More Underwater Cellarage

Apparently it's not just the Chileans who think that the bottom of the ocean is a good place to keep their wine -- the French are getting in on the action as well. Regular readers will remember several months ago, I reported that a winery and at least one restaurant at a resort in Chile was storing its wine on the bottom of the ocean, and sommeliers (as well as guests) were suiting up in SCUBA gear to select bottles for their dinner.

Well apparently this is no longer a gimmick, but a technique that is being tested (albeit pseudo-scientifically) by some wine association in Brittany, France. The Chilean winery claimed that the filtered sunlight and possibly the tides had something to do with the wine being better, and the French seem to agree, saying "What we get is a wine that is younger and at the same time more complex. It is something to do with the way the water rubs over the bottles."

Sounds kooky to me, but for the bored wine lover who also happens to have some waterfront property, this could be an exciting diversion. I think I'll wait until someone opens the first commercial underwater wine storage units. It's only a matter of time, right?

Posted by: Alder on June 22, 2006 2:22 PM: Filed under: Wine News; Like this post? Share it! Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit

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Comments (3)

Erwin Dink wrote:

06.25.06 at 9:49 AM

I have often stored my wine (or other beverage) in a river or creek when camping. As long as you're not in mountain country where the water can be frigid it's a great way to keep things cool and fresh. Can't say that I've ever considered the current washing over the bottle to have any effect, though.

Greg wrote:

06.25.06 at 9:09 PM

This makes the chileans look like they are just putting on a tourist trap gimmick by allowing you to "catch" your meal in the open ocean like a real macho.

I have to say this is an almost scientific approach by the french to do a side-by-side. Perhaps Californication reaches farther than Oregon and Washington?

Nathan Arnold wrote:

06.26.06 at 1:24 PM

Greg -- wouldn't this be "chilefornication?"