Here is an interesting article submitted by Advisory Board member Jorge Proctor. Although not about a 1715 Fleet wreck it is nevertheless a very fascinating story about the HMS Gloucester, a wreck of great historical significance. The entire article can be accessed here:
Unopened wine bottles still on board a royal ship 340 years after it sank (msn.com)
Among the many noteworthy artifacts found were unopened bottles of wine 340 years old! This is not the first time that full bottles of wine have been pulled from shipwrecks. In 2010, a team of divers recovered 14 bottles of 350 year old wine plucked out of a decrepit shipwreck off the coast of Hamburg, Germany. Two of the bottles were put up for auction at Christie’s London with a pre-auction estimate of between $32,900.00 and $38,000.00. In 2011 a nearly 200 year old bottle of champaign recovered from a wreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea sold for $43,000.00. Unopened bottles of champaign were also found on the Titanic.
So, if you have the inclination (and the money) you might just keep an eye out for the next auction of “Shipwreck Wine” to add to your wine cellar. Or, you can simply settle for a more conventional bottle of red at your local wine shop.
