Ripe For Change

Technology is changing the wine industry, from the vine to the glass

- Matthew Flynn

Wine dates at least all the way back to the Stone Age, with the oldest known winery (from c. 4100 B.C.) discovered along the Arpa River in an Armenian village. More than six millennia later, the beloved intoxicant is still enjoyed around the world. Every day, grapes are harvested, crushed, and fermented, and wine is clarified, aged, and bottled to meet the demand. The global wine industry is in good hands and new technology is making it a time like no other for wine enthusiasts.

Developments in the way grapes are grown and harvested, the way wine is made and marketed, and even the way wine is enjoyed are transforming the industry. A quick look at the technology vineyards and wineries are using showcases these developments.

GROWING AND HARVESTING

Tech is bringing about major changes in agriculture, so it should come as no surprise that the process of growing and harvesting grapes for wine is also seeing changes. From better ways of predicting crop yield to cutting down on repetitive tasks, the process of acquiring grapes for wine is becoming more efficient.

Lincoln Agritech in New Zealand works with vineyards to use sensing technology to count grapes, then enters that data into an algorithm that predicts the harvest. Every year the data is entered, the predictions become more accurate. Similarly, Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture (GAIA) has developed software that will map every vineyard in Australia helping vineyards more accurately predict the results of their harvest.