From Wired: Wine Scanner Has Perfect Palette.
Posted on June 24, 2005 11:05 PM. Filed under: food.There is no greater anguish for a wine collector than to spend thousands of dollars on a 50-year-old bottle of Bordeaux, only to have it taste like vinegar when it's opened.
But now a New Jersey real estate developer and wine enthusiast says he has found a way to guarantee wine drinkers will never taste sour grapes again.
Eugene Mulvihill has constructed a $50,000 Wine Scanner to determine the chemical composition of wine without opening the bottle.
"When you spend $1,000 you want the wine to be perfect," said Mulvihill. "You are spending more on the wine than the food, and you expect that to be fresh."
Developed with the help of scientists at the University of California at Davis, Mulvihill's Wine Scanner is based on the same magnetic resonance imaging technology used for medical scans.
Wine is a temperamental libation that can turn into vinegar if stored improperly. Direct sunlight, heat, a loose cork or any number of mishaps can lead to a failed investment and a bad taste in the mouth.
MRI technology can detect bad wine by analyzing the chemical compounds found in the drink. Bottles under investigation are placed inside a 6-foot, boiler-like cylinder, and radio waves are shot through them. [continue]