“AI will play an increasingly important role in wine recommendation”

Oriol Ripoll combines two passions: wine and technology. Together with Héctor Pla, he founded Decántalo in 2009 and has since watched it grow into one of Europe’s key players in online wine retail. In 2022, Decántalo was acquired by Le Petit Ballon, a French wine subscription platform with more than 150,000 annual customers and owned by the COGIP group. With the recent purchase of Bodeboca, Ripoll and his partner now manage a business from their base in Rubí (Barcelona) offering more than 16,000 wines sold in 20 countries.

SWL met the Catalan entrepreneur at Bodeboca’s offices in Madrid to discuss the merger, current market trends, and the role of technology —including artificial intelligence— in the present and future of online wine sales.

How did the idea for the merger between Decántalo and Bodeboca come about?
Until 2022, the wine industry didn’t really see us as a quality channel, but rather one focused on price. The pandemic changed that —the market suddenly understood the importance of online sales, and companies became interested in acquiring Decántalo. We wanted to ensure the business’s continuity, and Le Petit Ballon offered us the chance to create a strong European e-commerce project with young leadership. The idea is to grow through the acquisition of other companies —we don’t rule out incorporating businesses from France, Italy, and beyond.

It has taken three years to complete this first acquisition. What slowed things down?
Integrating Decántalo and Le Petit Ballon took time because they are two very different cultures. At the same time, Decántalo was building its own climate-controlled warehouse. But about a year and a half ago, when we were finally ready, Pernod Ricard approached us about buying Bodeboca, and we immediately saw a clear opportunity.
There were some doubts as to whether it was worth it just for the database, but Bodeboca is a strong brand in Spain, and both Héctor and I knew the two could coexist perfectly.

What do the three companies have in common?
We all do the same thing, just in different ways. Decántalo is a pure e-commerce model; Bodeboca has leaned more towards a permanent shop, though its strength remains in private sales; and Le Petit Ballon is 95% subscription-based, sending two bottles a month to its customers. Management is shared, and we’re learning from all three models to refine our strategies.

Will the merger with Bodeboca lead to any staff restructuring?
I want to stress that we’ll be keeping the teams in both Barcelona and Madrid, though inevitably there will be some adjustments due to overlapping roles. It won’t happen immediately; we first need to fully understand the company.

Is your main goal with this acquisition to boost the Spanish market?
Decántalo has always been international: 80% of our sales are outside Spain. Bodeboca, on the other hand, sells 95% domestically. We’re also interested in understanding how such a strong brand was built through private sales. They’re excellent communicators, and we complement each other well. It’s funny —what Bodeboca does well, we don’t, and vice versa. Now we’re learning from one another to make both companies stronger.

What sets this merger apart from other platforms in Europe?
Mainly leadership. In Spain, no one comes close to our scale. We also gain a much deeper catalogue —together we manage around 10,000 wines with less than 40% overlap. We recently added Bodeboca’s 6,000 wines to our system, though each brand will retain its own identity and customer base.

How do you decide which company sells what?
Decántalo focuses heavily on international wines, while Bodeboca has a more classic profile and leads in Spanish bottlings. Our goal is to take Bodeboca international and, together, strengthen the presence of Spanish wine across Europe.

Some Spanish wines are cheaper on Decántalo than on Bodeboca. Doesn’t that confuse customers?
Bodeboca’s model relies heavily on private sales, and when it runs its offers, Decántalo doesn’t compete in that space. Decántalo, meanwhile, maintains more stable prices. They’re two coexisting brands, and customers choose whichever suits them best.

You’ve recently moved Bodeboca’s logistics to the Barcelona warehouse. Are you creating more synergies between the two companies?
Decántalo is a highly technological company, not only in what the user sees but also in the backend. This allows us to forecast and make highly accurate projections. We’re now equipping Bodeboca with this technology so it can be just as efficient.

What management differences have you found between the two companies?
We have a fascinating team of buyers between both businesses. It’s interesting —we all buy wine, but there are big differences between the Barcelona and Madrid teams, perhaps due to culture or company style. I’m very happy because we’re building a strong, complementary team: from the geek of natural and international wines to the Jerez expert and the exceptional negotiator. The same goes for marketing and technology —there’s a lot of valuable knowledge being exchanged.

