Enology
 

As I write my last PC, and after discuss it with a friend of the forum, I'm not sure how to write down Enology.

It is an expert skill (enology)?

A professional skill (winemaking)?

Or connoisseur (wines) cover all theoretical knowledge about wines and the process of winemaking?

The PC is an ex-legionnaire from the French Foreign Legion and his project for retirement is a vineyard on countryside of France. He is suposed to master the process of winemaking. He already have farming (viticulture).

Thanks in advance,

Lee.

Re: Enology
 

Oenology is a Professional skill, that of all the elements of winemaking that aren't viniculture. Oenophiles, on the other hand are people who have Connoiseur (wine), which is actually a redundant skill, since really it's an Expert skill.

Re: Enology
 

Professional Skill (Winemaker) is the skill of the wine producer.
Farming (Opt Spec: Viticulture) is the skill of the grape grower.
Connoisseur (Wines) is the skill of the wine fancier.
History (Wine production) is the skill of the wine historian.
Expert Skill (Enology) is the skill of the general wine expert.

I'd say that someone who runs a vineyard would have Professional Skill (Winemaker) and Farming (Viticulture). Adding Connoisseur (Wines) will let him better judge his own product, but isn't strictly necessary.

Re: Enology
 

Thanks lads!!!

Enlightening enough.

But, I'm still feel that there's no difference between expert skill (enology) and connoisseur (wines).

Re: Enology
 

My general rule is that the Expert knowledge is the broader. In this case, I'd say the Connoisseur's focus is value and quality. So:

The Expert has a good general knowledge of the history, regions, production, and technology of wine. He's the man you turn to to answer a question about wine. Hand him a bottle of wine and he can tell you when and where the grape was grown; a little about the climate of the region and that year's weather; something about the family that runs that vineyard and anything unusual about their methods and expertise; some technical details about the taste, why it's valued and what it's served with; that kind of thing. He knows alot about wine in general. He can wine-taste, but I'd probably assess him a small penalty, say -2.

The Connoisseur has an understanding of what makes good wine good. He doesn't necessarily have all the history, background, geography etc., but he's very skilled in the particular question of identifying a good wine and knowing what makes it good. Hand him a bottle of wine and he can also tell you technical details about the taste, why it's valued and what it's served with, but probably not so much about where, when and how the grape was grown, the climate, the family that grew it, etc. He knows how much the bottle is worth, and can tell you how much more or less a bottle from the same vineyward from the previous year or the next year is worth. He can wine-taste, and I'd say is probably a bit better than the enologist. He can identify the wine from taste alone, possibly even down to the vintage.

Any help?

Re: Enology
 

Yes, thanks.

I didn't grasp well, though, why an expert couldn't taste wines better than a connoisseur.

And just to clarify, an enologist is an expert (wines), or have both the Expert skill and Connoisseur?

Lads, you are of a lot help here.

Re: Enology
 

I'd say because an Expert Skill guy doesn't actually taste wines - he knows book knowledge about wines, but doesn't actually experience them as part of his skill. The connoisseur is all about the actual taste of the wine, not the technical details.

Re: Enology
 

You should not forget Finance (Vineyards) and Economics (Wine and Wine Production).

Bill Stoddard

Re: Enology
 

In my example, the enologist has the skill Expert (Enologist) and not Connoisseur (Wines), although in practice I would expect characters to have both skills.

Like Langy says, the Expert has less hands-on experience and more technical knowledge.

Expert skill, as I read it, covers every possible skill roll covering a narrow area, but is limited to more or less "pure" knowledge skills - essentially, it's a database skill. So Enology takes the place of History (for history of wines), Area Knowledge (for major wine-growing areas), Agriculture (for viticulture), Geology (for soil science in wine-growing regions), Chemistry (for fermentation/aging processes), etc., etc.

An enologist would have to have an idea about wine-tasting and valuing wine - since that's part of his subject - but from an academic position; his practical wine-tasting experience would be limited compared to a connoisseur, whose appreciation of wine is more specifically about value and quality of wine.

Re: Enology
 

I see, so.
It's getting straitgh.
There is no chance to fit a hobby skill covering knowledge of wines?