LookBermuda is working on a film charting the discovery of a stash of bottles untouched by human hands for almost 150 years on the sunken civil war blockade runner Mary Celestia.

The five sealed and apparently well-preserved bottles were discovered during an excavation on the Bermuda wreck in 2011.

The Mary Celestia was leaving Bermuda in 1864 with supplies intended for the Confederate south when it struck a reef and sank within minutes.

Last week, one of the bottles was opened at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival with a select group of wine experts, including master sommelier Paul Roberts and wine chemist Pierre Teissedre, waiting anxiously to test whether its potentially priceless contents were intact.

Sadly, time had taken its toll and, while the contents still contained alcohol, it tasted predominantly of saltwater, sulphur and gasoline.

The story of the bottles, believed to contain wine, began in 2011 when LookBermuda accompanied a small team on the excavation of the Mary Celestia. Custodian of historic wrecks Philippe Max Rouja orchestrated the excavation team led by James Delgado, former principal marine archaeologist for the legendary Titanic.

The bottles were discovered along with other items in the unusual location of the bow of the ship in the boatswain’s locker

LookBermuda’s JP Rouja told The Royal Gazette: “The film is going to present to its audience Bermuda’s role in the civil war and also the role of blockade runners in the war which has never been told on network TV.

“One of the things that makes this film so important is that it is going to highlight the historical and cultural connections between Bermuda and Charleston.

“The descendants of one of the key characters in the film still live in Charleston and we have connected with them while we are here. They have been assisting with our research and are as excited as we are to explore these connections.”

The film is expected to be released this year and will be aired on American Public Broadcasting Service.

As with all of LookBermuda’s films there will be an educational element and it will likely be screened in schools across the Island.

A small team of Bermudians attended the Charleston festival including the two Roujas, Geoff Gardner of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and excavation team member Stuart Joblin along with members of the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

Philippe Rouja described the project as: “An ideal combination of world-class infotainment and the highest level of science. This has become a transnational multidisciplinary project involving experts in marine archaeology, conservation, social cultural analysts, historians, and economists, both local and international. This current manifestation of the rescue archaeology project started with local explorers, divers and pilots, and now reaches international wine experts. In each area the full range of possibilities has been explored.

“The fantastic part of this last part of the story is that it rests on the most advanced scientific analysis of one of the bottles recovered — artefact MC 008. Provided to the world’s leading wine chemist at the University of Bordeaux’s Institute of Wine and Vine — professor Pierre Tesseidre — it has been subjected to the most rigorous scientific analysis possible. The data we were given privileged access to at the event in Charleston set the stage for further analysis along with the insight from the world-class sommeliers on the panel.”

The story, and Bermuda’s role in it, has attracted the attention of the world’s media over the weekend with photographs being circulated by news agency Reuters. For more information, go to Mary-Celestia.com