Wine is hard: all the varieties, the food pairings and the hard-to-pronounce names.
When faced with a restaurant wine list that is just too complicated to navigate, many people immediately call for a sommelier. Others, though, pull out their phones to ask artificial intelligence for recommendations. It even happens at one-star Michelin restaurant The Dabney in Washington, D.C.
Chefs at The Dabney cook everything on an open flame, from catfish from the Chesapeake Bay to seasonal local vegetables, to cheese from Appalachia.
Christian Urbina, The Dabney鈥檚 wine sommelier, said many nights, customers check out the wine list and then head straight for their phones.
鈥淵ou can see them kind of bobbing their head in one direction towards that list, and then bobbing their head back towards their phone and kind of typing something in,鈥� Urbina said. 鈥淢aybe two, three days ago, there was a guest who had the font really large, and you could clearly see her typing in, 鈥榃hat does Barbera taste like?鈥欌��
It鈥檚 Urbina鈥檚 job to answer questions like this. He takes these instances to mean a customer wants to learn more. When he sees a customer asking AI about the menu, he approaches with a wide smile, introduces himself, and encourages guests to ask questions.
The customer asking AI about Barbera had made up her mind by the time he approached the table.
鈥淪he said, 鈥業 really love Barbera. I think I鈥檝e had it before. This sounds really interesting. What do you think about it?鈥� Urbina said. 鈥淎nd I respond with just as much curiosity. 鈥榃e just put that Barbera on the list. It鈥檚 incredible. It鈥檚 juicy. It鈥檚 so easy to drink. I think you鈥檙e gonna love it. Can I pour you a taste of it?鈥� It becomes a moment of connection.鈥�
Urbina said he understands why patrons go to their phones: Wine intimidates.
鈥淭here have been walls around wine for a very long time,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hether it was just the monarchy and the Pope and the royals drinking wine centuries ago, or even now, wine hasn鈥檛 always been accessible. So, for someone to seek curiosity in their own privacy, to me, makes sense.鈥�
AI typically provides only generic descriptions of wine; it doesn鈥檛 know about unique small-production wines that vary from one year to another or how to share personal stories of visiting vineyards.
鈥溾�奀oming to a restaurant, especially a restaurant like The Dabney, it鈥檚 meant to be a special moment,鈥� Urbina said. 鈥淎nd you see the fire and you see the chefs, and you hear the tins shaking with cocktails, and you hear the corks popping, and it鈥檚 meant to feel theatrical, and it鈥檚 also meant to feel like you鈥檙e in someone鈥檚 home.鈥�
Some sommeliers are furious that diners are tuning out the experts for an artificial chatbot.
Sommelier Elle Roberts works at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. On social media, she posted about her experience: 鈥淭hey sit on their phones and ask AI. This has happened multiple times when I approach a client to see if they have questions about the wine or the food. They look me in the face and tell me no, and then I watch them ask AI. This is so crushing because I鈥檓 like, I studied this s*** for years, and I鈥檓 standing here getting paid to help you. But instead you鈥檙e asking the little robot in your phone.鈥�
Urbina said he understands feeling defeated when customers prefer to ask AI. Like the rest of us, Urbina faces an uncomfortable truth: AI does stuff that he can do now.
His plan for now is to acknowledge what AI is good at. He uses it to help manage purchasing and inventory, to translate foreign articles, and then with customers.
As a sommelier, Urbina supplements the artificial intelligence with his face-to-face human intelligence when he recommends a wine pairing for The Dabney鈥檚 signature blue catfish slider, super flaky with curated cornmeal.
鈥溾�奝ersonally, I think a glass of champagne is not just perfect for a catfish slider. I think it鈥檚 just always right,鈥� Urbina said. 鈥淭hierry Fournier is the producer. This is the small farmer. This is the tiny, family-run vineyard. In this case, Thierry Fournier is the fifth generation, very representative of what we choose to pour.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not necessarily a big, rich, full-bodied champagne as some can be,鈥� Urbina continued after uncorking the bottle, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 also not thin or unbalanced, where you get this salty bite of catfish. Well, now you want to take a little sip of champagne. Well, now you want to go back to the catfish, and it鈥檚 a nice, simple dance.鈥�
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