A team of divers from the Baltictech Project recently made a remarkable discovery at a 19th-century shipwreck resting on the seabed of the Baltic Sea. The shipwreck contained crates of unopened champagne, which might still be drinkable.
Baltictech describes itself as a project aimed at promoting the Baltic Sea as the “world’s best wreck dive site” and is lobbying for the accessibility of Baltic wrecks. During one of their recent dives, Baltictech divers uncovered the wreck of a small merchant ship. It wasn’t a particularly important discovery as the bottom of the Baltic Sea is full of them.
However, Baltictech team leader Tomasz Stachura wanted to give the shipwreck a closer inspection, and his decision paid off in the end. It turned out that the ship was carrying some valuable items, including unopened champagne, wine, and porcelain.
It isn’t often that unopened champagne bottles are found on shipwrecks, which makes Baltictech’s quite interesting. They reported the find to the authorities and are now waiting for approval to get the found items on the shore and give them a closer inspection.
There is a chance that the champagne might still be drinkable and quite possibly in better condition compared to bottles aged on land if their cork is undamaged. The sea, due to its lack of oxygen and cold and dark environment, would, in theory, keep the champagne inside the bottle intact.
If it turns out that champagne is safe to drink, Stachura is open to having a sip.
“If some expert says it’s drinkable?” Stachura told The New York Times. “Yes, yes, why not? It would be nice to try what people would drink 170 years ago.”