Delicious, Million Dollar Bottles of Space-Aged Wine Up for Sale
When it comes to space, I'm all in. Unfortunately, I'm not smart or rich enough to hitch a ride to the stars. Maybe one day, space travel will be more affordable. Until then, I'll just have to settle for living vicariously through the exploits of the world's bravest astronauts as they slip the surly bonds of Earth's gravity and float along in the weightlessness of space. There is, however, a way to literally enjoy the fruits of NASA's labor while I'm still planet-side - but, I'm going to need a loan. A big one.
According to the BBC, bottles of wine went up to the International Space Station about a year ago as part of an experiment on food in space. Space Cargo Unlimited sent up 12 bottles of Pétrus 2000 (a French wine made from Merlot grapes) to let them age in orbit in November of 2019. They were brought back in January of this year after aging more than 400 days in space and the liquid inside was compared to wine in identical bottles aged for the same amount of time on Earth. The difference was obvious to sommeliers and researchers alike - but you don't have to take their word for it!
Earlier this week, the world famous auctioneers at Christie's announced that they would be putting one of these "Space-Aged" bottles of wine up for auction. The space bottle will be paired with an identical bottle of the same wine aged on Earth so you can do your own comparison. This vino isn't for the weak of wallet, though - it's expected to fetch around $1 million.