You Have To See This Amazing Underwater Winery In Croatia

Croatia already drinks a lot of wine. In fact, it’s one of the top wine-consuming countries in the whole world—it’s actually in the top five. But now, this little country is doubling down on its boozy tourism with an underwater winery. Yes, you read that right and yes, it’s open for business.

This underwater winery is about an hour north of the capital, Dubrovnik, in the town of Drače, on the Pelješac peninsula. Naturally, it’s completely gorgeous (as is most of Croatia), and we hope the wine is equally spectacular.

The winery is called Edivo Vina, and they have been working on this project for years. The first wine was bottled in 2011, and the first bottles of wine were dropped underwater in late 2013 and early 2014 after years of research.

Visitors to Edivo will be invited to join a dive to the underwater storage facility for the wine. On the way, you’ll even get to swim past an old sunken boat at the bottom of the Mali Ston Bay where the winery is located. Definitely better than a stodgy vineyard tour with 30 other people.

So what’s the whole point of this underwater wine? Well, first, the wine is aged on land for three months. Then it’s stored in clay jugs called amphorae, which date back to the Neolithic Period. The bottled wine is sealed tightly inside the amphorae underwater for one to two years, and then brought up on land for sale.

This offbeat storage method gives the wine a “distinct pinewood aroma,” but doesn’t damage the taste or color in any way. In fact, the owners of Edivo think that storing wine underwater is the best way to keep it at a consistent temperature, and that the absence of sound improves the quality of the wine.

If you’re already planning a visit to beautiful Croatia, it seems like you’ll have to put this incredible winery on your list of things to do. Cheers!