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Wine pairings

An AI sommelier that recommends only wines from your cellar

On every dish page, sommelier advice explains the type of pairing sought, then lists wines from your menu, one per style, with the reason for each choice. In the conversation, “which wine goes with this dish?” gets the same answer. The pairing printed on your menu always comes first.

Principle

Your cellar, not an imaginary one

The AI sommelier never lists a wine that is not on your menu. If your menu already prints a recommendation below a dish (“Recommended wine: …”), it is recognised, shown first and linked to the bottle in your cellar.

When the menu says nothing, the engine selects from your cellar based on the structure of the dish and of each wine.

Engine

How the pairing is selected

  • The dish is classified into one of twenty archetypes (oysters and shellfish, delicate fish, braised meat, tomato dish, soft cheese, spicy dish, chocolate dessert…), with its cooking method, bitterness, acidity, and measured fat, salt and sugar values.
  • The wine is assigned a structure resolved field by field: tannin, acidity, body, sugar, oak ageing, bubbles, fortification. The words on the menu take priority (brut, demi-sec, barrel-aged), then the appellation, then the dominant grape, based on verified tables.
  • The rules are those of classic pairing: acidity against fat, tannin against protein, bubbles with fried food, sugar with sweet dishes, a lightly tannic red with umami, a crisp white with iodine, and regional pairing to decide between them.
  • The result: one wine per style (crisp white, rich white, dry rosé, light red, structured red, sparkling, sweet wine…), each with its displayed reason. A wine rejected by the engine is never suggested.
Cellar

What a wine page displays

Colour, grapes (those written on the menu, otherwise inferred from the appellation), structure, alcohol content, serving formats (glass, bottle) and calories per glass. The wine menu keeps its original organisation (by region, by colour, by the glass or by the bottle) and can also be presented in a structured format.

A wine's grapes are never invented: when the menu does not name them and the appellation does not require them, the page leaves them out.

Bar

Cocktails, aperitifs, beers, non-alcoholic drinks

Classic drinks are described using a verified reference: IBA cocktails (negroni, spritz, mojito, old fashioned…), aniseed aperitifs, kirs, mulled wine, Irish coffee, juices and waters. Each is assigned its format, calories and alcohol content as served. Beers are grouped as draught and bottled, with their formats.

For a guest who does not drink alcohol, pairing is based on drink class: a bitter or tonic, sparkling water, iced tea or freshly squeezed juice depending on the dish — always from what you serve.

Conversation

What guests can ask

“Which wine goes with pata negra?” — the pairing printed on the menu first, followed by suitable wines from the cellar.
“A light red,” “a glass of dry white,” “a wine that is not too expensive” — colour, body, sugar and price are read from the menu data.
“A non-alcoholic drink that goes with it” — a pairing by drink class; with a savoury dish, a sweet soda comes last.
“I’m pregnant, which wine?” — alcohol is not recommended; non-alcoholic drinks are suggested.
Limitations

What the AI sommelier does not do

  • It does not reason based on vintage: a vintage written on the menu is displayed, not interpreted.
  • It does not promote a more expensive bottle: for an equally good pairing, the least expensive wine comes first.
  • A wine with no known appellation or grape is assigned a partial structure; the engine holds back rather than guess.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the AI sommelier

Can the AI sommelier recommend a wine I do not sell?
No. It only lists wines from your menu. If there is no suitable wine in your cellar, it says so.
How does it know whether a wine is tannic or acidic?
From the words on your menu (brut, demi-sec, barrel-aged), then from the appellation and grape, based on verified tables (WSET, Wine Grapes, Oxford Companion, INAO specifications). Without information, the field remains blank.
Is my recommendation printed on the menu taken into account?
Yes. A “Recommended wine” line below a dish is recognised when the menu is analysed, shown first on the page and linked to the bottle in your cellar.
What about a guest who does not drink alcohol?
The pairing is based on drink class (bitter, tonic, sparkling water, iced tea, juice) among those on your menu. For a pregnant guest, alcohol is not recommended.
Is the advice written by AI?
The principle sentence (the type of pairing sought) is fixed text for each archetype; AI can then rephrase it for the dish, without ever naming a bottle itself: the wines listed come from the engine.

Related reading

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Import your wine list: every dish receives sommelier advice and pairings selected from your cellar.