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As strange as it might sound, wines are currently being aged underwater around the world in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, the U.S., Chile, South Africa, Australia and beyond.
Storing the bottle on a sea bed rather than in a cellar, some wine producers argue, offers the prime conditions in which to age wine succesfully yielding interesting organoleptic qualities.
Here's a closer look at four wineries experimenting with ageing wine underwater.
Click here for more gourmet food aged in unconventional places
4 Underwater Wineries Around the World
1. Gaia Wines, Greece
At Gaia Wines in Greece they work with ageing white wines on the picturesque island of Santorini.
Metal cages full of wine are slowly sunk into the sea off the island where they remain at a depth of 25 meters, for five years.
They are currently experimenting with a white wine called Thalassitis, based on Santorini’s Assyrtico grapes.
And why do they choose to age underwater? “Because there, aging will occur without oxygen and without light, with a steady temperature for as long as is required.”
2. Edivovino, Croatia
At this underwater winery in Croatia the glass bottles of wine are placed in terracotta amphoras, which apparantly create the perfect thermal conditions for ageing.
They first age the bottles in an aquatorium for three months, and later on, under the sea at a depth of 18 to 25 metres for one to two years... which you can also visit if you don a scuba tank and wet suit.
3. Vina Maris, Spain
Vina Maris have both a red and a white wine aged underwater at 30 metres which can also be visited on diving or boat trips.
Vina Maris Monastrell red wine is aged for 14 months in French oak barrels and 6 months undersea aging in sealed bottles off the coast of Calpe, Alicante.
While their Vina Maris Chardonnay, full bodied white wine, is aged for a lesser four months.
Read the tasting notes on their Website
4. Bisson, Italy
Image: www.bissonvini.it
Bisson use the classic method to produce their sparkling wine with one obvious difference to most producers. The bottles are immersed onto the seabed and contained in metal cages at a depth of about 60 meters (environment at a constant temperature of 15 °) for about 26 months.
The resulting wine has "a straw-yellow color, a very thin and persistent perlage, a complex bouquet, an intense bouquet with clear hints of salty character, a frank and dry taste, long, intriguing and rich in minerality."
