The shipwreck was discovered by a team of Polish divers from Baltictech, a group that specializes in finding shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea. The wreck was located approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Åland Islands between Sweden and Finland.
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Tomasz Stachura, the diving team leader explained that the wreck initially appeared as a small blip on their sonar.
Despite having already completed a dive earlier that day, divers Marek Cacaj and Pawel Truszynski decided to explore this anomaly.
The divers spent nearly two hours underwater leading the rest of the team to suspect that they had found something huge.
Upon investigation, the team found a 19th-century sailing ship in good condition. The ship was loaded to the sides with Champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain.
More than 100 bottles of Champagne were found. It is speculated that the Champagne could have been from Louis Roederer label, who is known for producing a special, twice-as-sweet Champagne for the Russian imperial court since 1876.
The divers found approximately 100 sealed bottles of mineral water. The mineral water was bottled by the German company Selters and it was a luxury item in the 19th century often regarded as a form of medicine due to its purity and mineral content.
Such water was typically reserved for royal tables and considered so valuable that police often escorted its transport.
The clay bottles containing the mineral water bore the stamp of Selters allowing researchers to date them between 1850 and 1867.
The Baltic Sea is known for its brackish water, which has a lower salinity compared to ocean water. This environment slows down the decay process of organic materials and is ideal for preserving shipwrecks.
The cold and dark conditions at the sea floor mimic those of a wine cellar.
The divers believe the shipwreck might date back to between 1850 and 1876, a period when luxury goods such as champagne were sought after by European elites.
Champagne in the mid-19th century was considered a luxury even more than today often reserved for special occasions and the affluent.
Tomasz Stachura, the leader of the Baltictech team suggests the cargo could have been destined for a client possibly even Czar Nicholas I of Russia.
Historical records show that Czar Nicholas I lost a ship in the area in 1852.
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The ship may have been en route to deliver its luxurious cargo to the court of Tsar Alexander II, who reigned in Russia from 1855 to 1881.
The preference for sweet Champagne in Russia during this period supports this theory, as Russia was a major market for Champagne particularly the sweeter varieties.
The ship was possibly heading towards either Stockholm or St. Petersburg aligning with the idea that the cargo was destined for individuals or events.
In 2010, divers led by Christian Ekstrom found Champagne from the 1780s in a nearby wreck and also believed to have been destined for Russia.
The bottles were discovered at a depth of 58 meters underwater shipwreck in cold and dark conditions ideal for preserving the contents.
Wine writer Henry Jeffreys said that the 19th-century Champagne would have been much sweeter than today’s standards and the addition of brandy and sugar back then would have aided in its preservation.
The Baltic Sea is home to approximately 100,000 shipwrecks each with its own story and treasures. In 2010, divers discovered shipwreck champagne bottles dating back to the 1780s near the Åland Islands.
These were believed to be part of a shipment destined for the Russian market. In 2019, a Swedish steamship that had been attacked by a German submarine during World War I was found carrying cases of cognac.
While previous finds included champagne bottles, the current discovery by Baltictech is due to the sheer quantity and excellent preservation of the items.
The 2010 discovery revealed that some of the champagne bottles had remained drinkable.
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