Technology on the vine

"What we're doing is making wine the old-fashioned way," says McMinn. "We just use technology to do it." Well, I'm not completely sold on that statement since the use of technology insures it's NOT the old-fashioned way if you're reacting to numbers and print-outs instead of tasting and experience. But hey, I'm all for the use of it if you're making better wine.

As the Fortune article states, The Grapes of Math involve a lot of technology to insure better wine, and I'm sure an offshoot is better profits. And since one of the wineries mentioned is less than 2 miles from our house, I'll have to ask them about it next time I'm there.

The point isn't just perfecting this year's vintage, it's quantifying as many of the variables as possible and learning quickly from past mistakes. That means during a future late-July heat wave, winemakers will be able to revisit this year's statistics, look at the 2006 wines and figure out how to adapt to the conditions. "Those technologies make the business better," Murphy adds. But then the truth comes out: "Plus, they're cool!"