Wines are traditionally stored in cellars for several years before being sold. An intriguing new theory holds that they may mature better at the bottom of the sea.

Ever hear the one about the crazy Frenchman who threw his wine in the sea?

The punchline is that it’s no joke. The Frenchman in question is Jean-Louis Saget, a winemaker convinced that he’s discovered something revolutionary.

Almost 20 years ago, Saget decided to test an old idea that the cool temperature and gentle movement of the sea floor was an excellent environment for the maturation of wines. He was no novice to winemaking at the time. His family winemaking firm, in Pouilly-sur-Loire has existed since the 18th century, and is known in France for its excellent wines.

In 1995, Saget sank 10,000 bottles of Pouilly Fumé to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, crossed his fingers, and hoped for the best.

An earlier experiment, involving a mere 800 bottles of 1989 Touraine Blanc, Pouilly Fumé, and Coteau-du-Layon wines had given Saget good reason for optimism. Submerged in May 1990, the wines remained undisturbed under 30 feet of water until June 1994, when they were carefully raised to the surface for a taste test.

Sea Wines Convince the Experts!

A panel of experts evaluated the “sea wines”, then did the same with identical wines that had been conventionally stored in cellars.

“This was a very important first step,” Saget explains.

“For centuries, there had been rumors about magnificent ‘nectars’ fished out of the ocean, years after shipwrecks had unexpectedly ‘stored’ them there – but no one had ever tasted or tested them. No one really knew what these mysterious nectars really were!”

The early tastings indicated sea storage was a veritable fountain of youth for the lucky wines that had gotten to take the plunge. Much to Saget’s delight, the experts pronounced them less aged and having more character than their cave-stored peers. The sea wines were livelier, fuller-bodied, rounder in the mouth.

(Actually, they may just have been hopping around like wet puppies, trying to warm up a bit and dry off, but their exuberance charmed the tasters.)

Saget Tkes the Plunge

In June 1995, 10,000 carefully wax-sealed bottles were shipped out to sea. When Saget retrieved them in 1999, many were covered with barnacles, making them resemble something from Davy Jones’ Locker.

Barnacles or no, the new batch once again made a hit with the tasters, who pronounced them “full and mysterious, with a hint of grapefruit zest.” Saget’s sea wine turned out to be one of the rarest and most coveted whites in France as wine-lovers searched for the perfect wine to toast the new millennium.

Sea wines are still not common, but their promise has caught the attention of other winemakers and may soon be more widely available.