Find out how this Croatian town uses an underwater wine cellar to age its alcohol

Croatia has found a unique way to perfect its local wine by taking inspiration from an age-old natural technique. In 2014, during a routine sea cleanup, residents of the town of Ika found a large plateau lying 20 metres underwater.

Inspired by the incident, they began storing their local wine in the same way. After tasting the wine from the first few hundred bottles they had stored under the sea, they were impressed by its delicious aroma and taste.

“Compared to other water-aged wines, specifically those aged in the sea, here in Ika, we have a source of potable water that creates a unique microenvironment that affects the wine,” Kresimir Mikinac, the head of education at the Croatian Sommeliers Club, told European outlet Euro News.

Although this method of ageing is new and requires much more research, the results are promising. “The combination of freshwater and seawater gives a special uniqueness to the wine, especially when we take into account the different temperatures and mineral content of drinking water compared to seawater. The mixture of these waters creates a distinctive influence on spring-aged wine,” he says.

Today, the annual ritual of dipping and retrieving wine bottles has become a tradition for Croatian wine producers. They use the underwater method for a wide range of alcoholic beverages, including red wine, white wine and sparkling wine.

The bottles range from the cheapest to the most expensive, at 300 euros. This year, almost 5,000 new bottles of wine have been submerged in the sea, where they will age for another year before being recovered for tasting next summer.