Ava Winery

A San Francisco start-up called Ava Winery has produced synthetic “wine” according to New Scientist magazine. The process, which requires no grapes and takes about 15 minutes, involves combining ethanol (alcohol) with other molecules like ethyl isobutyrate which has a fruity aroma and ethyl hexanoate which smells a lot like pineapples. The first synthetic “wine” produced was a “moscato.” This summer, the winery plans to release about 500 bottles of imitation “Dom Perignon.” It’s not clear if federal regulations will allow synthetic “wine” to be called wine.