While it may not be an as holy or improbable task as turning water into wine, Australian vintners are lobbying the gov't for concessions that make turning substandard vintages into ethanol, a liquid whose consumers care not for hints of blackberry, tannins or other such subltleties. According to winemaker Angelo Puglisi, "Eighty per cent of Queensland wineries are processing only some of their grapes. In Australia last year 120,000 tonnes of grapes were left in paddocks." As we've said before, we're not sure of the long-term viability of ethanol, but it seems to us like this is somewhat of a no-brainer.
Plan to run cars on chardonnay [The Advertiser, Australia]
Related:
Let the Corn Growers Have Some: Ford's Ethanol Hybrid [Internal]