A revolutionary idea Borja, a passionate nature lover and seaman was inspired by shipwrecked wines to make and create the world’s first underwater wine cellar to better understand how wine and other beverages could age well under the sea. "We knew the incomparable beauty of this place and how heavy fishing activity in the area had broken the delicate balance of marine fauna, we felt that creating a cellar that was also a marine habitat could create an alternative way to restore the balance with nature and benefit from the close proximity of one of the best wine regions in the world.” says Borja.
The cellar is a work of engineering and marine ingenuity, more than ten meters deep strong concrete blocks were installed to withstand the onslaught of the sea and its currents. The structures have a dual purpose; on the one hand they serve as a cellar where barrels and bottles of wine are stored; on the other it creates an artificial reef with the aim of recovering native species that have disappeared.
The unique wines that are aged in the underwater cellar undergo a unique aging process that gives them a special bouquet. The process begins as ground with selective harvesting grapes (Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano). These grape are aged in oak barrels for six months before being bottled and submerged underwater for a continuous period of one year and then be brought ashore and stored. During this time the wine takes shape under very special conditions, darkness, constant movement produced by marine currents and zero gravity. The result according to internationally renowned oenologists is a unique wine that will not leave anyone indifferent.
The cellar today is now home to more than a thousand marine species repopulating the seabed, and attracting species that once inhabited these waters to return. In order to bring visitors closer to the wine and to the sea, choose from a variety of experiences from a visit on land, or a boat ride to the cellar, lunch on boat, to visits around the bay, accompanied by a wine tasting and pintxos.
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