Napa winemaker hires AI apprentice to refine winemaking process

NAPA, Calif. - There's plenty of talk about how artificial intelligence has the potential to simplify workflows for office employees across a range of industries, but its uses may reach much further. As one Napa County vintner can attest, A.I. may have a place in agriculture.

Palmaz Winery, located on Napa County's Mount George, has started using artificial intelligence to produce prized wines after a quarter-century of doing it the traditional way. The goal is to reduce the time winemakers spend on tedious tasks that distract them from the essence of their craft, where they feel they're truly expressing themselves through the product.

"They can take a little more risk, they can be a little more daring and they can express themselves a little bit more," said Christian Palmaz, son of the founders and an accomplished computer programmer in his own right.

Putting tools to work

How it works:

Twice a week, Palmaz flies sensors equipped with artificial intelligence over the vineyard. Through those tools he can gather a variety of data that can tell the winemaker what's really going on down to the individual vine, then can go to that specific location and see if it's a broken water line, clogged drainage, a disease, or an infestation. 

"Nine times out of ten, we can figure it out pretty quickly," said Mr. Palmaz.

Featured

article

2 children killed in suspected DUI accident in Napa, mother arrested: CHP

Two children are dead following a car crash with a driver suspected to be under the influence in Napa.

His other A.I. tool senses what's going on inside twenty-four fermentors, measured at a million and a half pints. That data allows the fermentor to automatically adjust its settings to precisely what's required at a given point in the fermentation process.

"It's essentially operating at an optimal level and at the level the winemaker wants. This is designed to free up the winemaker so they can focus on the things you can't put numbers on, like what you see, smell, taste and feel," said Palmaz.

The cutting edge

What they're saying:

Rob McMillan, Silicon Valley Bank’s founder of winery financing, says A.I. will revolutionize the industry on many levels, and Palmaz has set the stage. 

"If you really want to understand the limits of it right now, go take a tour of the winery. It's really quite astounding to see what can and is being done," said McMillan.

But. A.I. is only a tool. Nature and winemakers remain the masters. "It's still the vineyard. It's still the raw ingredients. It's still a human expression," said Palmaz.

For thousands of years, winemakers have worked hard at practicing and improving their skills in order to create an ever-better product, using ever-greater tools. This is just another tool that, at the end of the day, is deployed in service of the art of winemaking.