How did wineries and suppliers react to the merger?
Bodeboca had been in decline, with falling turnover over the past four years. This worried the sector because it’s one of the main clients for many Spanish wineries.
For us, Bodeboca had always been an inspiring company, so after the initial surprise and once people understood the project, everyone saw it as positive. We want to get back to the path of wine. Under Pernod Ricard, the focus had shifted towards spirits; we want to return to Bodeboca’s essence —providing great wine recommendations, with strong influence and leadership in private sales.

After the merger, you’re the market leader in Spain. What’s your position in Europe?
As a group, we’re fourth or fifth, but there’s room to grow because online consumption keeps rising. E-commerce in Spain, not only in wine, still lags behind markets such as the UK, France or Germany, where some companies have individual turnovers of €300 million.

Some producers complain that their wines are on sale online at very low prices. How do you explain that?
That’s a burden we’ve been unfairly made to carry, especially Decántalo, but it’s not true — our pricing policy is extremely respectful. It’s more consistent now, but when we entered the international wine scene, wineries didn’t treat all markets equally, and of course, the internet exposes those differences. German customers are often puzzled when they compare Spanish wine prices with those at home —VAT is lower in Germany, and there are no special taxes there.

Is price not important to you?
For the past couple of years, price has stopped being our top priority. Of course, we ask producers to keep it under control, to suggest and maintain a recommended retail price. But we’re focusing on product variety, service quality, and strong content to help spread wine culture.

Online sales have lower costs than traditional shops.
We also need to increase our margins. People think online has no associated costs, but between both companies, we now employ almost 60 people. There are salaries, infrastructure, and suppliers to pay —and technology and digital marketing aren’t cheap.

How important is online marketing to your business?
It’s absolutely central. Technology is tightly linked to content and product. Without quality content, it’s almost impossible to attract traffic and retain customers. Our job is to make sure that people who buy once from Decántalo or Bodeboca keep coming back, because customer acquisition costs are sky-high. Once you build a strong brand, customers stop comparing prices and stop looking elsewhere.

Is it difficult to create quality content when the catalogue changes every year?
Yes, but it’s essential. New projects and wines are constantly emerging, and every vintage is different. Explaining that well helps consumers understand the value of wine. Our writers do an excellent job conveying what’s inside each bottle.

What consumption trends are you seeing in online sales?
The trend is to drink less but better. And we see clear differences between our customers. Bodeboca’s are mostly over 50 and prefer classic wines —mainly Ribera del Duero and Rioja. Decántalo’s customers are slightly younger, more adventurous, and keen to try new styles.

So if someone’s looking for a natural wine from a small grower, Decántalo is the place?
We definitely have more natural wines, and more international ones too, though Bodeboca also carries some more alternative labels. We try to follow where the market is heading, but let’s be honest: if we relied only on niche wines, we’d have to shut down. What keeps us going are big brands, though the ability to cater to many niches —something online allows and a physical shop doesn’t— makes for a very interesting overall business.

Does that niche include low- and no-alcohol wines?
Yes, both companies are incorporating them, and growth is exponential. It’s still hard to find high-quality options in those categories, but it’s an irreversible trend.

And who buys those wines?
Mainly people who enjoy wine but don’t want to drink alcohol every day —although we’re now seeing customers who only buy non-alcoholic wines. I think it’s an opportunity to recover consumption and attract younger people to wine.

Which are your most important international markets?
We’re present in 20 countries, but the strongest are Switzerland, France, the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. One reason Decántalo hit a ceiling was that we only sold Spanish wine. From our early days to now, Spanish wine has evolved enormously, but many international consumers still mainly drink Italian and French wines. So we realised that to keep promoting Spanish wine abroad, we needed to accompany it with international options. Ultimately, a British customer doesn’t mind whether they buy Italian wine from Spain or Italy, as long as the service is good. What’s interesting is that many discover us through international wines and then gradually move towards Spanish ones.

And what kind of Spanish wines do they buy?
It depends on the country. In Switzerland, consumers go for very classic wines —Rioja Gran Reservas or fine wines from Ribera del Duero and Priorat. In Germany, the focus is more on everyday wines. In France, they look for traditional Spanish styles or rare finds —wine lovers who discover on Decántalo what they can’t find elsewhere.

What are the real margins in your business?
The gross margin is around 35%, which is low compared to other types of e-commerce. Logistics are expensive because wine is heavy and of relatively low value. If you sell perfume, 300 grams can be worth €60; in our case, €60 represents over five kilos. That’s why logistics at Decántalo are extremely optimised and run by just 13 people. It’s worth noting that our entire operation is based on picking —we don’t sell full cases, so everything must be repackaged.

