We did it, guys – we finally made a machine that harnesses the power of Jesus. At least partially, anyway. A company from Walnut Creek, California has developed a contraption that can apparently turn water into wine.
The aptly-named Miracle Machine is essentially a teched-out tabletop fermentation machine designed to allow average boozers like you and me to make our own high-quality wine from the comfort of our non-vineyard homes. Technically, DIY, small-batch fermentation chambers have been around for ages, but what’s noteworthy about this particular one (aside from it’s droolworthy design) is that it’s app-enabled, and uses some technological wizardry to produce custom-made wines in just a couple days.
Here’s how it works … sort of. The device isn’t in production just yet (a Kickstarter campaign is slated for the near future, however) so the creators are keeping the exact science under wraps for the time being. That being said, however, the Miracle Machine website offers up a few tidbits about the inner workings of the device to shed some light on how the magic happens.
From what we can tell, the process starts with the addition of a kit containing grape concentrate, yeast, and a few other mysterious ingredients – all of which will, presumably, be purchased from Miracle Machine’s website once they launch. Then, you just add a bit of water to the mix and hit the Go button. At this point, the high-tech gizmos take over – but you can control them and tweak the recipe by syncing your smartphone via Bluetooth and firing up the accompanying app.
For example, this thing called a “digital refractometer” measures the sugar content of the liquid during the fermentation process; and a custom-designed diffuser pumps filtered air into the chamber, aerating the wine and softening the tannins that give it bitterness and astringency. There’s also an ultrasonic transducer positioned directly beneath the chamber designed to gently agitate the wine and speed up the flavor development. Each of these components (in addition to a few others that aren’t mentioned in great detail) can be manipulated in one way or another by the preferences you choose through the Miracle Machine app.
Apparently, with the right mixture of heat, aeration, and agitation, it’s completely possible to speed up the fermentation process and produce vineyard-quality wine in just a few days time. We can’t be sure until we’ve tried it for ourselves, but the idea of using technology to speed up the winemaking process is extremely enticing. And if it works like these guys say it does, we’ll be one of the first in line to get one.
Oh, in case you’re wondering, no, we haven’t quite solved the mystery of how to walk on water just yet. But we hear somebody’s working on it.
The Miracle Machine is set to retail for $499. Find out more here.
