Bubbles overboard

A wine maker from Liguria recently dropped 6,500 bottles of Italian spumante into the sea off the coast of Portofino, where the bubbly will mature underwater for 18 months. The bottles were placed 60 meters below sea level in Portofino’s marine reserve, in what the winemaker explains has unique atmospheric conditions, among them a near-constant temperature of 15C, near-total absence of light, and an important ‘cradle effect’ from the marine currents.The spumante, made by Cantina Bisson, will be sold under the name Abissi Riserva Marina di Portofino. A special 26-litre container will be auctioned off when the bottles are hauled out in 2010, and the funds raised from the auction will be donated to support biological research at the marine reserve and local volunteer associations.