Can wine be manufactured in the lab?

While attending a wine appreciation class, an inquisitive student asked if wine could be manufactured in the lab. “Yeah, sure,” said the teacher without missing a beat, but offered no further explanation. Quite a disappointing response it was; one which seemingly reduced wine to a simple, matter-of-fact drink. What a great missed opportunity to educate!

The teacher was nonetheless correct—you could theoretically make wine in a lab, but, practically, an almost impossible task.

Wine is a very complex beverage; it consists of thousands of simple and complex organic compounds, many of which have not yet been identified although Ted Rieger states in the May–June 2009 issue of Vineyard and Winery Management that “[r]esearchers believe that most of the chemical compounds in grapes and wines that contribute to aroma and flavor have now been identified.” Organic compounds include alcohol, acids, phenols, sugars, esters, amines and aromatic compounds, which all contribute to the positive aromas and flavors found in wine, as well as other organic compounds such as aldehydes and thiols that impart off-flavors or cause spoilage. These compounds are synthesized in the grapes during the growing and ripening cycle, and can be created during fermentation from selected yeast as well as from winemaking operations such as barrel aging. And there are inorganic compounds derived from soil and nutrients therein.

And these compounds all exist in varying concentrations from the measurable to trace amounts, and in countless combinations and permutations, all a function of the plethora of grape varieties, differences in viticultural practices and factors such as soil and climate, and kinds of yeasts, making the concocting of wine in the lab an impossible task.

An interesting question indeed; but why try and reduce such a mystical beverage to some lab-concocted solution?

Um, I think I’ll go have a glass of wine to explore this further.