustainable development.

The 7th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism will be held November 22 – 24 in Logroño, Spain. Participants include government officials from international and national tourism administrations and organizations, regional and local authorities, international and national destination marketing organizations, UNWTO affiliate members, private sector representatives, wine estates, infrastructure providers and international academia.

I believe everyone in the wine tourism industry can certainly attest to Massimo Garavaglia, Italian Minister of Tourism, statement at last year’s conference, in Alba Italy: “Wine tourism is much more than just selling wine, which clearly is important.  When you sell a bottle of wine, you are selling the territory behind that bottle, the culture of that territory, the history of the men (and women) who designed these landscapes with the rows of vines.”

I have the extreme privilege of sharing insights on the topic of:

Unlocking the Benefits of Digitalization
Digital transformation can revolutionize and enhance wine tourism experiences, provide data and insights, optimize marketing strategies, and foster sustainable growth.

Conference Link: https://www.unwto.org/7-UNWTO-Global-Conference-Wine-Tourism

Hope to see you there!

Liz Palmer

 

PGWA Creates Custom AVA Wine Maps Using Google Maps

The Petaluma Gap Wine Growers Alliance (PGWA) has been working with an illustrator to develop a more intricate digital and printable AVA map. While this project in progress, the Alliance wanted something temporary on the website and quickly created a custom and free AVA map using Google My Maps.

Here are the steps to follow in creating a map of a particular AVA:

Step 1 – Create A New Map – Access the Google My Maps website and sign in with your Google account. You’ll need to create an account if you don’t have one yet.  Once logged in, click the “+ Create a new map” button to initiate the map-building process.

Step 2 – Personalize Your Map – At the top left corner of the page, locate the “Untitled map” field. You can enter your organization’s name.

Step 3- Define Your Boundary – Download an SHP (shape) of your AVA boundary as defined by the federal government from the TTB website. Since Google Maps only supports KML files, you must convert the SHP using geographical information software (GIS). For instance, we used the open-source GIS application QGIS for this purpose. Import the converted KML file into Google Maps as your initial layer.

Step 4 – Map Wineries – Create an additional layer for wineries. Utilize the search function to locate wineries by name or address. Click the “Add to map” option in the toolbar. If a winery has claimed its business on Google, relevant information will appear in the drop-down menu. Choose or customize the marker icon, such as a wine glass or grape icon.

Step 5 – Plot the Vineyards – PGWA has employed latitude and longitude coordinates to locate vineyards. Since only a few vineyards were registered as businesses on Google, they manually inputted information, including vineyard photos, a list of cultivated grape varieties, and elevations. Non-grower members were identified on the map with less detailed information.

Step 6- Organize Your Layers – You can enhance your map by creating multiple layers. This helps in segregating distinct categories of data. Click the “Add layer” button in the left sidebar to establish a new layer. In our case, separate layers were used for wineries, vineyards, and members and non-members.

Step 7 – Share Your Map – The map can be shared using a unique link, making it accessible to specific individuals or made public or private.  Most importantly, you can embed code to easily incorporate the map into your website or blog.

This serves as a valuable tool for wine organizations and wine professionals in showcasing vineyards and tasting rooms within the geographical boundaries.

Source:  Wine Data Researcher