It would be naive to deny the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to agricultural production or to dismiss its benefits. As what is known as the 4th Industrial Revolution (I 4.0) has progressed, Argentine wineries have come to see the potential of the technology and it is now having an impact all the way from the vineyard to the bottles being released on the market.
More and more wineries are making use of AI at different stages of the production chain, and even in oenological academic and training circles professionals are including AI in their study plans. Its use has seen transformations across viticulture, from work in the fields to marketing.
Some of the wineries in Argentina already working with AI are Nieto Senetiner and Cadus Wines, at whose establishment in Vistalba, Luján de Cuyo, several projects are making use of artificial intelligence, with the most significant being an automatic pumping over system in the fermentation tanks.
“AI is any machine that uses an algorithm to enhance human intelligence in some way. A lot of people think that artificial intelligence will replace people and so we’ll lose our crafts. We don’t see it like that. It’s just another tool that helps to free our mind of certain concerns so as to concentrate on creativity and innovation. It also allows us to implement processes with greater precision,” says Santiago Mayorga, the oenologist at both wineries.
The automatic pumping over system, used in a winery that dates back to the beginnings of Argentine viticulture, allows for different capacities and models of fermentation tank, meaning that long, painstaking fermentation processes that took a lot of time and effort could be replaced with a more efficient process.
“We use a system called Air Mixing by Parsec, which allows for automatic pumping over through compressed air and oxygen to allow the fermentation to take place within a period of just 7 to 10 days. It has two temperature sensors and self-regulating systems of different intensities that allow for pumping over without the need for human involvement. You can even control it with your cellphone,” explains Mayorga.
The system also allows for automatic cooling systems. Before, someone had to manually monitor the temperature and the Baumé grade. Now, they just need to measure the latter variable while the temperature is controlled through Air Mixing.
From the winery to the bottle
Matías Morcos, a young oenologist who oversees operations for Familia Morcos, uses AI throughout the production chain. He introduced one of the first lines of wine for which the labels were designed using Artificial Intelligence two years ago. Today, the tool is being used throughout the winery.
“At first we started with the design and development of new products and labels. We used it for brainstorming, to tell stories, write poetry or design labels. Several of our wines have now seen the involvement of AI in the design. Obviously we also work in partnership with a designer,” says the oenologist.
In addition to that, the Familia Morcos are also training models called AI Agent. “They’re like virtual oenologists. We train them with our information, loading a lot of information, oenology books, information about Mendoza, and the history, so they can understand. They help us with oenological decision-making or through queries because just think, they’ve been uploaded with all those oenology books and when I want to know, for instance, about a specific yeast, I don’t need to hire a consultant or read 10,000 books the way you did before, all the information is there,” says Morcos.
Finally, the company in the east of Mendoza is creating a product developed directly with Artificial Intelligence. “We haven’t released it yet., but it’s one of the most innovative products we have at the winery. We started it with some Argentinians in San Francisco this year and it will be a disruptor for the industry, 100% created and designed by AI.”
More efficient processes
As mentioned above, AI has also proved useful in wine marketing. “We use AI in the initial stage of the creative process, the brainstorming stage. On the design side, AI is essential when it comes to working with creative components such as photos or videos, specifically its paid version. It helps us to make best use of our time,” says Soledad Mayorga, Marketing Manager at Antigal Winery & Estates.
“We believe that the use of AI will grow the better we’re trained in its use and understand its full potential. The technology will spread to the other departments of the winery. It will be used to achieve more efficient processes in terms of both time and costs. We need to understand that AI is a new tool that we’re just getting to know, one that has a lot to offer for our daily work,” says Mayorga.
Artificial Intelligence in wine education
Although academic oenology courses haven’t yet included AI, this year the Universidad Juan Agustín Maza will give a class in the area and expect it to be a part of the course plan when it is next updated, a process that is already under way.
Under the title “Automatic Control of Processes and AI applied to Viticulture” it is given by the agricultural engineer, teacher and consultant Humberto Colombo and will cover key areas related to the use of advanced technologies in the viticultural industry. “AI is a major challenge that requires better training, more investment, and a commitment to the environment, but that is also creating major new opportunities,” he says.
He believes that AI can have an effect on every stage of the production process: in primary production, out in the vineyards, determining the extent of fruit ripeness, establishing the right moment to harvest, in pest control, by supplying the proper amount of fertilizer, in the tanks, monitoring fermentation stages and taking suitable decisions and in sales by creating new forms of distribution and ways of reaching the end consumer.
“The advantages of its implementation include savings on supplies, less waste and adapting output to consumers’ tastes, or even anticipating situations and rapidly implementing changes in the most precise way possible,” says Colombo.
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