Abissi by Bisson - an innovative wine cellar under the sea...

Dear Wine Lovers,

today I'm going to tell you about a wine totally different from others mentioned in this blog, I'm going to tell you about a romantic love story between a man and the sea.

Ten years ago, Mr. Pierluigi Lugano, founder and manager of Bisson Wine Company from Portofino, started a really innovative project, an Italian sparkling wine (metodo classico) but with an amazing story...

Which are the best ambiental conditions to realize this kind of wine? a cellar with an environment that meets thespecific conditions of temperature and light (underground caves and tunnels)... but, in Portofino? do you know Portofino?

Portofino is a wonderful small fishing village protected by a promontory, amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, but this unique place is not famous for his underground wine cellars and tunnels, so the owner of the company, Mr. Lugano, has had an old but innovative idea....

He thought about the wrecks of the galleons under the sea, which have often returned wine boxes really well-preserved and with organoleptic characteristics intact, so, combining a passion for wine and love for the sea, he thought that the ideal place to rest the wine could actually be the seabed, why? Depth 60 m, +15 ° constant temperature, darkness, pressure and a series of favorable factors in this ideal context for the most exclusive "champagne".

This project named "Abissi" started in 2009 and they produce about 6.500 bottles per year. "Abissi" is a sparkling wine (metodo classico, as Champagne or our amazing Franciacorta for example). They send the bottles under the Ligurian sea, stowed in 11grids for 18 months. The grapes could be different year by year but usually they produce this original and unique wine with some native grapes from Liguria as Bianchetta Genovese, Vermentino and Pigato as well.

I tasted this wine a couple of days ago (thanks @Mamba for this special gift) the bottle is fantastic, full of remnants of the seabed, sand included. Maybe the wine is not the best wine that I've ever had but it's a good wine, well-done and it could be a really original gift for all people that love the world of wine. This is not only a "marketing idea", the experiment has worked and the final product is pretty awesome.

Some tasting notes: the colour is a clear and unloaded golden yellow, the perlage is firm but gentle, scents remind all the Liguria spring flowers with a touch of taste of the sea (minerality). It's dry, good acidity and I think that this wine is perfect for a spring aperitif with friends, to amaze them and have fun togheter.

and if u enjoyed this story, here you can find a post on an another innovative way to produce wine:

http://wineloverscorner.blogspot.com/2011/01/al-paradiso-di-frassina-magic-of-music.html

Stay tuned,

Angelo D'Alessandro

thedeliciousworld@gmail.com