Sea treasures of Spain
Unique wines aged under water at a depth of 30 metres.
Wine extracted from ancient sunken ships has its special qualities. Experts say that such wine has a softer taste, a brighter flavour and a more intense colour. Wine aged in depths has become one of the most desired catches for sea treasure hunters. It has attracted attention of winemakers who study evolution of wine lost in sunken ships. Specialists have tried to understand in which way wine qualities become better in depths.
It is assumed that a combination of special conditions characteristic of undersea habitat has an incredibly good influence on wine quality. Quite low and unchangeable temperature, absence of light, water tension, state of weightlessness and wave movement, all this changes wine, transforming the drink into a unique and precious nectar.
Spain has three wineries storing bottles in the sea in their personal underwater cellars.
Crusoe Treasure is a company located in The Basque Country, a province of Spain, 25 km to the south from Bilbao. Its wine cellar is situated in The Bay of Biscay. Wine is aging at a depth of 20 metres. As a result of its storage in the sea, an artificial coral reef was created. The company organizes boat trips to the location of the cellar from where one can observe it with the help of a monitor projecting images from underwater cameras. It is also possible to go down to the cellar wearing special diving costumes. Crusoe Treasure produces red wines; “Passion” ages 6 months in oak pipes and a year in an underwater cellar, “Classic” ages a year in oak pipes and a year in an underwater cellar.
Tempus Mare is a company which primarily specializes in fish, oyster and seaweed. In 2008, Tempus Mare specialists doused bottles with a traditional Catalonian sparkling wine, cava. During 3 years Tempus Mare winemakers were trying to find an ideal combination of grapes as well as the most suitable temperature and light for underwater fermentation. As a result, cava Maryam, named after a sea goddess of Phoenician mythology, was created. The drink ages during 18 months at a depth of 30 metres in the Mediterranean sea, close to Sitges in Catalonia. There are two varieties of cava produced by Tempus Mare: Maryamm Reserva and Maryamm Gran Reserva. According to oenologists, cava Maryamm gets a special mineral taste and rich, deep smell thanks to being stored underwater.
The cellar of Cavas Submarinas Cala Llevadó is also situated on the territory of Catalonia, in Tossa del Mar, province of Girona. The winery’s singularity consists in the fact that the products it manufactures cannot be found in wine stores. In order to get a bottle of “Cala Llevadó 2010” created together with a Chilean company Bodega Viña Casanueva, it is necessary to go down to the cellar and choose one of 400 bottles stored in wood chests 15 metres under water.
All the mentioned wines are exclusive, their quantity is limited and the price is high (the average cost is about 450-500 euro). A small booklet telling the story of the drink and its characteristics is attached to each bottle.
