Run likely guest wine questions through ChatGPT and Claude, then train your sommeliers on each scenario
Chase Sinzer, restaurateur whose New York City restaurants include Claud and Penny and the wine bar Stars, in The New York Times (via The Seattle Times)
The team ran guest situations through ChatGPT and Claude to prepare for the questions, then held classes with the sommeliers for each scenario.
ChatGPT Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo · Claude $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly)
Easy · or we set it up for $197
ChatGPT, Claude
The problem
More guests consult AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini before choosing a bottle. Sinzer says he can tell from the questions they ask, and his staff have to handle whatever guests bring to the table.
What happened
No figures were given. Sinzer treats AI-informed guests as "just another challenge and an opportunity" for hospitality and says, "AI is not a charismatic somm." Self-reported.
Quoted in the source: Chase Sinzer, restaurateur (Claud, Penny, Stars). Source: The Seattle Times (from The New York Times): AI Is Coming for the Sommeliers (Eric Asimov) (2026-03-25) · Added 2026-10-22.
How to set it up yourself
- What Sinzer's restaurants did: per The New York Times, the team ran guest situations through ChatGPT and Claude to prepare for the questions AI-informed guests ask, then ran classes with the sommeliers for each scenario.
- Paste or photograph your current wine list and menu into ChatGPT or Claude with the prompt below to generate the questions a guest who asked a chatbot is likely to bring (best value, pairings with specific dishes, whether a bottle is overpriced).
- Have your wine director check every chatbot answer against the cellar and the house view and mark the ones it gets wrong. In the same article, ChatGPT called one sparkling wine overpriced that the writer considered a great value on that wine bar's list.
- Turn the checked scenarios into short pre-shift classes: one sommelier plays the guest with the chatbot's answer, another responds, and refresh the set whenever the list changes.
Copy-paste prompt
Here is the current wine list at {RESTAURANT NAME}, with prices: {PASTE LIST}. Our menu: {DISHES}. Act as a guest who asked an AI chatbot about this list before dinner. Write {NUMBER} questions such a guest might ask our sommelier (best value, pairings with specific dishes, whether a bottle is overpriced, alternatives by region), and for each give the answer a chatbot would likely have told them. Use only wines on this list; don't invent vintages, scores or prices. Mark any answer you're unsure about.We set up one AI automation in your tools, live within 48 hours of getting access, for $197. No call needed. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297).
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Tools used
ChatGPT
General AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and analysis.
From Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (checked 2026-10-20)
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Claude
AI assistant for writing, long documents, analysis and coding help.
From $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (checked 2026-10-21)
Visit site →Some tool links may be affiliate links. Disclosure
Checked prices: ChatGPT: from Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (verified 2026-10-20) · Claude: from $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (verified 2026-10-21)
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