Wine Tycoon computer game launched

Ever fancied yourself as the next Bernard Magrez or Michel Rolland?

You might not have the capital to buy a Bordeaux super second but you can put your winemaking skills to the test in a new computer game where players fight it out to become wealthy wine barons.

Wine Tycoon, which goes on sale in the US next month, allows players to create vineyards in 10 of France’s most prestigious wine regions including Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne.

Commanding operations form their ‘Château’, players have to build their winery, plant and tend to their vines throughout the year, hire staff to harvest the grapes and produce up to 50 wines from more than 40 grape varieties.

Players are in charge of all vineyard operations, from grape planting and pest control through to winemaking and the bottling plant.

In order to succeed in becoming a wine baron, equipment must be meticulously maintained and crops carefully tended.

The game has two levels – Career and Free Play, and comes with a Wine Encyclopedia with a glossary of wine terms, grape varieties and wine regions.

‘For many, wine is much more than a drink with dinner, it’s an all consuming passion’, said Howard Horowitz, president of the game’s publisher, Got Game Limited.

Wine Tycoon will retail at US$19.99.

Written by Lucy Shaw