Croatian Winery Ages Its Beverages at the Bottom of a Bay

Tourists looking to make the most of their Croatian vacation should plan a trip to Edivo Vina in the town of Drače. A tour of the winery doubles as a scenic dive to the bottom of Mali Ston Bay.

As Conde Nast Traveler reports, Edivo Vina starts their wine-making process by aging their product on dry land for three months. From there, the wine is transferred to special terra-cotta jugs called amphorae and submerged 60 to 80 feet beneath the sea. The unique storage location poses a few issues; underwater the containers are vulnerable to leaks—and thieves who own diving equipment.

As a precaution, all bottles are sealed with two layers of rubber and locked in cages. According to Edivo Vina, all that effort pays off: the company says the “natural cooling” and “perfect silence” of the ocean environment refines the beverage over one to two years of aging. It also results in a gnarly layer of shells, coral, and algae covering the jug.

Visitors who wish to see the maturation process firsthand will be accompanied by experienced divers to the undersea winery. On the way, they’ll get a tour of the bay, which includes a sunken boat on the seabed. The finished product, available at the shop in Croatia and online, looks like an artifact retrieved from a shipwreck. Thankfully it doesn’t taste like one.

[h/t Conde Nast Traveler]

All images courtesy of Edivo Vina