The Föglö wreck (also known as "The Champagne Schooner") is a shipwreck of a 19th-century two-masted

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

(21.5 m long × 6.5 m broad) lying in the waters off

Föglö Föglö is a group of islands and municipality in Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Swedis ...

near

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It became famous in the summer of 2010 as several bottles of what was then considered to be world's oldest drinkable

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

were raised from the wreck. However the analysis carried out by

Veuve Clicquot Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin () is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot Ponsardin, Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known Champag ...

in 2018 deemed the champagne undrinkable.

The wreck and the cargo

The identity and the route of the ship is unknown. It has been suggested that the schooner was on its way to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, carrying a cargo destined for a local merchant or even for the Imperial Russian Court. The two-masted schooner lies at a depth of 55 meters. The hull is 21.5 meters long and 6.5 meters broad. It was discovered in 2003 by the Finnish Maritime Administration but the first diving expedition was made in July 2010 by a group of Finnish and Swedish divers. The objects found from the wreck included items like a large number of champagne bottles, five bottles of beer, two octants and ceramics manufactured by the Swedish company

Rörstrand Rörstrand porcelain was one of the most famous Swedish porcelain manufacturers, with production initially at Karlbergskanalen in Birkastan in Stockholm. History The Rörstrand waterfront site was first documented in the 13th century whe ...

between 1780 and 1830. According to the Finnish Antiquities Act, the cargo belongs to the

Government of Åland The Government of Åland () is the executive authority of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland. It is led by the Premier of Åland (), who is elected by the Parliament of Åland (). Åland Premiers * Carl Björkman (politician), Carl Björ ...

The champagne

The total number of bottles was 168 of which 145 were champagne, most of them well preserved. 95 of them are bottled by Juglar, a defunct champagne house merged 1829 into Jacquesson, 46 by

and four by Heidsieck, known as Piper-Heidsieck since 1838. Two bottles were opened in a press conference held in

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

, the capital of Åland Islands in November 2010. A member of Veuve Clicquot's winemaking team described the champagne as "a toasted, zesty nose with hints of coffee, and a very agreeable taste with accents of flowers and lime-tree." The Government of Åland decided to place some bottles on a display at the

Åland Museum The Cultural History Museum of Åland and Åland Islands Art Museum are two museums under the same roof in Mariehamn in Åland (Finland). The building houses even other collections and staff of Ålands Museum, which was formerly the name of the Cul ...

and sell the rest of them. The first auction was held in June 2011 in Mariehamn. A bottle of Veuve Clicquot was sold for a record-setting price of 30,000 euros and another bottle of Juglar for 24,000 euros. The champagne was bought by a Russian restaurant in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The second, and so far the last, auction was held in June 2012 as the French auction house

Artcurial Artcurial is a French auction house which has its headquarters at the historic Hôtel Marcel Dassault in Paris. History The Artcurial art gallery was created in June 1975 by François Dalle, then CEO of L'Oréal, at 9, Avenue Matignon. Artcuria ...

sold eight bottles in Mariehamn for 109,000 euros. The price was a disappointment as the expected amount for eleven bottles was up to 200,000 euros. The most expensive bottle was sold only for 15,000 euros and three left unsold. The Government of Åland will donate the surplus to marine archaeological research, maritime history and environmental measures of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

The beer

The beer raised from the wreck was analyzed by the

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd is a state-owned and controlled non-profit limited liability company. VTT is the largest research and technology company and research centre conducting applied research in Finland. It provides resear ...

which traced the beer to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Sources

* The Champagne Schooner, Government of Åland

References

External links

The World's Oldest Champagne and Beer Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foglo wreck Archaeology of shipwrecks Shipwrecks of Sweden Shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Champagne (wine) Shipwrecks of Finland