Underwater Winery

As a child, Borja Saracho loved reading the Tintin book series. He was especially taken with the tale of the cub reporter teaming up with a captain who recovers bottles of rum from a shipwreck underwater.

After becoming a diver as an adult, Saracho drew inspiration from that memory to create Crusoe Treasure, a winery that crafts structures made of iron and concrete to age its product at 40 feet deep, protected from the waves of the Bay of Biscay, off Spain’s northern coast just outside the city of Bilbao.

The result is a smooth wine, one with very little acidity. “Normally when you drink wine, it’s strong on your tongue — it’d be too much to try to drink it in the morning,” says Saracho.

“But this wine is like water. It’s so easy to drink you could have it with breakfast if you wanted.”

You don’t have to pair the wine with pancakes to appreciate its subtle flavors, which are developed from aging one to two years in 57-degree water. You do, however, need to be a certified diver if, during a tour of the facility, you opt to join your waiter underwater to recover a bottle of your own.

Underwater Distillery

The Caribbean is known for its smooth rum — essentially fermented sugar cane and molasses — but Cayman Spirits Co. has given the aging process an underwater twist. Seven Fathoms rum undergoes a unique aging technique. It’s stored in oak bourbon casks, then taken to a secret location off the coast of the Cayman Islands and submerged at 7 fathoms (42 feet). The waves act as natural distillers, rotating the barrels. After three years, the casks are retrieved and the rum is bottled. The rum is known for its citrus notes and earthy vanilla flavors. Cayman Spirits is now exporting to the United States and Canada.