Artificial intelligence (AI) is drawing growing interest across many industries, but smaller wineries are still exploring how the technology can support day-to-day business decisions.
Andrew Weber of Northern Cross Vineyard in New York state recently examined whether AI could provide useful insights into areas such as wine pricing, promotions, and customer engagement.
Using three years of sales information from the winery’s Square point-of-sale platform, Weber uploaded transaction data into ChatGPT to evaluate purchasing patterns and business opportunities. The analysis included wine sales, pricing trends, discounts, tasting room purchases, and customer activity records.
One of the key observations focused on pricing strategies. Since most wines had maintained relatively stable prices over several years, there was limited evidence of how customers might react to price changes.
AI suggested testing small price increases and creating a more noticeable distinction between standard and reserve wines. Rather than offering firm conclusions, it recommended running targeted experiments and tracking results carefully.
The review also highlighted opportunities to improve promotional efforts. Instead of broad discount campaigns, AI recommended incentives linked to customer behaviour, such as applying tasting fees toward the purchase of multiple bottles, helping encourage higher sales while protecting margins.
Another important finding involved customer segmentation. First-time visitors, repeat buyers, and loyal customers may respond better to tailored offers.
Weber concluded that AI works best as a decision-support tool, helping wineries combine data-driven insights with industry experience to make smarter business decisions and identify growth opportunities.