Over the past year, von Stiehl Winery assembled a team of writers and tasters to provide feedback on their AI-crafted wines. I had the opportunity to be part of that select group, and when the bottles arrived with our initial feedback included, I knew there was a special group of wine lovers that would give great feedback.

Fast forward to our annual family reunion, this year in Nashville, and the group included a winemaker and vineyard owners, the CEO of a multicultural research and syndicated data firm, and several wine lovers. There was never a better group to give feedback on these wines.

The History of von Stiehl Winery

In 1967, Dr. Charles Stiehl, the town’s local physician, opened Wisconsin’s first and oldest licensed winery so he could legally sell his Door County Cherry Wine. The winery is located in a historic building that was developed in 1868 and currently makes wine and cider.

AI in Wine

The wine industry is not generally known for pushing the boundaries of technology. COVID turned the industry on its head when it had to shift from in-person to virtual tastings forcing wineries to embrace new technologies.

Headlines scream AI is going to be one of the biggest technology disruptors of all time. We’ve seen it reshape many industries including wine. Wineries like  Gamble Family Vineyards, Mount Langi Ghiran and  Viña Concha y Toro are using AI technology in the vineyard.  It’s now been used for vineyard management, personalized sales and marketing as well as AI sommelier applications like Vinovoss.

But enthusiasm is mixed. Most agree that AI should be seen as a tool that complements rather than replaces the human element.

The von Stiehl AI Wine Experience

We joined Brad and Aric Schmiling from von Stiehl Winery, who talked about the project and the innovative way they are approaching using AI in wine utilzing ChatGPT and Google Gemini.  In the Summer of 2023, they began to solicit consumer feedback virtually and used it as feedback for themes on the wine. My family tasting was in the second round of the project.  The winery produced 350 cases of AI branded red and white wines.

We tried two wines. I’m not going to give feedback on the wines as they still are in early development.

• AI White V2.0 – this is a blend of Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Gewurtraminer and Muscat Caneli. This was the group’s preferred wine.
• AI Red V2.0 – this featured two grapes I’ve never tasted – Maréchal Foch and Deschaunac. The Maréchal Foch was a hybrid French red wine grape that is a cross between Goldriesling and a Native American Vitis. The Dechaunac grape is another French hybrid blending grape. The wine also included Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Merlot and Mourvèdre.

The wine industry is embracing innovation, and von Stiehl Winery has embraced this movement. Their recent experiment with AI-crafted wines demonstrates a willingness to push boundaries and explore new possibilities. While the results remain to be seen, Von Stiehl’s pioneering spirit will inspire looking at tradition differently. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, AI could play a role in shaping the future of wine production.

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