We are living in an age of immense change. In just a few short years, digital technology has transformed our society, affecting how we work, shop, travel, and communicate. The music and book industries have been at the forefront, with music streaming and eBooks now mainstream. By contrast, the global wine industry is one of the larger industries yet to be fully disrupted. Built on centuries of tradition, the wine trade has long been suspicious of change. It is this constant underlying tension between tradition and technology that explains why the industry, valued at $302 billion USD in 2017 according to the Zion Market report, has been slow to adopt new technology. Digital disruption is defined as “a transformation caused by emerging digital technologies and business models.” Although we are at the very beginning of this transformation, in the coming years, every facet of the global wine industry, from viticulture and winemaking to sales and marketing, stands to be irrevocably changed.
For centuries, viticulture know-how was handed down from one generation of vignerons to the next. The work was slow, painstaking, highly labor-intensive, and fraught with risk. Today, the objectives of viticulture remain the same: to optimize grape quality while achieving a desired yield. The risks also remain the same, including such factors as erratic weather, disease, pest infestations, and, most recently, climate change. While many are choosing to employ traditional viticultural techniques (e.g., horse-ploughing, use of cover crops and natural remedies to combat pests and disease), there is a concurrent movement focused on technology. New innovations are being used in vineyards around the world. Particularly when employed together, they have the power to reshape viticulture.
One of the most significant new technologies to be employed in the vineyard is the drone. Endowed with camera technologies that can collect information not seen by the human eye, these flying robots can visit and take images of parts of the vineyard not easily reached during the growing season.
Tech start-ups like North America-based VineView are using highly detailed spectral imaging taken by drones together with data from soil sensors to analyze and monitor soil and crop health. With the ability to take images down to the individual vine level and services that include irrigation scheduling, fertilizer application optimization, precision targeted canopy management, and harvest segmentation, this cutting-edge technology promises to improve yields and reduce costs for clients. In Australia, a research project called The Digital Vineyard is also racing to combine sensors and drone technology. Currently being piloted at Wynns Coonawarra Estate and Curly Flat Vineyard, the project is combining data from in-ground sensors—including soil temperature, soil moisture content, salinity, and pH levels—with aerial imagery. The new metrics are helping growers make better decisions, particularly concerning irrigation and fertilizer application.
Drones show great promise in the quest to optimize precision viticulture but raise concerns regarding privacy, particularly that of neighboring vineyards. In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration has established regulations for drones when flying for commercial purposes. In addition to privacy concerns, the cost of drones, ranging from $1,500 to 25,000 USD, makes them difficult for many small and mid-sized vineyards to purchase. However, as the cost comes down, the use of drones is likely to increase, as the data they collect has great potential.
Robots in the vineyard are not limited to those flying overhead. Field robots manufactured by Vision Robotics Corporation are being developed and tested in vineyards for pruning, shoot thinning, and monitoring vines and soil for overall health. The robots are capable of bilateral spur pruning, and the settings can be customized based on the number of spurs a grower wishes to leave.
While the technology is still in development, it raises questions about future labor disruption. If accurate and cost effective, these types of robots could begin replacing traditional field labor, particularly in developed countries where labor costs are high.
With reams of data being collected by both in-ground and aerial sensors and a variety of robots, managing and analyzing that data is imperative. Specialist software such eVineyard allows producers to analyze, combine, and disseminate data collected from their vineyards, all from a smartphone. Offering remote access, eVineyard and similar apps are allowing growers to refine their work even when they are not physically present in the vineyard, saving time and increasing business efficiency.
One of the most technically impressive developments in viticulture is optical sorting. Although the food industry has long used sorting technology, the first sorter designed especially for wine was not released until 2007.
Sorting technology can be employed even before grapes reach the winery. French viticultural equipment manufacturer Pellenc has developed a mechanical harvester with fruit-sorting capabilities, able to destem and remove material other than grapes at the point of harvest.
