Is wine as sweet (or as dry, or as whatever) if the grapes are grown in Martian soil? The Martian Terroir project aims or claims to aim to find out. The organizers explain:
Terroir could be defined as the biology of a place. It is a concept that brings the geology, climate, and the life of a territory – including plants, bacteria and wild yeasts – together with human craft, in a sensation that is experienced through agricultural products such as wine.
The process of constructing this terroir consists of a series of simulations of Martian conditions – soil, daylight cycles, daylight composition and clay – that form the base of speculations about the taste and aroma a wine grown and made on Mars might have.
The Mars Acclimatisation Chamber is designed as a mild analogue of Mars in which a grape vine can get accustomed to some of the conditions it would have to face on Mars. This process of acclimatisation will alter the growth and development of the grape vine, influencing the taste of the grapes.…
This video offers further detail:
[vimeo]72052403[/vimeo]
(Thanks to investigator Vaughn Tan for bringing this to our attention.)