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La Cuvée Neptune
Does the sea hold the secret to truly great wines? To find out a trio of French wine lovers – a vineyard manager, a barrel maker and an oyster farmer – teamed up to test the myth, above and below water.

Maturing wine in the ocean improves their quality

Bruno Lemoine, who runs the cellars of Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion in the southwest Bordeaux region, asked his barrel-maker chum Pierre-Guillaume Chiberry to build him two small 56-litre wooden barrels in which to age his red wine by an extra six months.

One was to be kept in the chateau cellars, the other sunk underwater among the prized oyster beds of the Bay of Arcachon, north of Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast.

The barrel kept at the chateau was dubbed "Tellus", after the Roman goddess of the land, and the other "Neptune" after the sea god.

Michael Menduno - the man who coined the phrase 'Technical Diving' and founded aquaCORPS magazine

So, what is AquaCorps?

Jump back to the summer of 1996 and British Cave Diver Mike Thomas presents me with a copy of aquaCORPS magazine, (and I still have this issue in my office today). It was a defining moment in my diving career. Mike had taken me under his wing, showing me there was more than 30 metre, single tank, recreational, air diving. The aquaCORPS issue was N11, October / November 1995 and I vividly remember being thrilled to learn of a brave new world of diving.

“I didn't believe it at first because it was so ridiculous, but I really feel comfortable after I experienced it myself. I could feel it when it moves on my eyes.”
“I didn't believe it at first because it was so ridiculous, but I really feel comfortable after I experienced it myself. I could feel it when it moves on my eyes.”

Aquatic snail clean eyes in China

Professor Ke Caihuan of College of Oceanography and Environmental Science at Xiamen University said it is the first time that he heard that a snail can clean people’s eyes and he never saw such a snail before.

Mr. Lin, the snail owner, had kept the snail for 44 years. He said someone who had dust in their eyes can put the snail under the eyelids. It would move on the eyeball and ‘eat’ the dirt. After 10 minutes, you move it from the eyes and put it into clean water, and then it would spit out the dirt.

Japanese Tuna Scandal Deepens

In what Australian officials called an outrageous fraud, Japanese fishers probably used a series of disguises for the overcatch and international investigations have found.

The fishers described southern bluefin tuna as a different species and evaded any inspection on shore, underreported the amount of the fish they caught, and imported it as different tuna either transhipped at sea from foreign vessels or in containers. In a review that the Japanese government has vetoed from public release, investigators found the fraud extended to consumer markets.

From the Exhibit 'Climate Change In The High Arctic'
From the Exhibit 'Climate Change In The High Arctic'

Exhibition: Melt Down in the Arctic

In her new exhibition, Melt Down - Climate Change In The High Arctic, celebrated photojournalist and Arctic specialist Louise Murray highlights the dramatic melting of the ice sheets in the Arctic through a series of beautiful photographs. We have an exclusive gallery of images from the exhibition below.

Louise is a self-confessed polar nut with 15 years of experience as a professional, she spends much time plotting her next visit to the high north.

Wes Skiles' cause of death is being listed as an accidental drowning.
Wes Skiles' cause of death is being listed as an accidental drowning.

Wes Skiles' death remains a mystery

Skiles died while on a dive off Boynton Beach, Florida, on July 21, 2010. He signalled to the other divers that he was ascending because he was out of film (although not technically shooting "film" in this digital age)

His body was found on the reef, shortly after that. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was subsequently pronounced dead at a local hospital.

In 1985, Skiles founded Karst Productions and continued his underwater film career.