The First Wine Aged In Space Sold For An Out Of This World Price
In November 2019, 12 bottles of red wine went to space. The vintage 2000 Château Petrus spent 14 months orbiting earth as part of a research project by Space Cargo Unlimited. The wine, along with hundreds of merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapevines, was sent to space in the name of agricultural science, but the project's leaders also hoped future explorers to the moon and Mars would be able to enjoy "good food and good wine" (via Associated Press).
The Bordeaux wine returned from the International Space Station in January 2021, splashing into the Gulf of Mexico off the Tampa coastline. Most of the bottles, carefully protected by steel cylinders, remained corked for years following, with researchers investigating the effects of space on bubbles and sedimentation.
In May 2021, a bottle was put up for sale at Christie's auction house for $1 million, alongside a bottle of regular Petrus 2000 so the buyer could compare the two. Proceeds from the sale were earmarked to fund future research into wine and agriculture in space. So, while you may not find space wine on a restaurant wine list just yet, it's on its way to starry heights. When it comes to the future of viticulture, the sky's truly the limit.
Why wine was shipped to space, and how it influenced the taste
According to an initial statement, per Associated Press, the Luxembourg startup behind the space wine mission hoped to create an "agriculture tomorrow that is both organic and healthy." Climate change is seriously affecting winemakers in France, who are forced to rethink how vines adapt to harsher environments, therefore, the space experiment offers tantalizing clues for the future of viticulture on this planet and beyond.
A lucky few of Bordeaux's top sommeliers had the rare chance of tasting the cosmic tipple two months after it descended from space. At a 2021 event hosted by the University of Bordeaux's wine institute, ISVV, 12 experts tried 30-milliliter samples of the space wine in a side-by-side sip with its earth twin. Decanter's Bordeaux correspondent, Jane Anson, described the space wine as having a delicious taste but suggested it was seasoned two to three more years, with ISVV oenology professor Philippe Darriet adding that the wine was "very well evaluated sensorially."
Journalist Jane Anson, who had attended the tasting, said it was difficult to tell which wine was better or worse, but that the space wine had more noticeable tannins and was more floral, therefore, definitely different from the original. So who knows, maybe this red wine would pair well with the richness of duck, or side-by side with a slab of rare steak.