A press release bouncing around the Internet announces that divers have located 20 bottles of 1780’s champagne that were destined for Russian nobility. The brought up a bottle and drank from it; no word was mentioned how it tasted. Considering that it was 200 feet down in the cold Baltic, there is a good chance the champagne might still be okay to drink (albeit a very expensive one to be sure).

Each bottle, speculates the press release, could fetch $68,000 each. Finding such relics has occurred before with mixed results. There is a Titanic angle though.

Wineflyers International, an Australian company, let it be known they had sourced and sold six bottles of wine from the Titanic to “a high profile customer in Asia”, in 2002.

It seems unlikely it came from the wreck unless it was brought up and sold before RMS Titanic filed its salvage claim. More likely it came from a stock of wine destined for Titanic but not aboard when it sank.

Either way 230 old champagne kept chilled in the Baltic Sea would make for one heck of a party for someone with money to spend. Just do not spoil it with bad caviar and lackluster toast. Get Eric Ripert to cook a good accompaniment and keep Paula Deen far away. 🙂

Source: PRLog.Org, Most Expensive Champagne From The Ocean Floor, 24 Jul 2010