Edivo Vina is making a splash in the wine world

When we think of good wine and great wineries, we think of a number of go to places. Some of which include the chateaux region of Southwest France, the Marlborough region of New Zealand, the wineries sounding Cape Town region of South Africa, alongside Argentina, Italy and (of course) a number of world famous vineyards on my own doorstep in Kent. That said, Croatia has been quietly making waves while competing with the best of them!

Although I will be mentioning a few places to enjoy wine in Croatia in this article, a winery that caught my eye was one just outside Dubrovnik, where one gentleman has taken the world by storm with his vision and implementation of what is Croatia’s first underwater winery. Ivo Šegović explains how the wine he was making formerly in his cellar, with grapes grown across five vineyards in Pelješac, has been completely transformed in it’s new habitat; like it had become part of the ocean.

Ivo, the director of the Edivo Vina winery, first started exploring what his wine could achieve by going from the cellar to the ocean back in 2009. Ivo stores his wine in Roman-style amphoras which he uses as vessels to keep the wine in. He then takes each one down to store inside a cage, fifthteen meters below sea level… and keeps each bottle and amphora submerged for over 700 days. Ivo’s cage (now rusty and entwined with algae) has essentially become his cellar.

Although Edivo Vina winery presented their idea to the local government in 2009, it was not until 2012 that Ivo was given permission to set up shop underwater. To rent an area of seabed Ivo required, he would have to obtain full permission from the local council (who govern the beautiful Litte Ston bay, found in Croatia’s picturesque Peljesac peninsula). Until such time as permission was granted in 2012, Ivo had to be patient… just like the beautifully crafted wine he makes.

Once Ivo had demonstrated that storing his wine underwater would not harm nor endanger the ocean and it’s habitants, he had to secure a location. Originally unsure as to which location would bring out the best in his wine, he secured ten separate locations to test the waters! Over time, Ivo felt that the location in Little Ston bay was the place to store his wine, and so, Edivo Vina had found it’s new home. Aside from the calm waters and steady temperature remaining at fifteen degrees all year round, the vibrant seabed was also home to (and renowned for) it’s world famous oysters.

Ivo leaves a mixture of glass bottles of wine and clay sculpted amphoras on the seabed inside a (now rusted) cage for two years, checking on them personally every two weeks. When pulled up from the sea, each vessel can acquire up to 3000 oysters clung to each amphora / bottle! After loosing lots of wine in the experimental period, many advised Ivo to down-tools and take his wine back to the cellar. But Ivo’s journey had only just begun, and he very much viewed these initial problems as mere stumbling blocks… and began overcoming these ‘teething problems’ to move forward and refine his wine.

In Ivo’s own words, he says that it was his grandfather’s voice that saw him through this period. When his grandfather invited him down to his cellar as a child, he would ask Ivo to close the door. This was so light could not enter the cellar, thus creating a finer wine. Ivo applied this logic to his underwater concept, which is what gave him the idea of exploring this ideology a little deeper and taking his wine to the water.

The benefits of storing his wine in Little Ston bay, for Ivo, outweighed the argument of returning to a land based cellar for the following reasons; the sustained temperature of the water, and the dark light conditions. Together, these conditions have proved a perfect environment to store wine. The temperature of the water in Little Ston bay stays at 15 degrees all year round, with a calm seabed which also remains dark all year round, with the pressure of the sea creating a complex, aromatic wine.

Aside from what seem like perfect conditions to mature wine in, Ivo’s theory as to why the wine tastes so good doesn’t stop there. He believes that the gentle tide actually massages his wine, which in turn creates a smoother, more rounded flavour and perfectly aged wine. Aside from that, the novelty of throwing on scuba gear to swim to pick your own amphora adds to the experience and authentic appearance of each amphora and / or bottle.

Divers are encouraged to pick their own amphora, which they can also keep as a souvenir… with one amphora costing between €67 to €280 per vessel.

Although the concept of ageing drinks underwater is not a new one, with a number of wine and beer producers ditching the cellar for the ocean, the idea arrived by chance. Sadly, the idea of storing alcohol underwater was originally inspired by aged bottles of Champagne found on shipwrecks. The contents of which had not only aged over time, but had improved and somehow grown in flavour. Ivo, as have others, have applied the same principles in the production of making their wines.

The first time this was discovered was in the Baltic Sea in 2010, when 700 year old Champagne bottles were discovered, 698 no less! And, so, the benefits of storing wine under water added both quality, and value to the wine… with one bottle being sold for €15,000! Veuve Clicquot is a Champagne winery who have in fact sank there bubbles by the original site of the shipwreck where the first bottles were found, and so, the relationship between the ocean and wine dates back many years. But only in recent years has it caught-on!

Furthermore, storing drinks underwater has not only caught-on internationally, but also in Ivo’s home country of Croatia, with a brewer sinking 30 bottles of porter beer seven metres below sea level earlier this year in a secret location near the island of Pag.

That said, Edivo Vina expect to submerge 500 bottles before the year is out (2018), which is the same amount as the Hush Heath Estate (in Staplehurst, Kent) aim to bottle moving forward. A huge feet Ivo, as an emerging, submerging business! Hats-off to you sir!

Cruscoe Treasure Underwater Cellar in Bilbao, France, also ages it’s wine in the sea. With other players including the Mira winery ageing their Cabernet Sauvignon in the Charleston Harbour in South Carolina too.

Pelješac is a place to find excellent wines, including varieties such as their world famous Dingač or Plavac Mali. Aside from wines made in Pelješac, is Ivo’s winery in the Adriatic sea. The deep, crystal blue, Adriatic that is steeped in mystery, treasure… and now, the aptly named ‘Navis Mysterium’, which quite simply translates; The Sea Mystery. Edivo Vina as a winery must be most proud of their achievements, hard work, and determination. Patience has prevailed.

For more information about Ivo, where you can buy a bottle of Edivo Vina’s Navis Mysterium, or to check out the Edivo Vina winery, head over to their website… or better still, book a trip to Little Ston bay (just outside of Dubrovnik, Croatia) to pick an amphora for yourself! živjeli (cheers)! 🌊🏺🍷