Gibraltar’s extensive tunnel system is likely to be converted into a mega storage facility for investment-quality wine from around the world.
Work is set to start to create a state-of-the-art wine cellar which would be capable of holding more than 850,000 cases.
The extensive systems of tunnels and vaults criss-cross the limestone rock and date from WWII when Britain, certain of an attack on Gibraltar, sent in the Royal Engineers.
“Our intention is to develop the largest underground wine storage facility in the world,” said Tracy Lee, of Gibraltar Wine Vaults. “We have the perfect conditions within the rock: 70% to 80% humidity, 13 to 14 degrees, no light, no vibrations.”
Access to the tunnels has been restricted, but the Ministry of Defence started several years ago to hand over much of the network to the Gibraltar government which was looking for ways to use the space.
Lee learned about the tunnels from her father, who served in the military. “In some of the huge tunnels in the Rock you can fit two 10-tonne trucks next to each other. The chambers are the height of cathedrals. It’s extraordinary,” she said.
She said she had done a lot of tests to prove that her theory of the vaults being a perfect place for wine to mature was correct.
The local government liked the idea, hoping it would bring in wine tourism.
The facility’s first phase is expected to be completed by mid-2017 and the second phase will enable the cellars to house more than three-quarters of a million cases of wine.
About the project, Lee said: “It’s limitless really. I mean there are 32 miles of tunnels in the Rock.”
