Hurtigruten has raised 1,002 bottles of Barolo from a location 34 meters beneath Arctic waters off northern Norway.

The cruise line said in a press release that this marks the world debut of Arctic Barolo, which will be served exclusively aboard its ships sailing the Norwegian coast.

Hurtigruten partnered with Italian winery Rivetto to submerge the bottles at 70° North, off the coast of Kirkenes in Norway.

There, they spent 12 months surrounded by cold Arctic waters at a near-constant temperature of approximately 5-6°C, in complete darkness and under around four bar of pressure.

Before that, the wine, which is produced in Serralunga d’Alba, underwent its traditional maturation, including 24 months in large oak casks.

At the first tasting, led by Henrik Dahl Jahnsen, president of the Norwegian Sommelier Association, Arctic Barolo was compared with a bottle of the same 2021 vintage that had remained in the cellar on land.

“The difference between the cellar-aged wine and the wine aged beneath Arctic waters was immediately apparent,” said Jahnsen.

“The Arctic Barolo showed a brighter, more youthful ruby color, with a fresher and more precise aromatic profile of wild fruits and flowers. The tannins also felt fresher and crunchier, giving the wine a more youthful expression. I was surprised by how clear the difference was, and by the distinctive character of the wine aged beneath Arctic waters.”

Tani Gurra, front of house and beverage director at Hurtigruten, explained that the sense of curiosity to see what would happen to Italian wine in Arctic waters is what made the year-long project so exciting.

“After a year beneath Arctic waters, there was only one thing we really wanted to know, what had happened to the wine? You can create the theory, look at the temperature, darkness and pressure and believe you have the conditions for something special, but until you raise those bottles and pull the first cork, you simply don’t know,” noted Gurra.

Now, guests will be able to taste the result while sailing through the waters where the wine spent the past year.