Aging wine at sea or blending it in the air: science or marketing?

By Tom Marquardt

Call me a skeptic, but I’ve always questioned whether wine really tastes different depending on where—or how deep—you drink it. Look no further than Wine of the Sea, an outfit started by a Croatian oyster farmer who decided to stash a few bottles 100 feet beneath the surface of the Adriatic. Marko Dušević, as the story goes, was seeking alternative storage for his cottage during the hot summer while he was away. So, he sank a number of bottles in a cage. When the diver retrieved the wine, he thought it was better—an assessment confirmed by the wine’s producer, who drank it alongside the same wine stored at the winery. The conclusion? The environment’s constant temperature, lack of oxygen, pressure, and gentle rocking motion softened the acidity and created a rounder style that would come naturally with age. I tried several bottles of these expensive wines—good juice, but I didn’t have the comparison. Similarly, Jefferson’s ages a bourbon at sea, arguing the salty ocean air and rolling motion accelerate flavor extraction.

Not to be outdone by what happens underwater, more lofty experts have made similar arguments when wine is tasted well above water—at altitudes of 3,000 feet or more. Whether it is served in a business-class seat of an airplane or in an Adirondack chair at a mountain lodge, wine can be impacted by the same pressure applied at ocean depths—or so the argument goes. Reduced atmospheric pressure presumably disperses the aromas too quickly for dried-out nasal membranes; tannins and acids are magnified while fruit is subdued.

Now comes Jesse Katz, the talented winemaker at Aperture Cellars in Sonoma County, with a fix. Recognizing the impact on wines served at high altitudes, he took flight to make a blend while cruising aboard a United Airlines plane from New York to San Francisco. This is the kind of person you want to sit next to, as opposed to the guy who takes off his shoes—a smell that is probably amplified at 35,000 feet. His final blend consisted of a well-behaved 76% cabernet sauvignon, 12% malbec, 6% merlot, 4% petit verdot, and 2% cabernet franc. Setting aside the science of the exercise, Katz could be driven by Aperture’s business partnership with United Airlines. Aperture Cellars’ newly conceived, world’s-first wine will be served in United’s Polaris business-class cabin.

One hundred feet below sea level, 35,000 feet in the air—clever marketing gimmicks or better science? I’m happy consuming wine in a comfortable tasting room.

(AI has been used for research and to correct grammar and spelling only).