Enology

[General Lee]

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.

[David Johnston2]

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.

[RyanW]

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.

[General Lee]

Thanks lads!!!

Enlightening enough.

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

[davidtmoore]

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?

[General Lee]

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

Any help?

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.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by RyanW

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.

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

Bill Stoddard

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by whswhs

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

Yeah, I considered listing those, but decided that was more about running a business in general, not so much about the vineyards specifically.

I'd hesitate to include Economics, though. As written, that's more about the why and how financial systems work. The bank officer that reviews the request for a loan has it, but I don't think it's strictly required to run a Vineyard.

As for Finance, I'd probably accept Agriculture as an optional specialty, rather than demanding it be broken down to the level of vineyard versus grain versus diary. Same goes for Economics, really.

[nik1979]

Originally Posted by whswhs

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

Bill Stoddard

or Current Events (Wine Market or Food). Economics is a hard skill.

[Mateus]

I have talked directly to General Lee, so, I know that my suggestion is a "little" off topic, but I want to give this weird sugestion:

What about an Ocultism: Winelore? To know the mystical powers of diferent types of wine... Seens apropriated if you runs a game where Bacchus exists. =)