[Collaboration] Nautilus Lanzarote and The Mysterious Underwater Wine

🌋 Diving into Lanzarote: The Submarine Journey of Nautilus

Nautilus Lanzarote is an underwater winery in the Canary Islands, and through this collaboration, it brings us its fantastic liquid and volcanic universe via its Malvasía Volcánica Submarina—a white gem that sleeps beneath the Atlantic before awakening in the glass.

Nautilus is anything but conventional. Founded in 2019, its philosophy blends Lanzarote’s volcanic terroir with the unique conditions of the ocean floor. The vines grow in pits dug into volcanic ash, shielded by stone walls that defy wind and sun. After aging in barrels, the wine is submerged for six months in the ocean, where pressure, darkness, and silence shape its character.

The bottle I received is a one-of-a-kind creation of wild marine nature—covered in sea remnants, limpets, corals, and sediments that make each one unrepeatable. Every bottle is different, as if the sea signs its own version of the wine. And the box… a piece of art in itself. Made of wood, adorned with underwater illustrations straight out of a Jules Verne tale, it assembles and disassembles like a puzzle guarding a hidden treasure. Opening it felt like unlocking an oceanic time capsule—I was mesmerized.

🏊 Echoes of Rapture: The Artwork Born from the Abyss

The piece I painted for this collaboration is an emotional dive with mythical, fantastical, and eerie undertones. The acrylic canvas unfolds like a symphony of abyssal blues, mineral greens, and golden touches that evoke sunlight filtering through the ocean depths—but those faint rays you barely see anymore, that you know were once intense and powerful, but now barely reach you because you’re too deep beneath the surface.

The textures mimic the sediments clinging to the bottle, as if the canvas had also been submerged. I used a special paste mixed with acrylic paint that hardens to create these sensations. Normally, this paste is heat-dried to solidify without cracking, but I intentionally skipped that step to make the “sediment” effect more realistic.

As for my inspirations, I naturally drew from the Nautilus Lanzarote logo, which resembles a diver’s helmet, and also from Bioshock’s Big Daddy—an underwater colossus that roams the sunken city of Rapture and is a relentless foe. The game’s decadent art deco aesthetic and oppressive atmosphere helped me imagine a world where wine and art are born in the depths. The result is a piece that doesn’t depict, but evokes: the mystery of the ocean, the alchemy of wine, and the beauty of the hidden—all wrapped in a slightly eerie, decadent, mysterious, gloomy, even dangerous atmosphere that suggests the unknown depths of the marine world.

There’s also a personal connection to the piece. My father is a certified diver with three FEDAS stars and a Recreational Boat Skipper license (PER). He’s deeply connected to the sea and encouraged me to reach out to Nautilus Lanzarote for this collaboration. He holds great respect for the ocean and its secrets. I, on the other hand, am more grounded—but I do dare to dip my head underwater and swim with some dignity, haha. This duality between vertigo and fascination is present in the artwork: a tension between what’s visible and what’s merely sensed.

🌌 Treasure Hunt: What You’ve Always Longed to Find

When I opened the wooden box—that submarine chest with illustrations that transport you to the ocean floor—and held the bottle in my hands, I felt like I was touching something I had already painted. The marine textures clinging to the glass, the tones muted by time underwater, the natural reliefs that make it unique… all of that was already on my canvas, even though I hadn’t tasted the wine yet. It was as if the bottle confirmed that the artwork already knew what I was going to feel.

Let me share my tasting experience—always from a personal and subjective point of view, as I’m not a professional and this isn’t a technical review.

When I uncorked it, the sound was soft, almost shy, as if the wine came from a place ruled by silence. I poured a glass and stared at the color: a straw yellow with golden reflections, like the glimmers I painted to represent light filtering through the currents. I’m no expert, but I am sensitive, and what reached my nose was a blend of white fruit, something floral, and a mineral background that reminded me of the volcanic rocks also present in the painting.

On the palate, the wine has a velvety texture, like a gentle embrace. There’s a subtle salinity, as if the sea had left a caress in every drop. That made me think of the deep blues I used in the artwork, of that sensation of immersion—of being surrounded by something greater than yourself.

As I drank, I thought of Bioshock’s Big Daddy—this seemingly tough figure with a sad, complex story. This wine has something of that: a rugged appearance shaped by the sea, but a delicate interior crafted with care. I also thought of my father, how he dives fearlessly while I stay on the shore, painting what I imagine lies beneath. This wine allowed me, for a moment, to dive in without holding my breath.

🦑 Reflections from the Spiral: What the Nautilus Taught Me

The Nautilus, that ancient mollusk whose name the winery bears, has a spiral shell that grows following the golden ratio. It symbolizes evolution, introspection, and creativity. In many cultures, it represents the inner journey, spiritual growth, and the connection between the material and the invisible.

This collaboration made me reflect on that—on how art and wine can be vehicles for underwater exploration. And speaking of exploration, I couldn’t help but think of the documentary I recently watched about the Titan, the Oceangate submarine disaster. It reminded me of how imposing and dangerous the ocean can be, the deep respect it demands, and how tragedies sometimes unfold that no one wishes for. Exploration is thrilling—but what are our limits?

In any case, Nautilus Lanzarote offers a journey that’s profoundly pleasant, serene, and mysteriously captivating—one that settles in your soul like the sediments resting on its beloved bottles.