There is substantial research actively directed toward the discovery and optimization of materials for a wide range of applications. Combinatorial science refers generally to methods for synthesizing a collection of chemically diverse materials, and to methods for rapidly testing or screening this collection of materials for desirable performance characteristics and properties. In comparison to traditional materials science research, combinatorial materials research can effectively evaluate much larger numbers of compounds, mixtures and blends in a much shorter period of time.
Winemaking is very challenging, and is often said to be dependent on many uncontrollable variables. For example, changes in the weather or climate affect the quality of the grapes used to make wines. Also, the types of soil in which the grape vines are grown can vary grape quality. Obviously, the skill of the winemaker is important, but it is said that the quality of the grape is what largely determines the quality of the wine produced.
Today winemakers blend different variety of wines to tailor the quality of the final wine composition that is then bottled and sold. These types of wines are often referred to as Meritage wines. These blends of wines can be blends of red and/or white wines, typically the same color. Blending is true for many types of consumable alcohols, even for example, blended Scotch whiskies, which are blends of differently aged Scotch whiskies. Furthermore, many consumable alcohols because of various laws, are classified, entitled to be named, or designated to be from a particular region, considered as being a pure, unblended, or from a single grape variety. Often this depends on the total percentage of for example the variety of grape the consumable alcohol sold contains. Blending these consumable alcohols takes a significant amount of time, expertise, and expense. The variance in consumable alcohol(s), particularly in wines, is because the starting materials used in producing wine or blends of wines are inconsistent due to the particular variety of grape, the region in which the grapes are grown, and the varying weather or climate; and then, ultimately how, and under what conditions, the wine or blends of wines are made and stored/cellared. Also, where the consumable alcohol is wine, even if the grape variety and wine are consistent, much effort goes into finding the best combination of consumable alcohols and components thereof to make preferably the finest wines.
It would useful to provide a way to test various consumable alcohol and alcohol blends of consumable alcohols, blends thereof, and components thereof, on a rapid basis, and substantially reduce the time it takes to produce a consumable alcohol, in particular a good wine, preferably a great wine. It would also be useful to provide a rapid way of screening conditions of manufacture, storage and stability of consumable alcohols, in particular wines. Also, it would be useful to provide a way to reduce the need for reliance on testing sensory properties of a consumable alcohol such as taste and smell.