Argentinian winery Wapisa reveals ‘stunning’ results of ocean wine ageing experiment

Argentinian winery Wapisa has revealed the “stunning” results of its nine-month underwater wine ageing experiment, after becoming first in the country to embrace the trend.

Last year, Patricia Ortiz, founder of Bodega Tapiz, announced that her Patagonian winery Wapisa was experimenting with underwater wine ageing of 1,500 bottles of a Malbec blend as part of its “coastal terroir” project.

With the help of a biologist and a diver, the team submerged 1,500 magnums of their 2017 Malbec-blend in crates at depths varying from six and 15 metres off the Atlantic Río Negro coast.

The bottles remained in situ for nine months, before they were tasted and inspected in direct comparison with bottles that were cellared on land.

“We seek elegance in our wines” Ortiz said.

“We were curious to explore if underwater ageing could actually allow us to have young wines with the benefit of maturity.

“We tasted the underwater-aged wine and the cellar-aged counterparts blind, the difference was stunning: the former was rounder, more elegant and with fresher fruit,” she revealed.

A second batch of bottles is set to be submerged this month – at the end of February 2021 – in improved cages that allow sea water to circulate through the bottles. The bottles will be marketed for consumers to taste themselves.

Wapisa is based in Río Negro, 25 miles from the sea and was founded in 2017. The winery also produces Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir sourced from its Los Acantilados estate.