Matured in nature's basement

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

Unusual tasting

Last year, the Ocean Fathoms company had 1,800 bottles of 2016 Santa Ynez Sangiovese, aged at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of 21 meters. Guests were invited on a catamaran for an unusual wine tasting. During the tasting, bottles aged the conventional way were compared with bottles that had spent their time in the dark, cold waters of the ocean. Ocean Fathoms calls the ocean "nature's perfect cellar.

Emanuele Azzaretto is one of the founders of Ocean Fathoms, sinking its first bottles back in 2015. Azzaretto is convinced of the new trend, as is his business partner Rajat Parr, a sommelier and winemaker. The first experience with ocean-aged wine, for Parr, was selling a 1907 bottle that came from a shipwreck. At the time, the bottle fetched nearly 4,000 euros. Of that particular wine, Parr remembers the well-preserved acidity. Overall, he said, the wine was surprisingly lively. Ocean Fathoms wine | Lara Castaognia

Lack of oxygen

Guests at the Ocean Fathoms tasting 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 aromas of fresh fruit a more baked flavor. Azzaretto also believes the hydrostatic flow through the moving water has a beneficial effect on the wine. 

.Read an article about another special place to age wine.

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