Could the Mediterranean help Axarquia produce better wine? Researchers at the University of Malaga (UMA) are investigating whether keeping bottles beneath the sea changes their taste, aroma and chemical composition.
A blind tasting on October 14 brought the experiment into a new phase, with 32 participants assessing 22 wine samples. Eleven had been stored underwater, while the other eleven were kept in conventional cellars. Results from laboratory tests are still needed before scientists can say whether the unusual ageing method offers any real advantage to wine producers.
Five months beneath the Mediterranean
The project, called Vinos Sumergidos, began with 160 bottles from six Axarquia wineries. They were placed in a cage at a depth of around 10 metres in waters near Malaga’s Real Club Mediterraneo in February and recovered in July. White, red and sweet wines were included, allowing researchers to investigate whether different types respond differently to underwater storage.
Scientists monitored conditions including water temperature, depth and movement during the five-month trial. Bottles of the same wines stored on land provided a comparison, helping the team assess whether the marine environment had made a measurable difference.
Have the underwater wines improved?
Initial observations have caught the researchers’ attention, particularly the sweet wines. One white wine opened after the bottles were recovered also appeared more golden and gave an impression of greater maturity.
However, these early observations are not necessarily proof of better quality. Scientists need to compare the full set of samples and establish whether any differences can be measured and reproduced. Laboratory work will examine acidity, sugar levels, alcohol content, pH and polyphenols. These measurements will help researchers establish whether changes noticed during tasting correspond to differences in the wine’s chemical composition.
A wine that tastes different is not necessarily a better wine. Any claim that underwater ageing produces superior bottles would need evidence from the tasting and laboratory results.
Could Axarquia wineries benefit?
Commercial underwater wine ageing already exists elsewhere in Spain. Escaramujo Wines operates an underwater winery off Estepona, while a producer in Aguilas, Murcia, has also developed a marine ageing process. Malaga’s experiment is different because it is designed to compare underwater-aged wines with equivalent bottles kept in conventional cellars under a research protocol.
If the results reveal consistent differences, participating wineries could consider whether the technique has commercial potential. It might offer a way to develop distinctive wines, create limited editions or attract visitors interested in wine tourism. The project involves six Axarquia producers: Dimobe, Bodegas Bentomiz, Viñedos Verticales, Fabio Coullet, Bodegas Almijara, Dominio de Arenas and Bodegas Jorge Ordoñez. For the region’s wine industry, the key question is whether the method can deliver a repeatable benefit rather than simply an unusual story to tell customers.
For now, the verdict is still in the murky depths. The laboratory findings will determine whether the Mediterranean has genuinely changed these wines, and whether those changes could be the secret to Axarquia’s wine success.