Nearly 2,000 Bottles of Wine Spent 6 Months Submerged in the Norwegian Sea; Here’s Why

1,700 bottles of sparkling wine spent 6 months aging 111 feet beneath the frigid waters of the Norwegian Sea. (Photo: Hurtigruten Norway)

Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten and British winery Rathfinny Wine Estate joined forces to conduct a unique experiment, aptly named “Havets Bobler” or “Bubbles From the Sea,” to commemorate Hurtigruten’s 130th anniversary. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the ambitious project entailed submerging 1,700 sealed bottles of sparkling wine, nestled in wax, approximately 111 feet beneath the chilly waters of the Norwegian Sea.

The selected location for the wine bottles, hidden in a remote area near northern Norway close to the Arctic Circle, offered the ideal environment for the six-month underwater aging process, with water temperatures averaging a frosty 41 degrees Fahrenheit, per the report.

The rationale behind this daring undertaking was to explore how the cold temperatures, absence of light and the increased pressure at such depths could potentially impact the sparkling wine’s taste, consistency and effervescence. The team hypothesized that these conditions might deliver a final product with softer bubbles and a smoother mouthfeel, reported Smithsonian Magazine.

After six months of patiently waiting, in May, the expedition crew carefully raised the wine-filled crates from the depths and sampled the contents. Tani Gurra, the beverage director of Hurtigruten Norway, candidly shared that the expectations were mere “speculation” until the taste test.

However, Norwegian sommelier Nikolai Haram Svorte expressed surprise at the freshness retained by the ocean-rested sparkling wine. The experiment, deemed hugely intriguing, unveiled a unique aging method that yielded refreshing citrus notes and a mineral, oyster-like finish, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Following retrieval, the wine will undergo light cleaning and be stored on Hurtigruten ships for passengers to enjoy during voyages along the Norwegian coast.

Shockingly, this isn’t the first time booze has deliberately spent time sitting at the bottom of a large body of water. In December 2022, Swiss gin producer Ginial sunk approximately 230 liters of craft gin in Lake Constance to age it. Unfortunately, the outcome didn’t quite end the same way as Hurtigruten’s wine experiment. The gin, along with its 1,763-pound ball vessel, was stolen while it rested at the bottom of the lake attached to a 500-kilogram concrete slab. It has still not been found.

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