Serving so many markets with different regulations must be a challenge.
It’s all about technology. From the moment we close the last box for a shipment —say to Switzerland— to completing customs declarations and tax payments, no one at the company lifts a finger. The entire process is handled by our internally developed system.

Is efficiency the key to success?
Interestingly, Decántalo, Bodeboca, Wine is Social, and Uvinum all started in 2009. The difference is that three of them began with venture capital, investors, and big marketing budgets. Decántalo never had investors, so we became obsessed with profitability and doing things simply and quickly. I find it exciting that two companies that began the same way but took different paths are now united.

I guess artificial intelligence is part of your daily life.
Both Héctor and I are real tech geeks. At Decántalo we’ve been using AI since 2023 —in many processes, including Tempranillo, our chatbot, as well as image generation for our magazine. We’ll soon launch a multilingual wine-tasting course translated by AI. Bodeboca isn’t using it yet, but it will soon. AI is still in beta for wine recommendations, but I’m sure it will become increasingly sophisticated.

How do you balance technology with the human factor, which is so crucial in wine sales?
Humans should do what technology can’t. In fact, when I speak at business schools, I often joke that the only reason someone could be fired from Decántalo is for doing repetitive work without suggesting how to automate it.
Technology also helps us manage our catalogue —16,000 wines that change every year— and pricing. When a winery tells us there’s a new vintage, the system automatically creates it when the old stock runs out and alerts us to generate new content.

Could AI ever become a good sommelier?
Never completely, but it could get very close. It’s learning fast in medicine, law, and other areas, so it will certainly learn about wine. At Decántalo, and even more so now with Bodeboca, we have a wealth of data on wines’ organoleptic qualities, since we classify them by acidity, tannins, and so on. If we train AI well, it could recommend wines with impressive accuracy. The only reason we haven’t done it yet is that AI still makes mistakes —but that will change. I’ve no doubt people will start asking ChatGPT for wine recommendations.

It wouldn’t be surprising if ChatGPT even sent the wine to your door. Where would that leave you?
Good question. I imagine information could be distributed that way, but I’m not sure product transactions involving alcohol would be allowed. It’s another channel we’ll need to adapt to —and win over.
Right now, our content serves two purposes: first, to seduce the customer, but above all, to seduce Google, because if you’re not there, you don’t exist. That’s been part of Decántalo’s international success: we were early movers, and we positioned ourselves well. Now we’ll have to do the same with AI.

Do you sell through social media?
We have a strong social media presence with all kinds of content, but as you know, alcohol is heavily restricted. We even tried to open a WhatsApp channel, but it was closed because the platform cannot guarantee the user isn’t a minor.

How does growing puritanism across the world affect wine sales?
Alcohol faces increasing challenges such as declining daily consumption and a growing focus on health, but I don’t think wine should be compared with other alcoholic drinks. That said, it must be consumed responsibly. European regulations now require online retailers to verify the recipient of any alcohol order. It’s already a reality in some markets, and it will spread.

And what about global geopolitical uncertainty?
We had an ambitious project for the United States in 2025, but with Trump back in power, we decided against making a major investment. There are two main obstacles: cost and time. The three-tier system is complex and adds considerable expenses. It’s a market with huge traffic and eager customers, but shipping six bottles costs over $100.
Customs are another hurdle, delaying delivery by up to three weeks. For now, we’re focusing on Europe, our most stable market.

Do you also have a presence in Asia?
Yes, in mature markets like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. These are very particular customers, buying premium and hard-to-find wines, but they remain niche markets. Deliveries are by air freight, so costs are high.

How do you imagine e-commerce five or ten years from now?
It’s hard to predict, as change happens so fast, but I think we’ll see more segmentation and become true finders of new wines, a role traditionally played by restaurants and sommeliers. I also believe we’ll develop technology to create much more personalised subscription models. Right now, Le Petit Ballon ships around 40,000 boxes a month in 10 different formats, but soon we’ll fine-tune that so each shipment genuinely matches the customer’s taste.

The weight of glass bottles and transport are major contributors to wine’s carbon footprint. How does the group address sustainability?
Eighty percent of the energy used in the Rubí warehouse comes from solar panels. All our packaging is recycled, and our logistics partners offset CO₂ emissions either through tree-planting programmes or by using electric fleets for last-mile delivery. Le Petit Ballon, for example, has a policy of avoiding producers whose bottles weigh more than 1.2 kg. We’re making gradual progress towards sustainability, though long-distance transport remains an issue. Europe needs to shift from road to rail —that would make a real difference.