How Clos45 uses artificial intelligence
“We use Claude, the artificial intelligence made by Anthropic, to go and read the greatest references in the world of wine, so we can give the most accurate answers, always with sources.”
In shortClos45 uses Claude, the artificial intelligence made by Anthropic, in three places: reading labels, importing your cellar, and the sommelier. The sommelier answers from your cellar; whenever a question needs a fact from outside it (ageing, vintage, price), it looks it up on a closed list of wine reference sites, with the sources shown. Everything is optional: without your consent, nothing is sent.
Why AI in a cellar app?
A cellar is dozens or hundreds of lines: producer, cuvée, vintage, region, drinking window. Typing them in by hand is tedious, and knowing what to open tonight means crossing your cellar with what the reference critics and merchants say about it.
That is reading and synthesis work, exactly what an AI does well, provided you set it rules: rely on recognised sources, cite them when asked to verify, and say so when it does not know.
Three places where Claude works for you
Reading the label
You photograph a bottle: Claude reads the label and pre-fills the card (producer, cuvée, vintage, region, colour). It only fills in what it can read or reasonably infer.
Importing your cellar
A shelf photo, a screenshot, a PDF or a list: Claude spots each wine and files it in the right fields (quantity, price, location when they are given), without inventing missing values.
The sommelier
You ask a question about your cellar or a wine. Claude answers from your inventory and, whenever it needs an outside fact, looks it up on reference sources and shows you the pages it consulted.
The sommelier, in pictures
Here is what the sommelier space looks like in the app: suggestions to get started, a conversation, the sources under each answer, and the history of all your discussions.
Ask anythingSuggestions to get started, or type your own. 
A real conversationIt answers from your cellar and lets you double-check. 
Sources you can seeThe pages it consulted appear under the answer. 
Your whole historyFind every discussion again, and search through it.
How the sommelier finds its answers
- It answers from your cellar when the answer is there.How many bottles of a vintage, what they are worth, a drinking window you have already filled in: the answer comes from your inventory, without going on the Internet.
- When it needs an outside fact, it searches, but not everywhere.For a price, the quality of a vintage, an ageing window or critics’ opinions, the sommelier runs a search on its own, limited to a closed list of reference sites, never the web at large. Under an answer that did not search, the “Verify online” button lets you have it checked.
- It cites its sources.The pages consulted appear under “Source”, so you can check for yourself.
These are the sites the sommelier can consult:
Pricing and valuation
Cellar tracking and community
Critics and guides
If one of these sites becomes unavailable, it is simply left out of the search.
What about our wine guides?
Our appellation guides (in French) are written with the help of Claude, which reads the leading wine press (Wine Spectator, iDealwine, Decanter, the Revue du vin de France and Terre de Vins). Each guide lists its sources at the bottom of the page, so you can go back to the reference.
What the AI does not do
- It does not replace your palate or a sommelier. A drinking window is a guide, not a deadline.
- It can be wrong. Before opening a great bottle or relying on a value, check: that is why the “Verify online” button exists and why sources are shown.
- It says when it is not sure. If a point outside your cellar is uncertain (a price, a very recent vintage), the sommelier is meant to flag it rather than assert it, and invites you to check.
- It stays in its role. The sommelier answers questions about wine and your cellar, and politely declines the rest.
- An answer without a “Source” does not come from the reference sites. It then comes from your cellar and Claude’s general knowledge: a bottle count or a total value comes from your own data and cannot be checked online. The “Verify online” button lets you have it checked.
And your data?
AI is optional. Before first use, the app asks for your explicit consent; without it, nothing is sent and you can keep adding your wines by hand. You can withdraw this consent at any time in Settings, AI features.
When you allow it, Clos45 sends Anthropic the photo or file you choose, and your questions along with the list of wines in your cellar so the sommelier can answer from it. When the sommelier searches the Internet (on its own, or when you tap “Verify online”), the AI writes its own searches from your question. Anthropic processes this data only to return the result; nothing is sold or used for advertising. The details are in our privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions
Which artificial intelligence does Clos45 use?
Clos45 uses Claude, the artificial intelligence made by Anthropic, to read labels, import a cellar from a photo or a file, and power the sommelier.
Are the sommelier's answers sourced?
Yes, whenever a question needs a fact from outside your cellar (a drinking window, the quality of a vintage, a price, critics' opinions), the sommelier looks it up itself on a closed list of reference sites and shows the pages it consulted under “Source”. For a question about your own cellar (a count, a total value) or a simple greeting, it does not search. Under an answer that did not search, the “Verify online” button lets you have it checked.
Which sites does the AI search?
When it searches (on its own, or when you tap “Verify online”), only a closed list of wine reference sites: iDealwine, Wine-Searcher, CellarTracker, Vivino, Bettane+Desseauve, the Guide Hachette des Vins, Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Jancis Robinson, Decanter, James Suckling, Millésima and Vinatis. Never the web at large.
Can I use Clos45 without AI?
Yes. AI is optional: without your consent nothing is sent and you add your wines by hand. You can withdraw your consent at any time in Settings, AI features.
How much does Clos45's AI cost?
Nothing: label reading, cellar import and the sommelier are included for free in Clos45, with no credit card and no subscription. To keep the service free for everyone, the sommelier is limited to 30 questions per day per account.
Can the AI be wrong?
Yes, like any artificial intelligence. Double-check important information, especially a value or a drinking window, before opening a great bottle.
Track your bottles’ peak with Clos45
Snap the label and the card fills itself in. Set a drinking window and the app flags the bottles at their peak and the ones to drink soon. Free on iPhone.
Create my cellar for free →Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. Clos45 is an independent service that uses the Claude API. Learn more about Anthropic.