SALUTE

FROM THE SEA

Underneath a buoy in a picturesque harbor in France are tanks of fermenting grapes. It turns out the sea is a perfect place to begin the winemaking process.

STORY: MARY ANN DESANTIS ILLUSTRATION: JOSH CLARK Basque winemaker Emmanuel Poirmeur wants to create a New World wine in the Old World… and not just any Old World, but in southwest France just a stone’s throw from the world-famous and very traditional Bordeaux region.

“I wanted to make wine that pairs well with local seafood and Basque cuisine,” says the winemaker, who lives in Ciboure just across the picturesque bay from France’s leading tuna fi shing port of St. Jean de Luz. “We needed a white wine, especially one with just a little effervescence. I wanted to create a new wine that did not taste like a copy.”

Like many young winemakers, Poirmeur is bucking some of the traditions that have been in place for hundreds of years. After studying and working in wineries from New Zealand to South America and Mexico, the 36-year-old returned to his beloved French Basque homeland to start Egia Tegia, which means “the truth workshop” in the Basque language.

The Basque country spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast and through the Pyr-

enees mountains. When the Romans invaded Gaul (now France) in 58 B.C., they recorded the presence of the Basque people, although it is believed the Basques were in the area long before the Romans arrived. Loyal to their roots, the Basques have their own language, customs and traditions, and a cuisine that blends the best ingredients from France and Spain. Surprisingly, Poirmeur is one of the few Basque winemakers.

He uses primarily Chardonnay and Ugni Blanc grapes (more commonly known as Trebbiano). Ugni blanc is the most widely planted white grape in France and is often used for table wines and blending. With Poirmeur’s winemaking magic, however, the grape is the basis for one of his most popular and delicious white wines called “Dena Dela.”

“We have only six dozen bottles of the 2012 vintage left,” he said in early May.

What makes the wine so unique is Poirmeur’s cellaring technique — he ferments 10 percent of his grapes underwater in the bay of St. Jean de Luz. Tanks are submerged for three to six months, which pressurizes the wine and gives it a very slight effervescence. The remaining 90 percent is cellared at his winery in the traditional way in stainless steel tanks made in Oregon. He only blends in 10 percent of underwater-cellared wine because he wants “just a little bit of sparkling.”

The sea provides a constant temperature and pressure for the tanks, which are submerged to depths of about 15 meters (about 50 feet). When the tanks are ready to be brought up, Poirmeur dons his scuba gear and retrieves them with the help of friends.

Poirmeur explains older winemakers are often resistant to change, but they are curious about what he is doing. “More than 1,200 winemakers from France have come to see the winery, even the ones from large chateaus in Bordeaux,” he says. “Some of them say I’m getting crazy.”

But that could change as more and more people hear about his successful techniques. The top Japanese chefs in France already clamor for the crisp and refreshing wines that pair well with sushi, and several of France’s highly respected Michelin-starred restaurants offer Egia Tegia wines.

Poirmeur says the large Basque community in Tampa has also heard about his wines and has expressed interest in getting them in the U.S. He is working with a distributor to do just that as he works to produce his 2013 vintage.

Tanks are submerged for three to six months, which pressurizes the wine and gives it a very slight effervescence.

OCEANS AWAY

More and more winemakers are discovering ocean aging. Mira Winery became the fi rst American winery to experiment with the technique, and on May 21st, retrieved four cases of its 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon out of the Charleston, S.C., harbor where the wine had been submerged for three months. Mira is offering the ocean-aged wine to its wine club members along with a bottle aged in the traditional method for a side-by-side comparison. Italian winemaker Piero Lugano had a storage problem when it was time to cellar his 2008 Bisson Abissi Prosecco. Therefore, he lowered 6,500 bottles of the wine to a depth of 200 feet in the Ligurian Sea in non-corrosive stainless steel cages for 13 months. The wine, critics said, was “beautifully aged.”

BASQUE WINEMAKER EMMANUEL POIRMEUR

ABOUT THE WRITER Living in Italy was the catalyst for Mary Ann DeSantis to understand more about wine, and she now enjoys sharing what she’s learned. Since 2010, “Salute” has covered topics for oenophiles of all levels — from novice wine drinkers to experienced connoisseurs. The column received a 2012 Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Award for Commentary.