Agencies in Santa Barbara County destroyed 2,000 bottles of wine that were sold by the company Ocean Fathoms, the office of the county’s district attorney announced last week. Starting in 2017, the company was sinking crates full of bottles without obtaining a proper permit from the California Coastal Commission and US Army Corps of Engineers.
The bottles were left to ferment for a year, after which they were plucked from the “environmentally sensitive” waters and sold for up to $500 each. Ocean Fathoms lauded the sea floor off the Southern California coast as the perfect environment to age wine — 55 degrees, no oxygen, no light and rolling currents.
The California Coastal Commission also expressed concern about the bottles themselves, which were adorned with various sea creatures that attached themselves to the glass during the aging process.
Ocean Fathoms highlighted the creatures on its website, writing, “sea life that attaches to our bottle is the ultimate in nature’s packaging. Each bottle is adorned with barnacles, coral, sea shells and ornate hard shelled tubes formed by annelida sea worms.”
The commission, however, described the sea life in its 2021 complaint as “collateral damage of your unpermitted operation” as they “do not appear to have survived the journey to the surface.”
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch claimed that “nearly every aspect” of the business operation violated some sort of federal or state law.
Agencies in Santa Barbara County destroyed 2,000 bottles of wine that were sold by the company Ocean Fathoms, the office of the county’s district attorney announced last week. Starting in 2017, the company was sinking crates full of bottles without obtaining a proper permit from the California Coastal Commission and US Army Corps of Engineers.The bottles were left to ferment for a year, after which they were plucked from the “environmentally sensitive” waters and sold for up to $500 each. Ocean Fathoms lauded the sea floor off the Southern California coast as the perfect environment to age wine — 55 degrees, no oxygen, no light and rolling currents.The California Coastal Commission also expressed concern about the bottles themselves, which were adorned with various sea creatures that attached themselves to the glass during the aging process.Ocean Fathoms highlighted the creatures on its website, writing, “sea life that attaches to our bottle is the ultimate in nature’s packaging. Each bottle is adorned with barnacles, coral, sea shells and ornate hard shelled tubes formed by annelida sea worms.”The commission, however, described the sea life in its 2021 complaint as “collateral damage of your unpermitted operation” as they “do not appear to have survived the journey to the surface.”Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch claimed that “nearly every aspect” of the business operation violated some sort of federal or state law.