Wine.......in.......space!

[Claude Balls]

Viticulture in Bordeaux has been the focus of the region's agriculture for centuries, and producers know very well how climate, altitude, aspect and other significant factors affect the character of the wines they sell.

Moreover, winemakers have spent infinite time and money analysing techniques to find the perfect expression of their grapes in a glass.

But on Wednesday, they found out what happens when wine goes to that final frontier: Space.

And it's not just any wine that spent a year in space. Château Pétrus is one of the most celebrated, and expensive wines in the world. The area of production is Pomerol, which nestles next to St. Emilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. Wines from there have no classifications but make no mistake, Petrus is a big hitter.

"It's not just any bottle that was sent up to the ISS, it's a bottle of Château Pétrus 2000," says Philippe Darriet, Head oenologist and President at ISVV Bordeaux.

The results were made public on Wednesday when the Space Cargo Unlimited start-up, in partnership with ISVV (Science Institute of Vine and Wine), announced that the 12 bottles and 320 vine shoots had come back to Earth tasting, smelling and looking different compared to bottles that remained on the ground.

As if spending a year in space isn't enough to make this a special vintage, Philippe Darriet, Head oenologist and President at ISVV Bordeaux, reveals the wine is incredibly exclusive at 5,000 euros a bottle. Private investors helped fund the project, though the overall cost wasn't disclosed.

Preliminary results from the tasting released on Wednesday (March 24) show differences in colour, taste and aroma between the space wine and the Earth wine. Scientists plan to carry out more tests to determine how they changed during their zero-gravity journey.

https://www.euronews.com/2021/03/24/cha ... 1616592594

[Redpig59]

We used to send men to the moon, and put telescopes into space that could see the end of the universe...

[Claude Balls]

But how much better would it have been, if those astronauts had a carry-out?

[Gaspode]

I'm thinking (not a wise move I have to say) that a career change to astronaut suddenly seems like a good idea

"Houston we have a problem, we've lost the corkscrew"

[Claude Balls]

He wasn't called Buzz Aldrin for nothing you know

[Redpig59]

He wasn't called Buzz Aldrin for nothing you know

"Second...it's right after first"