Who Needs Robert Parker...

Filed in archive Wine News on December 18, 2007

... when you have a wine tasting robot?!! That's right. We can get rid of all our magazine subscriptions and never have to concern ourselves with quality again because the robots are going to let us know what's good and what's bad.

OK, it's not quite that simple. There's not really an army of thirsty sommelier robots invading your favorite liquor store. (Although I find that image rather amusing.) The robot was designed by a team from Mie University and NEC System Technologies Ltd. A Yahoo tech article explains how it works:

Sensors in his robo-hands measure the absorption of infrared light, which the robot then analyzes to determine the variety of grapes used to make the wine, as each grape variety absorbs light differently. In other words, the little robot can distinguish Cabernet from Merlot (or a blend of both) just by dipping his finger into it.

His talents also extend to examining the amount of sugar in the glass to determine how sweet the wine will be. Oddly, he can also identify varieties of cheese and tell how ripe an apple is just by touching it.

I'm not sure what the practical uses for this kind of robot are, though I find the idea very interesting. I think there are too many nuances in a bottle of wine to rely on robotic tastebuds. But maybe when I finally get my hovercar...