Decanter Anson: Cabernet and Merlot ‘space vines’ take root on earth
Could your glass of wine one day trace its roots back to space vines ? Research has only just started, but Jane Anson speaks to scientists overseeing young Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot plants that spent nearly one year orbiting the earth alongside bottles of Petrus.
The floors are white, the wall and roof made of clouded glass creating warm and humid conditions.
This is the hydroponic greenhouse at Mercier Group, one of four that together contain hundreds of thousands of young plants, part of the 30 million vines that are grown at this Loire vine nursery each year.