Winemaker “Drops” Over 150 Bottles Of Chardonnay Into The Atlantic Ocean
City Winery Boston’s winemaker Richard Jacob took home gold at the 2021 Eastern States Exposition’s Wine Competition for his delicious Chardonnay, and he’s celebrating in a unique way! The Eastern States Exposition is the sixth largest fair in the nation and the biggest on the East Coast, with over 200 wines being submitted and judged in a blind taste test this year. Richard’s 2019 Chardonnay received a Gold Medal and to make it even more savory, he’s decided to take it into the ocean!
Credit: City Winery; Richard Jacob (left) and Christian Palmero (right)
Richard dropped over 150 bottles of his locally made Chardonnay into the Atlantic Ocean as a part of his “Ocean Aging Wine Project”. This is part of the new idea that aging wine in the ocean can make it taste like it's been aged for a couple of years or longer, making it more refined in flavor. At the depth the wines are being stored in, they’ll be at a temperature of 52-56ºF with no sunlight and oxygen present - making it the perfect place to age wine. The bottles are safely enclosed in lobster traps at an undisclosed location off of the Massachusetts coast. The wine, made with grapes from Sonoma Valley and fermented primarily in stainless steel, will be retrieved in November or December with tasting festivities to follow!
Credit: City Winery
Credit: City Winery
“I was inspired to age my latest Chardonnay in the ocean (somewhere between Boston Harbor and Cape Cod) after seeing and reading about how the Spanish, French, Italian, and Croatian wineries are doing this in the Mediterranean... I mean how New England is Boston-made wine aged in lobster traps?”
Richard Jacob joined the City Winery Boston team when it opened in 2017 and was promoted to winemaker in 2018. Jacob is currently enrolled in the University of California Davis’ Winemaking Certificate Program.
The award-winning wine is now available at City Winery, Boston!
Credit: City Winery