For wineries that choose to harvest by hand, new optical grape sorters such as the Bucher Vaslin R1 & R2 use high-speed cameras and image-processing software to optically sort berries at the individual level. Specific grape quality criteria are pre-programmed into the computer, and berries outside of the set criteria are rejected. The speed at which this can be achieved is astonishing. The R1 model can process 5 tons per hour, while the larger R2 model can sort 10 tons per hour. Other sorters such as the French Faupin Group-built Tribaie use grape density as criteria for sorting. Used by Staglin Family Vineyard for the 2017 vintage, the results were impressive in terms of both accuracy and speed. Currently, costs of these machines are prohibitively high, putting them out of reach of many small-to-medium producers. However, once costs come down, these machines will certainly become more widely adopted and could replace the current teams of grape sorters utilized by many wineries.
In winemaking, advances in sensor technology and apps for monitoring and analyzing data are exciting developments. Apps such as Vintrace transmit information such as tank jacket temperature, juice temperature, must temperature, and Baume, just to name a few. This puts real-time data in the hands of winemakers, giving them more precise control and allowing them to activate both manual and automatic processes.
It is perhaps in the consumer space that the infiltration of new digital technology is most obvious, with apps and other technologies offering wine drinkers new ways to track their preferences and make wine selections.
Restaurants can now choose to use digital wine list apps such as Uncork’d, eSommelier, Vinipad, and Tastevin to present wine lists to guests. If desired, restaurants can add additional information and functionality to their lists, and the apps supply sales data that can help beverage directors and owners understand and track how inventory is moving. By eliminating the regular reprinting of wine lists, they also cut waste and reduce costs.
Consumers looking for ways to remember the wines they liked, while at the same time getting advice from peer reviews, are flocking to apps like Delectable and Vivino. These companies are mobilizing a global tribe of wine enthusiasts willing to record and share their wine experiences. Other “wine assistant” apps, including Wine Ring and Hello Vino, have proprietary algorithms that use customer preferences to build a portfolio of personalized recommendations.
Retailers are also taking technology to the next level with algorithms that promise to help you make better choices. Both Winc in the US and The Wine Gallery in Australia use a palate profile quiz with underlying algorithms to summarize customers’ palates and offer customized selections. In the UK, grocery store Lidl’s new online wine “chatbot,” nicknamed Margot, makes recommendations based on your food choices and budget. Artificial intelligence is a huge area of interest for wine retailers globally, with US technology research firm Gartner predicting that by 2020, people will be having more daily conversations with a bot than with their spouses.
Digital technology is also shaking up the way wine is delivered. Delivery apps like Saucey and Drizly in the US promise wine delivered within 30 minutes. Deliveroo and Tipple are providing the same service in the UK and Australian markets, respectively.
Until now, the wine industry was playing a game of catch-up in the adaptation of new digital technologies. However, with technology increasingly integrated into our lives, we can expect more precision in viticulture and winemaking and more personalization in the world of wine commerce. Overall, this is an enormously positive development for the industry.
But there is a caveat. New digital technology collects enormous amounts of data, some of it highly personal. The challenge, in the light of recent data breach scandals, is how to ensure individual data remains protected, while at the same time allowing consumers to benefit from a more personalized experience. Striking the right balance will be one of the bigger challenges as the digital disruption of the wine industry continues to unfold.
Experential marekting is also coming to play here. Its a bridge of the brand, social media and some type of experience to tie them together. Online social meets an event.
Good article Andrea. I wish you had approached the impact of Digital Marketing (not only social media but google, youtube, etc) on direct to consumer and on-premise sales and preferences. It is probably the core of all disruptions as consumers interact online (via social channels) before purchasing a wine or visiting a winery. However, it seems to be a topic that hasn't been well explored yet.
Excellent piece Andrea.
Thank you for the article Andrea. This is a huge, multifaceted topic that warrants more discussion. As someone with a background in winemaking and viticulture, I approach the topic of precision viticulture with cautious optimism. While the potential benefits to wine quality and environmental and economic sustainability are undeniable, no revolution comes without unintended consequences.
For those interested in learning more about precision viticulture, I recommend checking out fruitionsciences.com. Fruition Sciences is an industry leader in viticulture technology, based in California and France. They became known worldwide for sap flow sensors that give real-time insight into a vine’s irrigation requirements. Recently, they have diversified their offerings to include some interesting new tools that are detailed on their “solutions” webpage.
Fruition Sciences also maintains a blog on research in viticulture, and while it is aimed at winemakers, it may be a useful resource for others interested in current affairs in winegrowing.