Divers Find Oldest Drinkable Champagne in Baltic Wreck

Now that's some vintage bubbly. Divers have discovered what is thought to be the world's oldest drinkable champagne in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, one of the finders said Saturday. They sampled the one bottle—believed to be from the 1780s—they've brought up so far before they even got back to shore. "It tasted fantastic. It was a very sweet champagne, with a tobacco taste and oak," said one of the divers.

The divers discovered the shipwreck Tuesday near the Aland Islands, between Sweden and Finland. About 30 bottles are believed to be aboard the sunken vessel, and could fetch $68,000 each if the corks are intact and the sparkling drink is genuine and drinkable, according to a Swedish wine expert, who added that the dark, cold waters 200 feet below the surface where they were found are near-perfect storage conditions. The oldest recorded champagne still in existence is believed to be Perrier-Jouet's vintage from 1825. (More champagne stories.)