Burn 01: Sparkling Wine Crafted in Rocket Tanks
Burn 01 is Ready for Launch
In the late 1960s, America was in an international space race.
As the Apollo era gave way to a new decade, John Franzia saw potential in decommissioned NASA liquid oxygen tanks. Instead of letting them become scrap metal, he gave them a second mission: making sparkling wine.
Fifty-five years later, those same tanks are still helping make sparkling wine. Burn 01 is their latest mission.
MADE FOR BUBBLES
Built from heavy-gauge stainless steel to handle the demands of storing liquid oxygen, these decommissioned rocket tanks were designed for precision, durability, and consistency. Turns out, those same qualities make them great wine tanks.
How Burn 01 Is Made
STARTS IN THE TANKS
Burn 01 begins in the decommissioned NASA liquid oxygen tanks, where the juice makes its transformation into wine.
TURNS INTO SPARKLING
Next, the wine is bottled for secondary fermentation using the traditional Champagne method, considered the gold standard for sparkling wine production.
BACK TO THE TANKS
After aging for 2–5 years in tirage, the wine returns to the rocket tanks for its finishing blend, then gets bottled again under cork and cage.
The NASA liquid oxygen (LOX) tanks used to make Burn 01 were originally designed to store liquid oxygen at temperatures below −297°F. During launch, that oxygen served as the oxidizer that allowed rocket fuel to burn, making it essential for spaceflight.
SPARKLING WINE
The final product. Bright notes of peach, lemon, grapefruit, and a hint of stardust. Just as good straight up as it is in your favorite spritz.
Houston, ship it home
