The brewing of beer is substantially more complicated than is the making of wine. The brewing scientist in me says that it is not too challenging a task to tread a few grapes, and then leave them alone while the native yeast does its thing and converts the grape sugars into wine. A bit of cleaning up here and there and then, voila, wine. I am, of course, being utterly cynical, and retain my admiration for the skill of the winemaker in taking the right grape from the right locale and turning it into a delightful product.

Yet, I still insist that the complexity and skill of the succession of folks who grow barley and hops and then turn them into beer is perforce greater: The whole journey toward a bottle of beer is far more exacting than is the making of wine. There are many more steps. And most brewers insist that the product meet stringent specifications, both in terms of flavor profile and in the levels of a diversity of analytical measurements. Some of the molecules that contribute to flavor are specified to parts per billion levels. The barley and hops are no less prone to seasonal variation than is the grape. But brewers overcome these fluctuations so as to achieve a consistent beverage, whereas the winemaker will tolerate them and the attendant variation (and sometimes, unpredictability) in the finished drink.

It's exactly analogous to the operation of a Boeing 777.