(Economist) - IT’S enough to make sommeliers splutter into their spittoons: a wine-blending machine that lets drinkers craft a glass specifically to their personal palate, rather than having to pick a tipple, possibly as a result of guesswork, from the range a restaurant or bar chooses to stock in its cellar.

Vinfusion, as the machine in question is called, was launched this week by Cambridge Consultants, a British technology company. In designing it the firm’s researchers first undertook a study of the wines people buy in pubs, bars and restaurants. They found that most customers are stick-in-the-muds. Instead of sampling different regions, grape varieties and vintages, they tend to order the same plonk every time they go out.

Many of the survey’s participants admitted reluctance to ask for advice—often because of the snobbery and mystique that (at least in Britain) surround wine drinking. This conservatism does not, however, lead to satisfaction. The survey, which polled 138 drinkers, found that 70% were frequently disappointed by the wines they ordered. But it also found that the idea of having wines customised on the fly to individual tastes was appealing.