--- description: Two bio-engineering graduates in San Francisco are on a controversial mission: to replicate wine using chemicals instead of grapes title: Ava Winery Claims to Make Win Without Grapes, Fermentation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted631eff1aab332d/69889465cd1bba4caa700cc0/replicate-wine-startup-without-grapes.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How One Start-Up Is Making 'Wine' Without Grapes or Fermentation by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 4:36 PM CUT  Dual Dual—Getty Images/fStop by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 4:36 PM CUT Two bio-engineering graduates in San Francisco are on a controversial mission: [to replicate wine](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2088322-synthetic-wine-made-without-grapes-claims-to-mimic-fine-vintages/ "undefined") using chemicals instead of grapes or fermentation. “We can turn water into wine in 15 minutes,” claims [Ava Winery](http://www.avawinery.com/ "undefined"), the start-up of Mardonn Chua and Alec Lee. Chua and Lee use create compounds with ethanol mimicking the chemical composition of actual wines, but that will sell for much less money, _New Scientist_ reports. For months they’ve tinkered with combinations of amino acids, sugars, ethanol and other elements to try to match the taste of real wines, such as the 1992 Dom Perignon. Ava Winery is selling bottles for $50 of yet unmade wine, but it remains to be seen how closely the final product matches the actual beverage. After the _New Scientist_ taste test [likened its mimicked Moscato](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2088322-synthetic-wine-made-without-grapes-claims-to-mimic-fine-vintages/ "undefined") to plastic “pool shark,” the winery [defended its progress](http://www.avawinery.com/faq "undefined"). “Nothing resembling plastic is an ingredient in the wine,” the website says. “Taste is deeply subjective. We haven’t yet accomplished our goal of truly mimicking wine but we’re getting closer.” \[[_New Scientist_](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2088322-synthetic-wine-made-without-grapes-claims-to-mimic-fine-vintages/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4344930/wine-without-grapes-fermentation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4344930/wine-without-grapes-fermentation/"},"headline":"How One Start-Up Is Making 'Wine' Without Grapes or Fermentation","datePublished":"2016-05-23T16:36:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:01.408Z","description":"Two bio-engineering graduates in San Francisco are on a controversial mission: to replicate wine using chemicals instead of grapes","url":"https://time.com/4344930/wine-without-grapes-fermentation/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted631eff1aab332d/69889465cd1bba4caa700cc0/replicate-wine-startup-without-grapes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted631eff1aab332d/69889465cd1bba4caa700cc0/replicate-wine-startup-without-grapes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"replicate wine startup without grapes","caption":"replicate wine startup without grapes","creditText":"Dual Dual—Getty Images/fStop","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4344930/wine-without-grapes-fermentation/","name":"How One Start-Up Is Making 'Wine' Without Grapes or Fermentation"}}]}] ```