SimVin

In a post yesterday I ran on at the mouth about the kind of fun a winemaking and wine marketing simulation game would be to a very limited number of people. Of course I assumed nothing of the sort existed.

Richard A. was kind enough in the post's comment section to set me straight. Something of a simulation does exist.

SimVin is a very rudimentary simulation of the winemaking and wine marketing experience with the emphasis on rudimentary. However, it is something of an interesting experience. In the end, the whole simulation hinges on who makes the most money as a winemaker and wine marketer. Players need to be concerned with costs of grapes, cost of vineyard and winery upkeep, winemaking costs, where you place your winery, costs of grapes and how you market your wine. There's also the problem that on occasion your wine will undergo bacterial spoilage...and that's not good for business.

My best score after going through SimVin a couple times was 5001. All Time Top Score is something around 31,000.

Comments

[Kathy Buckley]

Tom, playing the grape game is global. A Bordelais introduced a grape game at Vinexpo June '07. It was fascinating so I wrote about it on my Vinexpo blogette for the Wine Enthusiast:

Think you want a vineyard? Play this game.
There are plenty of innovative wine games around that can challenge the taste buds and the brain cells. But “The Grape Game” has a completely different set of challenges. It takes the players through the pain and passion of bringing grapes to harvest at optimum volume and optimum maturity. Using clever and very real problems, anyone thinking of making a vineyard lifestyle decision should play this game.
“Your worker cuts himself with his shears. Lost time means you lose your next turn.”
“It rains and it’s spring in your grape-growing cycle. Take an extra turn.
“It rains and it’s September in your grape-growing cycle, loose a turn and forfeit a third of your crop.
“You didn’t manage the powdery mildew on your vines in August. Why didn’t you take our advice? Lose one grape card and one maturity card.”

“I wanted to make it so people could play and to inform about how the growing cycle is affected by single decisions," said Gilles Bourjade, inventor of the game as he showed the Wine Enthusiast how to play on Monday. It will be available in English and French from www.thegrapegame.net (the Web site should be in English by next week).

The game and website are now in English. And, given the difficult 2007 growing season in Bordeaux, it is on the mark.