Attempt Wine Aged Underwater at This Caribbean Resort With a Sea Cellar

A luxurious resort within the British Virgin Islands is dwelling to the primary underwater wine cellar within the Caribbean.

The five hundred-acre Rosewood Little Dix Bay touts a reference to nature by sustainable culinary choices and eco-sensitive structure in a lush setting on Virgin Gorda island. An on-site farm produces greater than 25% of the natural produce and botanicals used on the property’s three eating places. The elements are utilized in all the things from on a regular basis menu objects to specialty cocktails. Using the ocean to boost the wine program is a pure extension of this nature-focused philosophy.

“Getting older the wines underwater ties the expertise to the resort’s ocean setting, including depth to each the flavors and the story behind every bottle,” says Andy Gaskin, government chef at Rosewood Little Dix Bay. “By highlighting the atmosphere, the initiative displays our give attention to sustainable, native experiences.”

Underwater wine is one thing that Gaskin is aware of lots about from his prior expertise as government chef for Meneghetti Wine Lodge in Bale, Croatia. “The ocean’s mild currents and constant temperature soften the tannins,” Gaskin explains. Most of the world’s underwater cellars are in Italy and Croatia, however Gaskin knew the waters surrounding the Virgin Gorda resort have been a first-rate setting for the Caribbean’s first underwater cellar.

Positioned simply offshore, about 80 ft beneath sea stage, Little Dix Bay’s underwater cellar homes roughly 100 bottles in metal cages on the seafloor. The submerged wines mature for six months whereas benefiting from the ocean currents, strain, and regular cool temperatures. The objective is a wine with an enhanced taste profile and extra advanced aromatics. When the wines are eliminated, they bear the markings of their environs, with each bottle cloaked in shells and barnacles.

The underwater wine program started as a complement to the chef’s desk expertise which highlights native produce and fragrant spices. On a breezy night, I’m experiencing the tasting menu and take pleasure in some ocean-aged wine on the beachside Sugar Mill restaurant within the historic Rockefeller Room, an intimate area with maritime antiquities and black and white pictures of Rockefeller visiting the resort within the Sixties. The menu resembles a treasure map, a playful trace of the gastronomic journey that awaits: a 10-course chef’s desk expertise impressed by the native panorama.

“We’ve crafted an expertise that’s deeply knowledgeable by the British Virgin Islands, by the farm on the property, the native fishing traditions, and the flavors that outline the realm. It’s about making each dish really feel like a discovery of the islands relatively than simply one other course,” Gaskin explains.

The night begins on level with seaweed and squid ink bread on a mattress of sea salt from close by Salt Island. Subsequent, I style yellowfin tuna caught this afternoon, adopted by jerk Anegada lobster bathed in a rum raisin sauce and complemented by pickled watermelon from the resort’s farm. One course features a masked style check, whereas one other options housemade gin served within the type of a popsicle. The underwater wine, clean and full-bodied, is served alongside a 72-hour roasted lamb with ginger, cucumber, and potato, an earthy and refreshing mixture.

The underwater wine is integral to the eating expertise, complementing the development of the menu. For each chef’s desk expertise, Gaskin himself free dives to the seafloor, deciding on bottles that pair with the night’s dishes. Future plans are in place for company to dive alongside the chef for an immersive expertise.

After 10 programs of expertly ready fish, meat, and native produce, I’m impressed and deeply in tune with the native panorama. Sips of the sleek, sea-aged wine act as a refined reminder of my environment. Rosewood Little Dix Bay’s secluded setting could really feel like a sanctuary of unspoiled magnificence, an indulgent keep that checks each field. And the underwater wine and curated dishes of native elements communicate to a larger narrative.

“When a visitor sits down on the Chef’s Desk, they’re not simply consuming,” Gaskin tells me. “They’re partaking with the tradition, panorama, and tales of Virgin Gorda by the meals.”