Chemistry of Wine

Ever wondered how a bottle of wine could be made in a lab without using real grapes or fermentation techniques?

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Join us for an engaging evening of wine tasting and scientific exploration by Dr John Manley — all to raise money for our independent charity Science Creates Outreach, increasing local young people's accessibility and engagement in STEM through immersive workshops.

Tickets are £20, ages 18+ only.

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Evening agenda

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18:30 - 19:00 | Arrival
Doors are open and the venue bar will be open to purchase drinks.

19:00 - 19:15 | Welcome from Science Creates Outreach, with Charlie Proctor
Discover more about Science Creates Outreach, the charity's mission to empower the next generation of STEM innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs, and how your ticket is supporting its work.

19:15 - 20:15 | 'The Chemistry of Wine', with John Manley
Ever wondered what it takes for scientists to create a bottle of wine in a lab without using real grapes or fermentation techniques?

"Wines, quite unromantically, are a mixture of compounds (chemicals). So it should be possible to synthesize any wine by first getting the recipe – all the compounds and their amounts in that wine – and then mixing them all together to create a faithful copy of the original. This seems simple but it turns out to be immensely difficult, as synthetic wine startups have discovered."

Enjoy a guided wine tasting while John takes you through the complexities of creating synthetic wines, exploring varying molecular structures, spatial differences and key compound characteristics that are pretty much identical... until they come into contact with the human body and natural world where some extraordinary differences appear.

20:15 - 20:45 | Q&A, with John Manley
Want to know what it really takes to accurately replicate your favourite bottle? Curious how synthesising wines blends science, chemistry and creativity? This is your chance to put your questions to the expert.

21:00 | Finish

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This event is delivered by Dr John Manley, a Bristol alumnus in Chemistry (BSc and PhD) and supporter of Science Creates Outreach. John worked at HP Labs for almost 28 years, rising to become Laboratory Director for Cloud Computing. He was High Sheriff of the County and City of Bristol during 2020-21, and is a Visiting Professor at the University of the West of England. John's Chemistry of Wine event series combines his passions for wine and wine-making with discussion of the still far from completely understood relationship between wine and chemistry.

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Discover more about Science Creates Outreach and how every bit of fundraising goes towards expanding the charity's programmes and reaching more young people to change their attitudes and ignite their curiosity in STEM careers.