Plentzia

The first underwater winery and artificial reef is located in picturesque Plentzia Bay on the Basque Coast of Spain. It’s the perfect adventure for wine enthusiasts and boat ride lovers.

We don’t place ourselves in the “wine snob” category, but let’s just say we’ve had our fair share of vino. So when we visited a colleague in Plentzia and found out about an underwater winery, we knew we had to try it out. 

The way we discovered Crusoe Treasure was purely by chance too. We had been walking along the docks before meeting a colleague for dinner when our attention was gripped by a quaint yet sturdy, old-fashioned fishing boat with peeling letters: “Underwater Wine.” Curious, we snapped a few quick photos before mentioning it later at the restaurant. 

“Oh, I know of it!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never actually gone, but I hear it’s a really cool experience. They take you out on the boat, and you learn about the history behind each of their wines — which are all submerged and aged underwater — before tasting them.”

Seeing our looks of surprise and delight, she made the necessary arrangements and booked us all a tasting experience on the Crusoe Treasure fishing boat. 

And what an experience it was! Aboard the Crusoe Treasure, we learned that the town of Plentzia was founded in 1299 and still maintains much of its historical legacy, which is reflected in its mix of maritime architecture and palacio style. We also learned that Plentzia’s connection with the sea goes back centuries. From the very beginning, the town’s economy has been largely focused on fishing — and even today, the calm waters of Plentzia Beach are often dotted with small center consoles. 

As we sailed around beautiful Plentzia Bay — where we saw locals canoeing, windsurfing, and even scuba diving — one of the underwater winery’s founders gave a brief presentation that is the source of all this historical knowledge I’m sharing now with you. But then at long last, we tasted all the wines we could want alongside a delicious pairing of Basque pintxos.

“Via a process honed through nearly a decade of research, we produce and age some of the world’s most unique wines in underwater barrels — a process referred to as ‘treasuring,’” we remember the founder saying sometime around glass number five. 

We also remember him saying that underwater conditions mimic the aging factors that are believed to contribute so much to the flavor of wine, such as constant temperature and the absence of light. While that may be true, we would also like to think that the beauty of the place adds an extra dimension to the process. Surrounded by soft hues of green and blue along with cliffs and endless skies, we couldn’t have picked a more special setting for this unique wine tasting experience. 

We were captivated by Plentzia’s beauty, history, and incomparable connection with the sea. In fact, after learning that the town emblem is a boat galleon, we were inspired to bring Plentzia into our adventure tee line.