The Underwater Wine Cellars Of Edivo Vina Winery, Croatia

The Edivo winery in Croatia is in Drace, a small community in the Peljesac Peninsula – a notable region with excellent vineyards and reputable wine varietals like Dingač.

In 2011, the winery made its first wine. It is owned by Ivo and Anto Šegović and Edi Bajurin, and is led by a family with a history of winemaking. Ivo had the idea to age their bottles underwater in 2009, but it took them three years to get the go-ahead and correct paperwork from the authorities.

The wine is unique. They age bottles and amphorae, special clay containers, in the Adriatic sea. They have perfected this art through different experiments; in 2013 and 2014, they dropped the amphorae in various locations in the peninsula and discovered that they had to find innovative ways of protecting the wine in the depths of the sea. Today, they place the bottle in a clay container, protect it with thick rubber and a strong cork, and then take it to the sea at 25 meters depth[1].

This technique is called the Navis Mysterium (Sea Mystery)[2]. Every bottle has a mark that makes it unique and free from the risk of theft. They offer a thrilling experience where one can dive to retrieve their wine, which adds to the allure and even price of the product, costing anywhere between 67 to 280 EUR per bottle.

The winery uses native grape varietals to produce their wines. The Navis Mysterium Undersea Amphora is made with the Dingač grapes and the Navis Q Undersea bottle is made with Plavac Mali and Dingač varieties.
Other companies have since replicated the winery’s style of underwater aging. In 2010, a shipwreck was found with 170-year-old Champagne, which was auctioned at 15,000 EUR a bottle. Wineries such as Veuve Clicquot have been following a similar process of under the sea aging.

California has had a long history of winemaking. In 1852, Agoston Haraszthy bought 120 acres of land in San Francisco and an even bigger parcel in San Mateo County[3]. Coming from Hungary, Haraszthy had gone to America to live his dreams of finding “purple gold,” he was looking for the perfect region to grow grapes and make wine but discovered that San Francisco and San Mateo were not the ideal environments.

In 1860, he bought land in Sonoma County and was always convinced that the region would support grape growing. He acquired 800 more acres in this region and planted his first vines. He then established his winery and produced 6,500 gallons of his first vintage. Buena Vista winery continued to expand, and eventually, he had 250 acres of land full of grapes.

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As a pioneer of wine in the region, he experimented with different styles over the years. He was the first winery to experiment with redwood barrels and created wine caves to age the wine[4]. Today, the winery produces The Count’s Selection Carignane, 2019 Private Reserve Zinfandel, 2019 Private Reserve Chardonnay, and many more.

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References

^[1] Dobson, Jim. “The Underwater Wine Cellars Of Croatia Beneath The Adriatic Sea.” Forbes, 22 June 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2020/06/22/the-underwater-wine-cellars-of-croatia-beneath-the-adriatic-sea/?sh=762118343cf7. Accessed 20 February 2022.
^[2] Winetraveller. n.d. “Edivo Underwater Winery (Croatia) • Wine Tastings, Tours, Reviews & Hours.” Winetraveler. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://www.winetraveler.com/winery/edivo-underwater-winery/.
^[3] BuenaVista website. “BUENA VISTA TODAY.” Buena Vista Winery, https://buenavistawinery.com/about-us/buena-vista-today/. Accessed 20 February 2022.
^[4] Todorov, Kerana. “Larger-than-life Performance Actor George Webber Retires from Role as Count of Buena Vista.” Wine Business, 20 July 2021, https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/249154/. Accessed 20 February 2022.