Hokkaido Kaiyo Matsuri, situated in Japan's northernmost main island region, is offering the public a unique opportunity to age their alcohol at sea while monitoring the process via smartphone.
Applications are open from March 20 to April 19 for individuals interested in submerging their drinks off Hokkaido's shores. The bottles will be placed underwater from June 30, 2024, to June 29, 2025.
Participation in this service costs ¥105,600 (EUR 642) per storage cage, covering submersion, monitoring, maintenance, wax sealing, and insurance. Each cage accommodates up to 12 bottles of various liquors like whisky, gin, rum, Tequila, shochu, sake, wine, sparkling wine, Champagne, or liqueurs. While the containers need to be similar in shape to standard wine or sake bottles, they don’t all have to contain the same type of alcohol.
Initially designed for sake breweries and businesses, including restaurants, seeking unique wine aging methods, this service has now opened to the public.
Hokkaido Kaiyo Matsuri also provides a monitoring service using a solar-powered camera, allowing participants to observe their sea-aged cases around the clock, as reported by Sora News 24.
Hokkaido, surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the west, the Sea of Okhotsk to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the east, offers deep-sea conditions akin to natural cellars. The constant temperature and darkness underwater enhance flavors, colors, and aromatics during aging.
Deep-sea aging initiatives are gaining traction in Japan, with a Tokyo-based PR firm recently launching a similar underwater wine aging project in Kagoshima Prefecture to stimulate the local economy.
Source: The Drinks Business