Under Water Wines: the wines at the bottom of the sea of Campania by Tommasone

The under water wines are wines aged in sea water, at the bottom of the sea, submerged after the classic winemaking process and subsequent bottling in glass.

One of the most hotly debated topics in wine-making is the process of aging wine in sea water, which seems to have taken hold thanks to the discovery in 2010 of 168 bottles of Champagne among the wreckage of a ship that sank in the 19th century, in the depths of the Baltic Sea near the Finnish islands of Åland. This ship was supposed to carry bottles sent by Louis XVI to Tsar Peter the Great. The incident dates back to the early 1840s.

The analyses conducted revealed that many of these bottles were in excellent condition of preservation, showing remarkable integrity and organoleptic quality, so much so that some of them were sold to the‘auction.

What determined the optimal storage of these bottles?

The main reasons for this are the ability of marine waters to create stable conditions and very favorable to the‘wine aging: constant temperature, absence of light and noise and the deep water pressure it exerts on the bottle, providing an oxygen-free environment that slows aging, curbs oxidation, lulled by the slow sway of the currents. This proves important because. The richness of organoleptic characteristics remains intact once the bottle is brought back to the surface. The sea plays a role in “hibernation“, of natural shield that preserves longevity to wines. It also performs a natural remuage function for sparkling wines.

Among the pioneers to refine sub‘water in Italy is Bisson with Abissi, the Metodo Classico immersed 60 meters deep at a constant temperature of 15° in the Portofino Marine Park in Liguria. That was in 2009, and other producers after him experimented with the “underwater winery” gradually finding greater and greater acceptance, with this process preserving the character of the wine and finding differences in taste from “land-based” wines.

Campania’s experiences

In Campania, the winery La Pietra di Tommasone has left to age 500 bottles of Aphrodite classic method sparkling wine made from Biancolella and Forastera grapes in the seabed off Casamicciola Terme, Ischia, for 27 months. Lucia Monti, owner and oenologist of the winery and heir to a family of winemakers for five generations, with her husband Giuseppe Andreoli, also an oenologist, have delivered to the green island a different picture of the aging of local grape varieties. A project that started in 2020 and explores new methods and enhances the Ischian land even more.

Aphrodite is the first submerged wine in Campania. It is followed by two wines from the winery Carpute of the Phlegrean Fields, which on the occasion of the winery’s 30th anniversary submerged two references for 12 months off the coast of Castel dell’Ovo in Naples: a metodo classico millesimo, from Falanghina grapes, and a red from Aglianico and Piedirosso grapes. They will remain in the underwater cellar for a while longer, and at the appropriate time we will talk about them.

In 2021, a batch of bottles of Elixir Falernum liqueur made with part of Falerno wine, from the Distillerie Petrone of Mondragone, was submerged underwater in the ancient city of Sinuessa. A precursor to the sea aging beyond wine, surely the first liquor in the world to age at sea.

An underwater wine cellar was opened in the Bay of Naples in August 2024. Where 4,000 bottles of wine currently rest. Francesco Lerro, a Neapolitan entrepreneur and founder of the submerged cellars Megaride, gave birth to this innovative project, where in addition to wine aging, on the seabed, there will also be oil and vinegar.

I attended the tasting of Aphrodite Spumante Metodo Classico Pietra di Tommasone. Left to age underwater and, from the same batch, the one that went the ordinary route in the cellar. What emerged? Click on the tastings.

TO READ THE WINE DESCRIPTIONS, WITH SCORE AND AVERAGE SHELF PRICE, CLICK ON THE TABS BELOW.