The size of your resume It 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 Doctor of 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 journey 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 trip?
I started timidly and with 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 realise that not only the marine effect exists, but it is also measurable , and these measurements in chemical and also sensory parameters, end up convincing anyone.
I I succumbed to the evidence And not only did I succumb, but I got on board as you say, because the journey is wonderful. It is exciting, and it gives you great freedom to work with new concepts, to navigate in new oenological profiles, and I am delighted to do so. It is more than fascinating; it is super 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 treasury draw a unique product worldwide.
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 that is involved in producing something so limited; we understand that it is aimed at lovers of difference , of the singular, Passionate about the world of wine and explorers for those who like to discover new products, seekers of the “rare finds”.
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 have established ourselves as a winery with 8 different wine varieties and we continue to investigate…
And what's coming. 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 very original, because we started by submerging bottles, but we also investigated with clay amphorae and oak barrels subjected to the underwater storage process, and not only that, we have even had bottles of sparkling wine undergoing a second fermentation under the sea, which is surprising and a dream for any producer of this type of quality wine.
We have 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 this means that biodynamics, that force 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 a brutal influence on the final product , is undoubtedly the underwater hoarding .
We cannot forget that the winery is about 20 meters below the sea. All the marine kinetics : from the waves, the current of the Plentzia Bay itself, the tiny and fragile changes in day/night temperature, seasonal... All this makes biodynamics, that force of life, that energy force that the sea has be transmitted to the wine during the storage process. In this case, they are chemical changes, both at the level of color, in the polymerization of the tannins, and in the polysaccharides or polyphenols in general. That biodynamics, that force of the sea is what helps us to make something unique, with that great originality and surprising organoleptic effect .
So, is Crusoe Treasure a biodynamic wine?
Yes, I would define it as biodynamic in the scientific level , measurable as we have said before, as is the case of the kinetics of marine currents, the height of waves or tides. The moon exerts an enormous, very visible influence; we all know it: the spring tides, the four majestic daily tides, especially in the Cantabrian Sea... All these factors are transmitted, of course, 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 what tangible , which we can measure with dynamometers and with the measurement system of our underwater cellar, which allows us to control thermal changes or the direction and height of waves. We have physical systems that allow us to measure all these parameters.
“If there are great leaps 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 humans began to play with grapes, with fermentation... and to observe natural processes defined by chance itself.
If there are great leaps in the history of technology, we speak of 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 where wine didn't exist?
I couldn't imagine it anymore. 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 human team as that of Crusoe Treasure.
I am very glad to have dedicated my professional life to this field, because I like it a lot and it convinces me, because it is a factor of socialization Today, it is a social lubrication factor in human relations, in friendship, in love... I associate it with so many underworlds that right now it is essential for me.