That’s One Deep Wine Cellar
July 23, 2012 If Frank Labeyrie has his way, the world’s first undersea wine cellaring service — 1,000 meters deep and 150 kilometers off the Atlantic Coast — will open next year.
Labeyrie, of Chateau du Coureau in Côtes de Bordeaux Cadillac, hopes to open his cellaring service, Vin Mille Lieu Sous Les Mers — a pun on the French title of the Jules Verne’s classic, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea — in mid-2013.
Labeyrie told Decanter.com he believes the ocean’s constant cool temperatures, zero oxygen, and zero light will help the wines age slowly, so keeping intensity of fruit for longer, and deepening flavor. He has aged 10,000 bottles of his own wine in the Arcachon Bay for the past five years, at a depth of only 5 meters, but is certain the benefits will increase with the depth.
The wine will be secured in reinforced stainless steel boxes, capable of withstanding pressure of up to one ton per cubic meter, secured to the ocean floor. Each will be equipped with cameras and a tracking device, with a wax seal over the bottles’ original corks and capsules.
Storage will be for a maximum of 10 years, and bottles will be brought up for tasting every two years, when the owner can decide whether to continue with the cellaring or not.
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