Cellaring your wine underwater in the sea is all the rage in the Adriatic, and the subaquatic trend has now made its way to Argentina as Patagonia-based winery Wapisa has started storing some of their wines underwater just off the coast of their vineyard in Viedma, Rio Negro.
The winery has submerged 1,500 bottles of a Malbec-based blend to see how it fares under water for seven months and what changes it makes to the wine. They are experimenting with small cellar-cages at two different depths: 6 and 15 metres.
“We are excited to see whether incorporating the ocean into the ageing process will redefine the wines of Wapisa,” says Wapisa owner Patricia Ortiz, who also owns Tapiz in Mendoza. “We are looking forward to making wines that not only reflect the unique coastal terrior of Wapisa but also encompass the impacts of the sea. We wanted to start with red wine, as we believe it will age best, but have a few others that we are ageing underwater as well to compare the evolution.”
Time will tell what difference, if any, cellaring their wine under water makes. And the 2017 vintage of Wapisa (meaning whale) is currently submerged, likely to reach shore again at the end of the year.
