It is a claim of biblical proportions, but two wine experts say they can transform water into wine in just 15 minutes.

They are making synthetic wine without grapes, instead combining ethanol with carefully-chosen flavour compounds.

And say they are able to able to mimic the taste of award-winning wines and champagne.

Two wine experts are making synthetic wine without grapes, instead combining ethanol with carefully-chosen flavour compounds (product illustrated above)

Mardonn Chua and Alec Lee, who are based in San Francisco, devised the idea of making grape-free wine while visiting a winery in California's Napa Valley last year.

There, they saw a bottle of award-winning chardonnay they couldn't afford, which inspired them to come up with a tasty but thrifty alternative, New Scientist reported.

Founding the start-up Ava Winery, the duo turned thousands of years of wine making tradition on its head.

For millennia, wine has been made by fermenting grapes using yeast to turn the grapes' sugars into ethanol, giving the drink its alcoholic content and distinctive taste.

Instead, Chua and Lee combined ethanol with compounds such as ethyl hexanoate, to give liquid a fruity taste.

Chua and Lee combined ethanol with compounds such as ethyl hexanoate, to give liquid a fruity, pineapple-like taste. Their synthetic wine comprises water, ethanol, acids, sugars and flavour compounds (illustrated)

Chua said their first attempt to mimic wine was a disaster, but they have now honed their technique to recreate the taste of the sparkling Italian white wine Moscato d'Asti.

Ambitiously, they are now selling a grape and yeast-free version of champagne too.

The pair have created 500 bottles of a replica version of 1992 Dom Pérignon champagne which costs $50 (£35) a bottle via Ava Winery, instead of the original's price tag of $200 (£138).

While a bottle of wine contains between 200 and 1,000 different compounds, 'many of which have no effect on flavor, aroma, or texture,' their synthetic wine only includes compounds that positively impact the flavour of wine.

This means there are no trace amounts of contaminants, such as arsenic and secondary alcohols found in regular wine either.

Chua and Lee identified important flavour compounds in chardonnay, champagne and pinot noir using gas chromatography mass spectrometry and other hi tech equipment.

The pair have created 500 bottles of a replica version of 1992 Dom Pérignon champagne which costs $50 (£35) a bottle, instead of the original's price tag of $200 (£138). A stock image of champagne is shown

They then experimented with a mixture of flavour compounds and worked with a sommelier to come up with winning flavours.

The synthetic wines are around 85 per cent water, 13 per cent ethanol, and the remaining two per cent is made up of flavour compounds, glycerin and sugar for texture and tannins for colour.

However, connoseurs are not all in favour of cheaper synthetic wine.

Alain Deloire, director of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at Charles Sturt University, Australia, who has worked with champagne maker Moët & Chandon told journalist Chris Baraniuk: 'It's nonsense, to be honest with you.'

He argues that where grapes are grown has a big impact on the flavour of a bottle of wine and that consumers are used to picking bottles based on grape types used.