WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2021

OENOLOGY RESEARCH | OCTOBER 2021

ASTRID BUICA: South African Grape and Wine Research Institute, Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch KEYWORDS: Recovered shipwreck wines, chemical and sensory analyses. Chemical and sensory profile of shipwreck wines

WE PRESENT HERE THE CHEMICAL and (informal) sensory evaluation of some wines recovered from two shipwrecks.

INTRODUCTION When it comes to grapes and wine, the diversity of the products makes the work interesting and challenging. However, maybe once in a lifetime, we might have the opportunity to evaluate something truly extraordinary. In the recent past, there have been reports of wines and beers recovered from shipwrecks (Jeandet et al. , 2015; Londesborough et al. , 2015) submitted to chemical and sensory analyses. In 2019, the researchers from the Department of Viticulture and Oenology had the chance to collaborate with the Maritime Archaeology Unit of the Iziko South African Museums in a study unique in South Africa: analysing wines recovered

from some of the shipwrecks off the coast in or near False Bay.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE OR CAPE OF STORMS?

The Cape of Storms (also known as Cape of Good Hope) is renowned for harbouring a multitude of shipwrecks due to the inherent treacherous coastline and blistering storms. One such shipwreck is the English East Indiaman Colebrooke, wrecked in False Bay in 1778. Colebrooke, launched 1770 in Portsmouth, stopped in Madeira and wrecked on 24 August 1778 when she struck the Anvil rock entering False Bay. The ship did not sink there, but rather ran aground in Kogel Bay. The wreck was

Original wine bottles recovered from HMS Colebrooke, some of them still with the original cork and wax seal.

WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2021 | 97