What did a wine list look like in 1914?

8th July, 2014 by Neal Baker

A century on, and the 1914 wine list from the forerunner to The Wine Society is now quite the artefact.

 

At the Society’s helm was a general manager bearing a name that would certainly encourage a feeling of confidence in the society members…

 

And the society headquarters could boast cushy central London offices and private cellars…

 

The preface to the list is a rallying-cry to wine lovers the world over…

 

And full of advice for any fledgling wine collector…

 

There are wise words on the tricky matter of storage (most notably to keep the bottles away from one’s kitchen range)…

Reassurances that seem appropriate to today’s natural wine fan…

 

 

And a vital tip relevant to ALL of us…

There are prices for top wines that make a mockery of today’s rates (the most expensive case of Burgundy going for the equivalent of just over £122 in today’s money)…

 

And praise for a wine-producing region that, in a few short weeks, wouldn’t be receiving such high esteem…

Thanks to The Wine Society for releasing this gem.

6 Responses to “What did a wine list look like in 1914?”

1. Linden says:

   July 10, 2014 at 4:45 am

   Savigny ’06 please. Nice to see a good selection in halves. I would love to see the German list please.

   Reply
2. Neal Baker says:

   July 10, 2014 at 9:19 am

   If you click the link at the bottom of the piece it will take you to the full document, so you can have a look at the Germany list.

   Here’s the link: http://www.thewinesociety.com/resources/downloads/july-1914.pdf

   Thanks.

   Reply
3. David N says:

   July 10, 2014 at 5:54 pm

   The note for the most expensive wine on the list, the Corton, uses the word “Ripe”. I wonder what that means exactly. Was 1898 a hot year? You don’t see that word anywhere today in Burgunday. Maybe in California… (-;p

   Reply
4. cvgate says:

   July 10, 2014 at 9:02 pm

   Missing a descriptor for Volnay 1896 … … … 😉

   Reply
5. ben says:

   August 5, 2014 at 4:20 pm

   The International Exhibition Co-operative Superconvoluted Wine Society, Limited.

   Reply
6. Mike Green says:

   August 13, 2014 at 1:16 pm

   Neal, you start the article indicating that this is the forerunner of The Wine Society, I was under the impression that it is the same organisation that no longer uses the full description in its name of the International Exhibition Cooperative?

   Reply