The size of your resume is only comparable to that of its humility , a link that curiously tends to occur in this way. Antonio Palacios He is Cum Laude and has a PhD in Biology , Specialist in Microbiology Oenological and Chemistry Analytics and Master in Viticulture and Oenology among other titles acquired during his training in more than 10 countries in addition to Spain.
It has more than 25 years of experience professional and teaching experience in the field of oenology, has participated in the publication of more than 10 specialized books and about a hundreds of scientific and oenological journals . And in addition to this, he is the oenologist of our Crusoe Treasure Winery and, of course, one of our most important traveling companions on this adventure.
You have an impressive CV in the field of oenology. How did you come to the Crusoe Treasure project and why are you joining the journey?
I started in a timid way and harboring certain doubts, with many tests in between, blind tastings, expert opinions... chemical and microbiological analysis in the Excell Ibérica laboratories, where we can carry out very fine and precise controls, and you realize that not only the marine effect exists, but it is also measurable , and these measurements in chemical and also sensory parameters, in the end end up convincing anyone.
I I succumbed to the evidence And not only did I succumb, but I jumped on board, as you rightly say, because the journey is wonderful. It's exciting and gives you great freedom to work with new concepts and navigate new winemaking profiles, and I'm delighted to do so. It's more than fascinating; it's incredibly emotional, a great challenge.
A wine lover asks you to describe Crusoe Treasure in one sentence…
A wine passional and full of surprises , largely determined by the biodynamics of the lunar mass, marine energy, nature itself and the ecology of the ecosystem that makes aging and underwater hoarding draw a unique product all over the world.
Who is this unique product aimed at?
Given the effort required by the conditions to keep it under the sea and all the human equipment involved in producing something so limited; we understand that it is aimed at lovers of difference , of the unique, passionate about the world of wine and explorers those who like to discover new products, seekers of rare birds.
It is aimed at wine lovers who not only see the wine inside the bottle, but also appreciate the rest of it. values of the project: ecological , humans and of the craft in the process.
We've established ourselves as a winery with eight different wine varieties and continue to research...
And what's next. We actually investigated with a underwater txakoli aged in barrels on its own lees, from the Winery Gorka Izagirre of the complex Azurmendi , considered the most sustainable restaurant in the world. This is also a great originality, because we started by submerging bottles, but we also explored using clay amphorae and oak barrels subjected to the underwater storage process. Not only that, we've even had bottles of sparkling wine undergo a secondary fermentation underwater, which is surprising and a dream for any producer of this type of quality wine.
We've expanded the process; we no longer just age wines, we also ferment them, surprising but true. So we are certainly a company that consolidates products and that also innova constantly developing new oenological proposals.
"All of this means that biodynamics, that power of the sea, is transmitted to the wine with a surprising organoleptic effect."
We say that Crusoe Treasure is a treasure of the sea
The biodynamic It is a process that, together with wine, is setting a trend. If there is a biodynamic that is truly measurable and have one brutal influence on the final product , is undoubtedly the underwater hoarding .
We cannot forget that the winery is nearly 20 meters under the sea. The entire marine kinetics : from the waves, the current of the Bay of Plentzia itself, the tiny and fragile changes in day/night, seasonal temperature... All of this makes biodynamics, that force of life, that energetic force that the sea has is transmitted to the wine during the storage process. In this case, these are chemical changes, both in terms of color, in the polymerization of tannins, and in the polysaccharides or polyphenols in general. This biodynamics, this power of the sea, is what helps us create something unique, with such great originality and surprising organoleptic effect .
So, is Crusoe Treasure a biodynamic wine?
Yes, I would define it as biodynamic in the scientifically , measurable as we mentioned before, as is the case with the kinetics of ocean currents, wave height, or tides. The moon exerts an enormous, very visible influence; we all know this: spring tides, the four majestic daily tides, especially in the Cantabrian Sea... All these factors are, of course, transmitted to the wine.
It's not that I'm agnostic, but I like to talk about scientific biodynamics, not certified by private companies that say that certain requirements must be met, such as horns buried in the vineyard or telluric forces of the cosmos. I like to talk about the Tangible , which we can measure with dynamometers and with our underwater storage measurement system, which allows us to monitor temperature changes or wave direction and height. We have physical systems that allow us to measure all of these parameters.
"If there are great leaps forward in the history of technology, like Louis Pasteur, in the case of oenology it is underwater wine."
Do we have a cutting-edge product in the field of oenology?
I think that oenology has a long history, dating back to approximately 8,000 years before Christ, when human beings began to play with grapes, with fermentation... and to observe the natural processes defined by chance itself.
If there are great leaps in the history of technology, we are talking about Louis Pasteur, for example, in the case of wine and fermentations, I would say that in the 21st century there has been another great leap huge in the world of innovation and this is the case of underwater wine.
Can you imagine a world without wine?
I couldn't have imagined it. Since my youth, when I started sharing wine with my friends, my family... and then in the professional environment, making wines with my own hands , which is a tremendous dream for me to be able to do, especially with such an incredible, complete and multidisciplinary team like the one at Crusoe Treasure.
I am extremely glad to have dedicated my professional life to this field, because I really like it and it convinces me, because it is a factor of socialization Today, it is a factor of social lubrication in human relationships, in friendship, in love... I associate it with so many underworlds that right now it is essential for me.