Bottle of Space-Aged Wine Could Sell For Up to $1 Million (Spaceship Not Included)

The wine market is flooded with different brands of vino trying to differentiate themselves. But one company went above beyond with its marketing hook. In fact, it’s out of this world. It’s called Pétrus 2000, and it was one of a dozen bottles aged in space from Nov. 2, 2019 to Jan. 14, 2021 aboard the International Space Station.

As if that weren’t extravagant enough, the wine comes in a custom, Star Trek-inspired trunk and is accompanied by a corkscrew made from a meteorite!

Photo: Christie’s

Sound enticing? Of course it does. But good luck getting a taste. It’s scheduled to be auctioned off by Christie’s, and could net as much as $1 million. (This kind of product hits all kinds of desirable demographics, including wine enthusiasts, wealthy people, and space nuts.)

The good news is that the proceeds of the wine auction will be used on funding space missions and agricultural and food research.

Is space the wine cellar of the future? Some think so. “It is our conviction that there is no Planet B and we intend to pave the way for our future by leveraging microgravity and enticing accelerated natural evolutions in a spatial environment,” said Nicolas Gaume, CEO of Space Cargo Unlimited, which conducts agricultural research and was part of sending this bottle to space.

As for what it tastes like? A gathering at the Institute for Wine and Vine Research in Bordeaux, France, in March pitted the Pétrus 2000 cellar wine against the space-aged wine. Wine professionals and scientists alike remarked on “differences in the color, aroma and taste components,” between the varieties, according to a Christie’s press release.

One wine writer, Jane Anson, thought the space-aged wine tasted more mature. “From previous experience of this wine, this particular bottle seems more evolved than I would expect from a 21-year-old bottle of Pétrus 2000,” she said. “It is beautiful and nuanced, with fine tannins and a sense of energy, but has a clear difference in expression from the [earth] wine.”

While the bottle is at its peak right now, it could last another 20 to 30 years. So there’s no hurry for its soon-to-be-owner to gulp down the glorified grape juice. But for $1 million, though, that bottle really should come with its own spaceship.

Cover Photo: Christie’s

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