Thursday, March 15, 2007

Food and Whine

My class met at Adelaide’s National Wine Centre Museum for a tour and lecture about the wines of Australia. The museum featured, amongst other things, an inner-active computerized wine making game that allowed you to test your skills and knowledge. The game went like this:

1) Pick you grape: Shiraz, Cabernet, Riesling, Chardonnay

Shiraz

2) Pick the Region: Barossa Valley, Coonawara, or Yarra Valley

Barossa Valley

3) Picking Style: By Hand, By Machine by Day, By Machine by Night

By Machine by Day

4) How Will You Hold the Grapes: Chilled, Heated, or Room Temp

Room Temperature

5) To Press or Crush the Grapes: Send them Straight to Fermentation with Skins, Leave the Skins on for a Few Hours, Remove, then Crush, or Press Immediately

Send Straight to Fermentation


6) Add Yeast: To Aid Fermentation and Make Bubble, to Make the Wine Rise, or to Convert the Sugar into Alcohol

To Convert the Sugar into Alcohol

7) Fermentation Temperature: 22-27 Degrees C, or 12-18 Degrees C

22-27 degrees C

8) Fermentation Time: 7-10 Days, or 10-13 Days

7-10 Days

9) For Malolactic Fermentation: Add Bacteria, Add Sulfur, or Neither

Add bacteria

10) Mature Wine In: Stainless Steel, Oak Barrels, or Both

Oak Barrels

11) While Stabilizing You: Add a Rich Color, Remove Unwanted Crystals, or Leave It Alone

Leave It Alone


The computer program then tasted my wine, and delivered the following verdict:

FAULTY! THIS WINE IS APPALLING! YOU HAVE SINGLE HANDEDLY DESTROYED THE REPUTATION OF YOUR COMPANY!

Sigh. I guess I’ll stick with chicken.