“Wine being sent into space will be a coupage of Teran from over fifty winemakers. Crazy idea, but we’re crazy too.”
Some time ago one of the leading Istrian winemakers Ivica Matošević was contacted by Nebojša Stanojević with a bizarre suggestion. Sending wine to the moon. “It took me two weeks just to listen to the idea,” began the story Matošević. Stanojević is a co-founder of Synergy Moon Team. They are one of the teams competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE award. This international competition requires a team to land a robot safely on the moon, travel 500 metres on the surface and send high resolution images to the Earth, all for an award of 40 million dollars. Naturally, this is a high-tech undertaking of private companies specialised in commercial space technologies, but Synergy Moon Team is not an ordinary candidate.
They are an eccentric group of scientists, engineers, businessmen, artists and simply visionaries. They were brought together by the founder of the InterPlanetary Ventures company Kevin Myrick, specialist in development of technology for planet colonisation within the Solar System, developing commercial systems for private flights into space. The founder of Synergy Moon decided to use this very technical mission for something nobler. He suggested to Matošević to send Istrian Teran wine to the Moon. Synergy Moon already has an important part of the team in the heart of Istria, the Astronomy Association Vidulini working seriously on developing pico satellite and rover.
“The idea is witty already in the name of Teran, Ter-ran Earthling. But what was more important to me was the spirit of the entire undertaking, as contrast to the atmosphere created then by pointless Slovenian-Croatian disputes over Teran. We decided to turn it into a chance to send a positive message and make a worthy presentation of Teran. We invited Slovenian winemakers from Kras to join in. Wine being sent into space will be a coupage of Teran from over fifty winemakers. Crazy idea, but we’re crazy too.”
Will Slovenian winemakers who lobbied in the European Commission to ban the use of the name Teran in Croatia find their plans petty and provincial from a cosmic perspective, remains to be seen. What is important is that every team whose rover will be sent to the Moon as part of the Goggle competition will receive planetary attention and a chance to tell their story. “Teran will get a chance to present on a global stage,” said Matošević. In the meantime, the President of the Astronomy Association Vidulini Marion Trumpić makes from Teran vines he discovered near his home symbolic wine in 1.75 decilitre bottles, the size of a capsule for transport in rockets. The wine was named Terran and the last two harvest are being kept for a toast on Earth, when Teran lands on the Moon.
“Istrian winemakers deserve this. So much love for their land and so much fight for the survival of Teran in the past years reminds of the struggle for the survival of endangered species in nature. Our little Teran will survive and the energy given to it by winemakers seems to be enough for the wine to be launched to the Moon. As the mission of Synergy Moon Team is slightly different than other teams, it is the only one made up of teams from five continents and thematically focused on younger generations, desiring to use the symbolism of Teran to point out the importance of preserving our individuality, natural and cultural heritage which make us unique. Our way of life and our current and future bread, authentic tourism product, and we will gladly present it to the world. May it serve generations as an inspiration,” concluded his vision Nebojša Stanojević.
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