The future of wine and vines is coming from space: wine and vines on the ISS returning to Earth

The 12 bottles of Bordeaux wine that have been orbiting around the earth for a year on the ISS, the International Space Station, together with over 320 vine samples that were shipped to them in March 2020, will be returning to earth in the next few hours. It is quite certain that these wines will not give a “meteorite aftertaste” or “hints of stardust”. However, beyond the curiosity the experiment has created, it could open to new and useful knowledge for wine in the future. Obviously, this is the general goal of space experiments, where everything linked to agriculture and food is becoming more and more prominent. The bottles of wine, according to the LaPresse agency, in part, should be tasted in February 2021 by a team of experts in France, together with the parts of vines that were also sent on the ISS, thanks to the technology of the Space Cargo Unlimited Company. The project included the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, Bordeaux, among others.
Regarding the wine, the purpose is to understand whether spatial radiation and microgravity affect wine components during the aging process, and thereby obtain useful knowledge on the food as well. In the case of the plant parts of the vines - 320 specimens, 4 centimeters each, of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon - these have been in space for 6 months, which is one of the longest periods of time for such an experiment, explained “Space Cargo Unlimited”. They will be examined especially to understand their ability to adapt to critical environmental conditions.