Not long after accepting a coveted award for winemaking innovation at the state’s capital, the Miller Family Wine Company pushed industry boundaries further with a state-of-the-art update.
In January, the Santa Barbara County producerāthe umbrella company that includes Bien Nacido Estates, J. Wilkes, Ballard Lane, Pandemonium, and other Central Coast staplesāwas recognized as the 2025 Grower of the Year by the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) in Sacramento. In February, the company’s website launched its first AI-powered sommelier feature.
“It has been in development for over a year. While working on a redevelopment of our website, we realized there was an opportunity to bring in AI functionality to enhance the customer experience,” Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Nicholas Miller said in an email interview.Ā
Through Instalily, a company that develops customizable AI, the Miller Family Wine Company’s AI sommelier can provide website visitors with quick, personalized recommendations tailored to a patron’s palate, with detailed tasting notes and other resources to enhance the user’s wine shopping experience.
“The AI sommelier allows customers to have 24/7 support and a live channel to ask questions and [receive] recommendations based on preferences, among other factors,” Miller said. “The attraction to AI stems from our belief that AI will reshape businessāyour two choices are to embrace it or ignore it.”
He compared apprehensive reactions to AI to the cultural zeitgeist during another technology’s emergence eras ago.
“There was initial reluctance to the internet at first, but now we see how vital it is in everyday life,” Miller said. “We feel that, much like the internet, adopting new technologies will benefit long-term success for customers and businesses alike.”
One thing he and his colleagues personally enjoy about using the new AI sommelier feature is simply trying to trick or confound it, he explained.
“We love coming up with new questions and trying to stump the AI somm,” Miller said. “Its answers can be great feedback for us and how we should be looking at our brands and gives insights on how we can continue to improve, … [and] adjust for what consumers are looking for.”
Reflecting on the Miller Family Wine Company’s big win back in January, Miller said that many of his relatives flocked to Sacramento to commemorate the winery being named CAWG’s 2025 Grower of the Year.
“It was important to us to celebrate such a special award with most of the family present. I believe this is the first time in the history of the award that three generations of a family were onstage to receive it,” said Miller, who added that the group ventured to a restaurant in Sacramento for a celebratory dinner after the ceremony, paired with a couple of wines from the family’s vast catalogue: a J. Wilkes pinot blanc and Pandemonium cabernet sauvignon.
Described as the highest honor bestowed by CAWG, the Grower of the Year Award recognizes vintners across California who demonstrate excellence in viticulture, management, leadership, and advocacy, and whose impacts benefit the future of the state’s wine industry, according to the association.
“The Miller family’s enduring commitment to the California winegrape industry is truly remarkable. Their leadership in sustainable farming practices and active industry advocacy have greatly strengthened the entire winegrape community,” CAWG President Natalie Collins said in a statement.Ā
Miller said that he and his family always get excited about finding new ways to “message the importance” of the company’s sustainable farming practices.
“Whether it’s our CCOF [California Certified Organic Farmers] certification or being one of the first vineyards in California to be sustainably certified, we are always looking to how we can push viticulture in California forward, [from] mechanical farming techniques [to] ways to map and look at the vineyard,” he said. “We’ve always wanted to be good stewards of the land.” Ī
Find out whether Sun Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood, from New Times’ sister paper, is real or AI by sending tricky questions to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 4, 2025.