A BUSKLAW Newsletter Aside: Apparently having nothing better to do, the Feds prohibit the micro-consumption of ocean-aged wine...
The folks at the U.S. Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (ATTB) have a lot of time on their hands. Otherwise, what would account for their draconian efforts to prevent Mira Winery, a reputable Napa Valley vintner, from exploring the aging effects of seawater on a small sample of their wine production? As Mira's President, Jim Dyke, describes in "The Wine-Dark Sea of Regulation" in today's Wall Street Journal, Mira decided to see if "intentionally submerging wine bottles for months at a time could speed the aging process and enhance flavor." So, they submerged 28 bottles of their 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon in steel cages 60 feet under the waves in Charleston Harbor, where "there exists a promising blend of temperature, pressure, and darkness, with the additional variable of constant motion." To protect the wine, the top of each bottle was coated with a high-grade wax sealant. Mira retrieved the submerged wine after three months