Shipwreck Champagne – History Blog

A 19th-century shipwreck filled with champagne, wine, mineral water and intact porcelain has been discovered off the coast of the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea.

The Baltictech Association, a group of technical divers dedicated to exploring Baltic shipwrecks, discovered the wreck in Swedish waters 190 feet 20 nautical miles south of the island of Öland. Baltic Technologies crews spotted the wreckage via sonar, but it barely showed up on scans, so they thought it might be a small fishing vessel. Two divers decided to check it out just in case, and when a “quick dive” caused them to disappear for two hours, the crew realized it wasn’t just an old fishing boat.

This is a 19th-century sailing ship preserved in the dark, cold, waterless depths of the Baltic Sea. The wooden boxes and baskets on board are filled with exquisite glass wine bottles and stone mineral water bottles. A diver can count 100 bottles of champagne and another 100 bottles of water, but these are only things easily identified on the surface. There may be more beneath the wreck.

They recycled a water bottle with the imprint of Selters, a famous German mineral water brand, which is the origin of the term “soda water” and is still produced today. The style of the sign indicates that the water (and therefore the boat) dates to between 1850 and 1867. The pottery factories that made pottery bottlers for Selters also still exist, and information from them may help narrow down the date range further.

At the time, Seltese water was valued for its medicinal properties and not just as a refreshing drink, so it was very expensive and, like Champagne, exported only to the tables of the wealthiest and most aristocratic. Champagne bottles don’t have the manufacturer’s mark as clearly visible as on water bottles, but the letter R on the cork can be an important clue.

One of the lingering mysteries surrounding the wreck is the Champagne’s origins and intended destination. [Polish diver and Baltictech team leader Tomasz] Stachula speculates that the bottles may contain Louis Roederer champagne, a brand favored by the Russian court in the 19th century. It is worth noting that in 1876, Louis Roederer Champagne House began to produce a special cuvée called Cristal exclusively for Russian Tsar Alexander II. Whether the bottles are indeed Louis Roederer champagne remains to be confirmed, but the possibility adds an interesting layer to the discovery.

Despite the excitement of this discovery, questions remain about the condition and drinkability of the Champagne. The team is conducting further investigations in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Archeology at Södertörn University in Sweden, under the guidance of Professor Johan Rönnby. However, there are some administrative hurdles that need to be overcome before any bottles can be recovered from the site. As Staczula pragmatically pointed out, “It’s been there for 170 years, so it can wait another year so we can better prepare for the operation.”

This is a 3D model of the shipwreck site from Baltictech. While the resolution isn’t high enough to see the details of the cargo, you can see how intact the ship is.