What To Drink Now: Underwater Wine

We, as true wine lovers, will do just about anything to savor a perfect glass of wine, and to try to make sure when we open that special bottle it is the best it can be.  Now a Napa Valley winery is taking this desire to ensure that the aging of their wine once it hits the bottle is the best it can be by placing four of their precious cases of 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena into the bottom of the ocean off Charleston Harbor.  Mira Winery in Napa Valley will leave their cases there for three months to see how ocean aging changes, advances, destroys or simply keeps their wine status quo starting next week.  According to Mira Winery, ocean aging is currently used by a number of European wine producers who believe that there are ideal aging conditions found underwater, as evidenced when several decades old bottles are found at the bottom of the ocean around ship wrecks, it has even been speculated that the oceanic movements enhance the wine.  Mira Winery winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez agrees, noting “The ocean has similar ideal elements that impact aging – temperature, pressure, humidity, pressure motion, light — or lack thereof — and oxygen.”  Will it work?  We will see in three months….