CellarTracker: From Personal Project to AI-Powered Wine Discovery
Tracking the Most Intoxicating Data: A Conversation With Eric LeVine
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Resources & Recommendations
People Mentioned
- Eric LeVine (Founder of CellarTracker) - Featured guest discussing the origins, data, and future of CellarTracker.
- Robert Parker - Wine critic whose review style was referenced in contrast to the AI model's descriptions.
- Miles from Sideways - Character from the movie "Sideways" referenced in the context of descriptive wine language.
- Rebecca McCloud (Producer) - Acknowledged as a producer of the podcast.
- Tina Toby Mack (Producer) - Acknowledged as a producer of the podcast.
- Ariane Frank (Assistant Producer) - Acknowledged as an assistant producer of the podcast.
- Gavin Yang (Assistant Producer) - Acknowledged as an assistant producer of the podcast.
- Bell Riley (Assistant Producer) - Acknowledged as an assistant producer of the podcast.
Organizations & Institutions
- Microsoft - Eric LeVine's former employer, where he worked on error reporting systems.
- WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) - Mentioned in the context of providing structured descriptions of wine.
- UC Davis (University of California, Davis) - Location for the future "Wine to Mine" symposium at the Mondavi Institute.
- Mondavi Institute - Specific institute at UC Davis hosting the "Wine to Mine" symposium.
Tools & Software
- CellarTracker - The primary subject of the discussion, a platform for managing wine collections, tracking ratings, and discovering wines.
- Excel - Referenced as a tool Eric LeVine initially used for his wine collection before developing CellarTracker, highlighting its limitations as a database.
- Vivino - A wine app mentioned for its use of computer vision for label recognition, which CellarTracker partners with and uses as a comparison for its own AI models.
Events & Conferences
- Wine to Mine - A symposium where Eric LeVine gave a keynote speech and is invited to return. The next event will be at UC Davis.
- Master of Wine Symposium - A conference held in Bordeaux in 2010 where Eric LeVine was a speaker.
Wines & Wineries
- Caymus - A popular California wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) frequently used by beta testers to evaluate CellarTracker's AI recommendations, often polarizing opinions.
- Bordeaux - A French wine region, mentioned by Eric LeVine as a preference and contrasted with high-alcohol California Cabernet.
- Opus - A wine mentioned by the host as one she liked, used in the context of recommendation engines.
- Sea Smoke - A wine mentioned by the host as one she liked, used in the context of recommendation engines.
- Cirq - A wine mentioned by the host as one she liked, used in the context of recommendation engines.
- Veuve Clicquot - A well-known champagne brand mentioned for its quality despite large production volumes.
- Petrus - A highly regarded Merlot-based wine mentioned as a personal "magic wand" choice.
- Le Pin - A very rare and expensive wine, Eric LeVine's ultimate "magic wand" choice, which he tasted once at the vineyard.
- Domaine de Pegau - Eric LeVine's favorite producer from the Southern Rhône Valley, specifically Châteauneuf-du-Pape, described as his "happy spot."
- Châteauneuf-du-Pape - A wine appellation in the Southern Rhône Valley, Eric LeVine's preferred wine region.
Other Resources
- Judgment of Paris - A historic wine tasting event from 1976, whose 50th anniversary will be celebrated at the "Wine to Mine" symposium.