See the “Shipwrecked bottles” subheading. Whodathunkit?
That article includes a link to this similar salvage incident: Föglö wreck - Wikipedia
The biggest sale at auction was 30,000 euros for a single bottle (US$34,800 at today’s exchange rate).
“Decades”. I appreciate your almost English-like gift of subtle under-statement.
“In Europe, a hundred miles is a long way. In America, a hundred years is a long time.” - Mark Twain
Huh. I would have thought the sea water would have gone through the corks.
Higher levels of sugar, lead, arsenic and copper. hmmm.
I remember a TV news spot where divers had recovered some wine (brandy, perhaps) from a shipwreck that was hundreds of years old. The presenter pointedly said that they were about to show the diver tasting the wine ‘without benefit of translation’ and the diver duly tasted the wine and spat it out as dreadful as the salt water had got in.
I think the key is depth. These were reasonably shallow. I recall hearing long ago about cases of hooch being seen in the Titanic debris field, but they would almost certainly be ruined because of the depth and water pressure.
Just a guess.
Champagne bottles are at pressure. According to a quick google search, the pressure within an average champagne bottle is 70 - 90 psi. Every 30 ft of water is 14.7 psi; therefore, a champagne bottle that is less than 140-180 feet below the surface would have enough pressure within the bottle to prevent sea water from getting in.