The Ocean Fathoms Story

The Birth of Ocean Fathoms: A Journey from Shipwrecks to Wine Innovation

It all began with the discovery of a 19th-century shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, where divers uncovered a treasure trove of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Remarkably, when the bottles were opened, the champagne inside was still exceptional. Inspired by this, Veuve Clicquot decided to conduct an experiment aging champagne in the sea. Our founder, Emanuele Azzeretto, was captivated by this idea and wanted to taste it for himself. However, those bottles were reserved for the elite: connoisseurs, royalty, F1 drivers, and soccer stars. Undeterred and true to his stubborn Italian roots, Emanuele decided to do it himself. This bold decision, made in the late spring of 2015 off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA, marked the birth of an idea that would eventually become 50 Fathoms.

From the moment I met Emanuele, I thought he was absolutely crazy. Loud, animated, and constantly talking with wild hand gestures, he was a force of nature. You couldn’t help but love him, even though his stories always seemed a bit exaggerated. This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse as we ventured into the wine industry to promote the brand Ocean Fathoms. If a glass of wine only had a bit remaining, Emanuele would say it was overflowing. While his stories held kernels of truth, his enthusiasm often transformed them into larger-than-life tales. I frequently found myself dialing his stories back to reality, but Emanuele’s charisma and infectious energy became a key part of Ocean Fathoms’ unique charm.

Despite our frequent arguments—like brothers—we never held grudges. In one of life’s amusing twists, we later found out we share the same birthday. How does that even happen? I’m three years older, but still to this day, it almost seems like fate introduced us.

Emanuele’s determination to replicate Veuve Clicquot’s sea-aging experiment and his unwavering belief that the ocean held the secret to enhancing wine became clear early on. As I delved deeper into the science of wine aging, I began to understand the brilliance of his vision. The ocean provides the perfect environment for wine maturation: stable temperatures, pressure, darkness, a lack of oxygen, and the ocean’s natural current. The gentle rocking of the currents simulates the rotation of wine barrels, while the pressure of the ocean depth and our patented process, which creates a naturally occurring galvanic current, creates an almost magical transformation to the wine inside the bottles.

The marine life that grows on our bottles only adds to the magic of the process, creating a wine that’s truly shaped by the sea. It sounds like the perfect recipe for success, right? If only we knew the challenges that lay ahead…

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