How much would you be willing to pay for a wine? Would you shell out a million dollars (822.585 euros) for an exclusive bottle matured in space? If so, Christie’s auction house has the perfect item for you in their new private sale.. Made with merlot grapes, the Bordeaux Pétrus Pomerol 2000 has a normal cost of about 6.000 dollars, about 4.935 euros to change, but the French wine house has a lot of the most exclusive that has aroused the interest of experts and wine enthusiasts.
In November 2019 Space Cargo Unlimited launched 12 bottles of this vintage aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus capsule to the International Space Station. El
Pétrus matured in a monitored environment for almost 440 days – the equivalent of 300 trips to the moon – with a trip of 186 million miles in zero gravity. Finally, he returned on January 14 of this year on SpaceX’s SpaceDragon spaceship.
In March 2021, the first analysis took place in a tasting of one of the space bottles and another terrestrial, an event that was attended by twelve wine professionals and scientists. Initial results indicate that the bottles they positively endured all the constraints of preparation, travel, and storage on the ISS. In addition, notable differences were observed in the color, aroma and flavor components.. “It is a very harmonious wine that has the ability to age magnificently, which is why it was chosen for this experiment. It is very encouraging that it was delicious when we returned to Earth, “he explained. Tim Tiptree, International Director of Christie’s Wine and Spirits Department.
The person who is made with this exclusive bottle will receive another unit of Pétrus aged on Earth so that they can compare both flavors. Also, the lot includes two corkscrews, a decanter and glasses made with a meteorite. And, as a finishing touch, all this will come housed in a trunk made by hand, for 900 hours, by the company Les Ateliers Victor, Paris, an exquisite box that features a hidden secret vault behind a solar system inspired by Jules Verne.
The rest of the bottles will not go on the market, but will be saved for future researchHence, it has aroused so much interest among wine lovers. Proceeds from the sale will go to fund future space missions. This private experiment also seeks to investigate how plants adapt to the stress of spatial conditions. to develop innovative solutions for the future of agriculture on Earth.