Divers stumble on 100 bottles of 'royal' champagne on shipwreck
Divers have discovered a huge haul of champagne, wine and mineral water on a 19th-century shipwreck beneath the Baltic Sea.
During a recent dive trip off the coast of Sweden, the Polish diving group Baltitech spotted what they believed was an old fishing boat on their sonar.
At first, there were doubts whether there would be anyone willing to go down.
But two divers decided to jump in and head down for a quick inspection of the wreck.
When the pair didn't return for two hours, the rest of the team suspected "there was something very interesting on the bottom."
And they were proved right. More divers swam down to find a 19th century sailing ship in very good condition and packed with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain.
"We certainly saw more than 100 bottles of champagne and baskets of mineral water in clay bottles," said the group on its website.
The clay bottles helped establish the shipment was produced between 1850 and 1867.
The clay water bottles showed the brand name of German company Selters.
It continues in business today and its products remain highly sought after.
In the 19th century, mineral water was treated almost like medicine and a favourite of European royal families.
Tomasz Stachura, of Baltitech, told the BBC he thinks the vessel was bound for St Petersburg in Russia and the royal court of Tsar Nicholas I, who is reported to have lost one of his ships in the area in 1852.
The location of the wreck - about 60 metres in the dark and cold beneath the Baltic Sea - means the champagne is well preserved.
Wine experts say even though it's probably lost its fizz, it should be drinkable today.
Baltitech said the wreck was discovered bout 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the Swedish island of Oland but are not revealing the precise location.
Amazingly, this recent discovery is not the oldest champagne ever found on a Baltic shipwreck. In 2010, divers came across about 30 bottles of the drink dating back to the 1780s on a sunken ship.
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