Matured in nature's cellar

Last year, the company Ocean Fathoms matured 1800 bottles of 2016 Santa Ynez Sangiovese 21 meters deep at the bottom of the ocean.

The phenomenon of 'wine aged at the bottom of the ocean' has actually existed since the very first shipwrecks, but attracted attention again a few years ago. During the discovery of an almost 200-year-old wreck in the Baltic Sea, hundreds of bottles of champagne were also discovered on board. Many of these bottles were sold for record prices, giving a California company a clever idea.Text: Fleur de Jong

Unusual tasting

Our Company Ocean Fathoms Last year, 1.800 bottles of 2016 Santa Ynez Sangiovese matured at a depth of 21 meters at the bottom of the ocean. Guests were invited on a catamaran for an unusual wine tasting. During the tasting, bottles were aged in the conventional manner compared to bottles that had spent their time in the dark, cold water of the ocean. Ocean Fathoms calls the ocean “nature's perfect cellar.” 

Emanuele Azzaretto is one of the founders of Ocean Fathoms and sank his first bottles back in 2015. Azzaretto is convinced of the new trend, just like his business partner Rajat Parr, a sommelier and winemaker. Parr's first experience with ocean-aged wine was selling a 1907 bottle from a shipwreck. The bottle then fetched almost 4.000 euros. Parr remembers the well-preserved acidity of that particular wine. Overall, he said, the wine was surprisingly lively. Ocean Fathoms wine | Lara Castaognia

Lack of oxygen

During the Ocean Fathoms tasting, guests agreed that there was a difference between the different wines. The ocean aged wine seemed brighter and fruitier. This is probably due to the lack of oxidation. On the ocean floor, there is no oxygen seeping into the bottles, which over time gives the fresh fruit aromas a more baked taste. Azzaretto also believes that the hydrostatic current through the moving water has a beneficial effect on the wine. 

.Read one here article about another special place to age wine.

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