2,000 Wine Bottles Seized And Destroyed In Connection To Illegal Underwater Aging Scheme

(Photo: Ocean Fathoms Wine/Instagram)

Authorities in Santa Barbara, California have seized and destroyed 2,000 bottles of wine involved in an illicit underwater aging operation that endangered both customers and marine wildlife.

Ocean Fathoms, founded by Emanuele Azzaretto and Todd Hahn, began sinking dozens of crates of wine a mile off the coast of Santa Barbara in 2017. Crates were submerged for a year, enough time for an ecosystem of barnacles and shells to develop on each bottle. When the wine was fished back up, bottles reportedly sold for as much as $500 each.

According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, all of this was done without the required permission of the California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or even an alcohol sales permit. After conducting an investigation, the FDA determined that the wine was unfit for human consumption.

Images from a belated authorization request submitted to the California Coastal Commission, 2021. (Photo: Ocean Fathoms)

Azzaretto and Hahn have now pled guilty to illegally discharging pollutants into waterways, selling alcohol without a license and aiding and abetting in investor fraud.

Up until August 10, Ocean Fathoms regularly posted updates on its Instagram account, showing off pictures of octopus-entangled wine, serene sunsets and boozy boat tours. The company claims that it donated a portion of proceeds to a local environmental non-profit; according to the Attorney’s Office, no evidence of a donation was ever found.

 

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Evidently, the look of the bottles — covered in dead and illegally obtained wildlife — was what commanded such high prices on the black market.

Ocean Fathoms says on its website: “Scarcity is paramount to those fortunate enough to pursue its reward. But treasure alone is not enough; it is diminished without a ‘Story’; the mystery, intrigue and peril that impart its discovery. There is an adventurer in every collector, irrespective of the treasure sought.”

In accordance with their plea deal, Azzaretto and Hahn have been ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to an unnamed investor. Furthermore, the duo is reportedly forbidden from conducting any form of business in the country for the time being.

“This case involved individuals who operated with complete disregard for our consumer and environmental laws […] The case highlights the importance of our office’s relationship with outside agencies and it demonstrates our commitment to holding companies and individuals accountable for violating all types of consumer and environmental laws,” said District Attorney John T. Savrnoch in court.

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