It is always interesting, as well as pleasant, to read and learn about the
research carried out on wine and in all its productive aspects, from the
vineyard to the glass. Likewise, certain experiments attempting to
make – and reproduce – the wines of the past are equally interesting,trying
to use, not least, the same techniques, with the aim of understanding the
history of wine and what made it as we know it today. Anyone who knows me knows
I do not have any nostalgia about certain wines of the past and certain
methods or criteria now considered obsolete – of course, a wine when it is
good it is so no matter the production method – but it is certainly
interesting in terms of historical knowledge and personal culture. Likewise, I
also find interesting the research and experiments towards the opposite
direction, that is the research, development and progress of wine science and
technology, as I am convinced that in wine there is still much to be discovered
and to understand, despite the extraordinary developments that have occurred
since the discoveries of Louis Pasteur until today.
Recently two events about wine have made news and, in some respects, are
opposed regarding their enological purposes: one aimed to the understanding of
certain wines of the past, the other one looking to the future and decidedly
very high and up above. In the first one, in fact, wine has been produced
by following a technique used by the ancient Greeks and which involves
immersing the grapes in the sea; in the second one, wine bottles have been sent
to space in order to study aging and evolution in a gravity-free environment.
In the past it has already happened someone immersed wine bottles in sea water,
not least, even reaching the bottom, however immersing the grapes to be later
used for making a wine, I do not think it has been done before, at least in
recent times. It must be said, in fact, there have already been conducted other
experiments about the aging of wine in sea water, properly sealed in bottles,
and then to make them re-emerge after a certain period of time. Instead,
sending the wine to the exact opposite side of the earth, not only in the sky,
but even in space, it is the first time.
The experiment of immersing the grapes in the sea was conducted near the Elba
Island (Italy) by Arrighi winery with the collaboration of Prof. Attilio
Scienza – a figure of primary importance in the world of wine and professor of
Viticulture at the University of Milan – Professors Angela Zinnai and Francesca
Venturi, in addition to Dr. Naomi Deaddis of the Viticulture and Enology class
of the University of Pisa. To carry out this interesting experiment, have been
used bunches of Ansonica grapes – a white berried grape typically found on the
Elba Island – and considered similar to two ancient Greek varieties common in
the Aegean territory: Rhoditis and Sideritis. Ansonica was chosen for the
thickness of its skin and that allowed it to remain in the sea without
suffering any damage. The experiment wanted to replicate an ancient Greek
winemaking technique and used 2500 years ago in the Isle of Chios, which
provided for the immersion of whole bunches in the sea, therefore recovered
and crushed, thus obtaining the must to be transformed into wine.
The wine made in this experiment, belonging to 2018 vintage, is called
Nesos and is produced in 40 bottles by Arrighi Winery in Elba Island. The
process began by filling wicker baskets with Ansonica grapes and then leaving
them immersed in the open sea – at a depth of about ten meters – for five
days. This has allowed the salt water of the sea to wash the skin of the
grape, in particular, removing the superficial layer of pruina
(notoriously made of, among other things, from waxy substances) and allowing a
small quantity of salt to penetrate inside the grape due to osmosis. The grapes
were then dried in the sun, then pressed and the must fermented in terracotta
amphorae – that is, like the ancient Greece did – then aged in bottle. The
presence of salt, thanks to its antioxidant and disinfectant effect, made
it possible to avoid the use of sulfur dioxide. The chemical-sensorial analysis
carried out in this wine revealed the total phenol content is twice as
high as a conventional wine and, from a sensorial point of view, a higher
sapidity and a lower acidity can be perceived because of higher quantity of
ashes in the wine. Moreover, the experiment was filmed and made a documentary
entitled Vinu Insulae directed and produced by Stefano Muti.
Of completely different scientific purposes, the experiment that is being
carried out above our heads, that is, in the remarkable heights of
space. The experiment has been promoted by a Luxembourg company which sent 12
bottles of French wine to the International Space Station (ISS). The goal is not
to let the astronauts who are currently in the ISS to have some wine – I can
understand their disappointment – indeed to study the effects of microgravity
on the development of organoleptic qualities of wine. The 12 bottles will
remain in orbit for 12 months and will then be compared – when they return to
the earth – with 12 other bottles of the same wine, aged in our planet. Before
reaching the space, the bottles have been properly inserted in special metal
canisters, in order to avoid accidental breakage, and they will be kept at a
temperature of 18 °C. The purpose of the experiment is to evaluate the
effect of microgravity in the sensorial qualities of wine, with the aim to
apply the same technique to foods.
It is therefore a preliminary experiment and having much wider aims than
wine, however it is interesting to note the first element object of the
investigation was the drink of Bacchus. The organizers of the experiment are in
fact convinced the wine aged in space can develop different organoleptic
qualities compared to those kept in the ground, also assuming the development
of a better taste and aroma. The organizers of the experiment also assume the
development of sensorial qualities impossible to obtain on earth, thus obtaining
new aromas and flavors. All this is supposed, because of the effect of
microgravity and space radiations on the organoleptic qualities, as well as on
the bacteria and yeasts present in the wine, conditions absent in the earth's
surface. There is no precise information on the wine that was chosen for the
experiment: it is said to be quality French wine, specifically Bordeaux.
Two different destinations – the depths of the sea, the heights of space –
both aimed to get a better knowledge about wine, between past and future.
Although imagining the disappointment of the ISS astronauts who, by seeing as
many as 12 bottles of wine arriving on board, they cannot even taste it. All in
the name of the noble purpose of science. Look, but don't touch. Bon voyage,
wine: your history – which is already long, noble and prestigious – does not
end today and not even tomorrow. Of course, it does not end he Antonello Biancalana
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