Notes of ethyl hexanoate and pineapple Gilaxia/Getty

“We can turn water into wine in 15 minutes.” So claims the Ava Winery, a San Francisco start-up that is making synthetic wine without grapes – simply by combining flavour compounds and ethanol.

Mardonn Chua and Alec Lee came up with the idea while visiting a winery in California’s Napa Valley in 2015. There, they were shown the bottle of an iconic wine, Chateau Montelena, which is famous for being the first Californian Chardonnay to beat French contenders at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.

“I was transfixed by this bottle displayed on the wall,” says Chua. “I could never afford a bottle like this, I could never enjoy it. That got me thinking.”


Traditionally, wine is made by fermenting grapes – yeast turns sugars in the grape juice into ethanol. The process also develops many hundreds of flavour compounds, but takes time and produces variable results. Could there be a simpler way?

Within days, Chua had begun tinkering, combining ethanol with fruity flavour compounds like ethyl hexanoate, which has a fruity, pineapple-like aroma. The initial concoction was monstrous, he says. But six months later, Chua and Lee now think they have produced an experimental synthetic wine that mimics the taste of the sparkling Italian white wine Moscato d’Asti (see our tasting notes below), and are now turning their hands to producing an imitation Dom Pérignon champagne.

A flavour in a haystack

Wine wouldn’t be the first drink to be artificially mimicked (see “Faking a flavour”, below), but it could be the most complex.

For all the world’s love of wine, our understanding of which components are most important for the taste and finish of a wine is patchy at best. A bottle usually contains around 1000 different compounds, making the challenge of identifying those that are fundamental for flavour significant.

So the team decided to combine chemistry with the expert taste buds of a qualified sommelier. Using gas chromatography mass spectrometry and other tools, the team analysed the composition of wines including Chardonnay, champagne and Pinot Noir, identifying key flavour molecules – like the esters ethyl isobutyrate and ethyl hexanoate – and their concentrations (see graphic below).

They then mixed these molecules and tinkered with their proportions, and had their sommelier test their resulting concoctions.

Tony Milanowski, a winemaking expert at Plumpton College in the UK, has his doubts. Some flavour compounds like fatty acids and esters may be difficult to dissolve straight into a synthetic batch. These are usually produced as microbes ferment the grapes, gradually releasing the chemicals in forms that are able to mix with the other compounds present.

But Chua and Lee are not deterred. “The big secret here is that most compounds in wine have no perceptible impact on the flavour or the aroma,” says Lee.

Classic champagne

“It’s absolutely going to be substantially cheaper,” Lee says of their method, which cuts out the need to grow grapes and then ferment them over long periods.

They plan to sell an initial batch of 499 bottles of a Dom Pérignon mimicFor $50 a pop, they will begin shipping this summer to customers keen to experience the taste of a classic champagne that could otherwise cost upwards of several hundred dollars.

But the team is likely to meet with stiff resistance from classical wine makers and researchers.

“It’s nonsense, to be honest with you,” says Alain Deloire, director of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at Charles Sturt University, Australia, who has worked for Champagne specialists Moët & Chandon.

Welcome to the wine lab Ava

Deloire argues that the natural origins of wine – the landscape and culture where the grapes grow – have an indispensable impact on the drink that is produced, and that consumers look for this in what they buy.

One thing that certainly might put consumers off is that any synthetic wine is unlikely to have the word “wine” on its label. There are strict rules governing which products may use this term – in the EU, for example, it must apply only to the fermented juice of grapes, whereas in other jurisdictions like the US other fruits can be used.

But although losing some of the trappings of traditional wine may make synthetic ones less attractive, French winemaker Julien Miquel can foresee an interest in trying recreations of classic vintages. “There would be some curiosity on how close they could get,” he says.

Tastes like a 'pool shark' Lisa Grossman tasted an early version of the Ava Winery's Moscato d'Asti mimic. I had high hopes for the synthetic Moscato d'Asti. Unfortunately, I don't think it's ready to compete with the real thing. We did a blind taste test between the synthetic wine and a Ruffino 2014 wine from Italy. The smell was the first thing that gave the synthetic stuff away: while the Ruffino smelled grapey and fruity, the synthetic wine smelled astringent, more like cleaning alcohol or plastic. One of our co-workers described it as the smell of those inflatable sharks you take to the pool. Not very appealing. The two wines were very different in colour, too – the Ruffino was a deeper yellow, and the synthetic wine was clearer with smaller bubbles. The Ruffino was a bit thicker, and when you swirled it in the glass it left slight streaks running down the sides, a feature known in the wine business as "legs". The synthetic wine didn't have much in the way of legs at all. The synthetic wine tasted better than it smelled, though. It was sweet, which I expected, but not overpoweringly sweet. It had some fruity notes like pear or peach, and maybe something artificially floral-scented, like a lavender soap. But that essence of plastic bag was back on the aftertaste. Overall, I'm not sure I would drink a whole glass of this.

Faking a flavour Synthetic wine wouldn't be the first tasty substance to be chemically mimicked. Vanilla essence: The world's second most expensive spice after saffron is facing a global shortage, with prices of Madagascan natural vanilla doubling to £158 per kilogram in the last 12 months. But home bakers need not fear – chemically synthesised vanillin has been used as a cheap but tasty substitute for over 100 years, costing only £10 per kg. Lemonade: You don't need life to give you lemons to be able to make lemonade. A basic version can be made simply by combining citric acid with sugar and carbonated water. Some argue this mixture doesn't taste as good, but it is easier to preserve. Sugar: The artificial sweetener xylitol is made by reacting xylose with hydrogen. Sugar substitutes are lower in calories than sugars like sucrose, and several are better for your teeth and blood sugar levels too.