It’s clearly an idea whose time has come: powering a car with fuel made from wine-based ethanol and whey (as in, “curds and whey,” a cheese product).

The Huffington Post’s OrganicAuthority.com reported on the 5th annual Eco-Rally between Oxford and London, England. During the rally, this very hot Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel went like hell (from zero to 60 in four seconds!!) on, well, wine and cheese. In a pinch, though, it can consume methanol or traditional petroleum-based fuel.

Apparently biofuel is not a new idea. Businesses have been creating and selling fuel made from all kinds of biological stuff, including compost, vegetable matter, animal waste, and my personal favorite, used deep fryer grease.

Wow. The advantage of all these fuels is that, “Unlike petroleum, biofuels are biodegradable, easily renewable, less noxious and less toxic.” That’s good — we can share a picnic with our vehicle, and know we’re being good to the environment.

Actually, the French have been producing wine-based ethanol for some time: that’s what they do with all the surplus wine they haven’t been able to sell in recent years.

So I’ll raise a glass and say, “Merde!” Isn’t that word used as a toast in France? Or if not, it’s probably used as a fuel…

Cheers!