Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-12-05
ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE
The London Wine Vaults.

\ correspondent of tho New York Journal
of Commerce gives the following description of
place which is seldom visited by travellers
and tourists. although everybody has heard Of
it, and is aware ofits. or rather their existence.
The great London wine vaults arc peculiar
feature in the wine trade Of the world, and
hence description of them cannot hut prove
interesting The letter, froul which we copy,
is dated London. Novcmber 1871.
The famous wine vaults OF the London Docks
are fourteen in number Some are used eXclu-
sively tor the storing OF port, sherry, brandy,
ar waited wines, while others contain all sorts
without distinction But one oftheSc will be de-
sccibcd here. uamely, the Crescent Vault, which
IL very large, and is employed IA q Storehouse
Tor sherry alone You enter the vault conducted
by an attendant and bearing torch that seems
10 be made expressly for the use of newspa-
per correspondents because the fiat handle Of
it furnishes such convenient rest Tor the note
hook Descending Il few steps there appears
dark, vast suhhterranean chamber that COW
crs acres.
Traversing it at right angles are mysterious,
lmly lighted passage ways, stretching rs far
as the eye can reach in the feeble light. The
immense building above seven stories in height,
is supported by the massive stono pillars and
arches of the vault below, so that while ono is
ONLY threading the mazes Of L StorehOuSc Of
aristocratlc todd, one can easily imagine him.
self groping ab1ut the cloistcrs Of monks in
ruined monastery Indeed, the general mus
illness, the heavy and peculiar masonry, the
chill dreariness of London wine vault, were it
not for the long rows OF casks would give it a
striking resemblance to ruined colSter.
Here are u.s. 900 pes OF wine in space cOv-
rrine six acres. Think Of it, This storing
place is owned Iy the London Dock Company,
and was built along with the other warehouSesln
The ncighborhood, some seventy years ago. The
business of the corporation Is managed by ii
court of Directors, and the capital represented
hy the shareholders is 5000, 600. AZ many
AZ 1900 laborers have been employed on these
wharycs in day. But figures and statistics
express very inade1natcl ly :he amount Of hnsl-
ness done.
Fully to rclizr it, one lnl!st pass along tie
luays, in the forests OF masts, among swearing
stevedorGs gaugerS butchers, and chatterng
sailors Of every cline, their voices bleudlng in
discordant tumble Of strange sounds. One must
sniff here the pungant odors savory and unsav
nry, of India, Africa. and the Pacific isles, and
must see with his own eyes the hustle and con-
fusion of this enormous business establishment.
Understand that the London Docks proper do
not comprise all the docks of London. There
are besides the East India Docks, the West
India Docks, St. katherine Docks, and so Oh,
aH together covering several square miles OF
ground along the Thames, below the Iower.--
They were all built by joint stock companies
and though not Improbable to their projectors,
.hey have redounded to the still greater advan-
tage of the city Itself. But to return to the
wine vaults.
When cargo OF spirits arrives at the wharf,
1.or- e ,,nlno1inp ,n1 Stornn all done
By the company $ servants Each merchant
has separate Department. selected for the
safe keeping of his own wines. When party
spplics TO the merchant with Il view OF pur-
chasing, he is taken to the vault, hu tastes
and chooses his wine, and has it delivered to
him by the Dock Company. The sum paid
for storage is. per week, three pence ii hogs
head. two pence butt and for quarter casksa
penny Very cheap rates, It would appear at
first thought, but when the wine Is lett TO grow
old in the vaults, and remains year after year,
the charges accumulate to very considerable
sum, and arc often greater than the value OF
the liquor. Another source of revenue to the
company is in tho sale Of unclaimed wines.
Not unfrenucnty the casks are misplaced, or
the merchant forgets them and never calls TOR
them, or the storage fees are more than the
LIQUOR will bring in the market. In these cases
the Dock Company, at stated intervals, offer
the wine for sale at auction. In this way some
of the oldest and choicest brands are disposed
Of The vault was formerly lighted with gas,
but owing to subtcrraneous vapors, the tunes
: of the wine, or to some unknown cause, 1t
could not be made to burn well, so that now
sperm oil has taken lis place, and serves to
make the darkness visible.
Covering the floor about the pipes Of sherry
is d very beautiful snow-white fuugus-llkc
growth caused probably by the evaporation of
spirits. 1t is cold and soft to the feel, and so
delicate and sensitive that it is gone almost at
the touch of the finger helarge stone pillars
and the ached- ceiling of solid masonry are
covered with the same substances bnt, for the
most part. this is Of different color and older
growth 1t hangs about the roof and columns
like clouds Of thick, dark smoke, suddenly ar.
rested and fixed Here and there it IS tiecked
with the white variety, hanging pendulous,
and having very much the appearance of the
stalee,ites Of 4 cave. Touch the torch to the
dark cloudy mass, and bright haules will shoot
quickly over it, and rs suddenly disappear.
the white fungus will not burn. The tenn.
perature of the vault is SlXty-one degrees
Fahrcnheit, and is almost invariable summer and
winter At this time of year the stock in store is
comparatively quite suall, and yet, upon both
sides of the passages and tramways, casks and
barrels, pipes, butts, and hogsheads seem to Re
piled up in countless numbers. Here are rep
resented all the choice brands known to the
connosseur in vines. Here arc casks that
have been in store, five. ten, fifteen, and even
twenty years, every added year in the cellar, of
course, increasing the value of the wine.
There There is kept in the vault quite large nun.
ber Of large hogsheads Of East India sherry.
These are distinguished by the strong hoops
that arc bound about them. Fast India sher::
ry, says the attendant, is imported to England
from Spain, and then, after being more strong
ly hooped, is shipped tor voyage to India
and back. The value of 4 hogShead is thereby
augmented about twenty dollars. This IN
crease in value, it is said ia by no means occa-
stoned By the increased age that the wine gains
from its long Journey, but it results from some
other more occult cause My suggestion that
IL unlre minht rnrr nnnnrllinr To the dizziness