The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-12-09
WINE IN DOCK.
THE GREAT LONDON TAULTs.
Tb. Crescent Vaults yisfted-Six Acres
Under Ground-1s,00o Pipes OF wine
The Strange Fungus CROWNS a "A
Tasting Order-Thc Waiting HOUSES
Mysreries of Wine Mixing.

and tourists, although everybody has heard OF
II and ia aware of It's. or rather their, exist
ence. The great London wine vaults are
peculiar feature in the wine trade cf the world,
and hence a description of them cannot but
proye interesting. The letter, from which we
copy. is dated London, November, ISL:
The famous wine vaults of the London
Docks are fourteen in number. Some are
ns.a exclusively for the storing ot port, sner-
nv. brandy, or waited wines, Wnlle 0taeis coa, u,
tain ali sorts without distinction. But one OF
these will be described here, namely, Ine
Crascent yanlt. which Is very large, and Is
employed as q storehouse for sherry alone.
Some ANNOYING formallties are put IN the way
of obtaining admission to the vaults aor tne
plrpose of confluing the visitors 70 q lew, 30
ihe readers of the Journal OF Commerce mdsC
know that In making with US eouI ainohs
Mines and butts of nectar, he is enjoying .
select amusement. but 1t Is to be hoped tnat
rho entertainment will not prove to oe 80 ory
and thin as most of that which Is called "se-
Won enter the vault conducted by an atten-
fant. and bearing torch tnat seems W 10
made expressly for the use OF ne%spsPeel, l, SUI S
resnondents. because the fiat handle OF IL luT-
nisbes snch a convenient rest Tor the note
hook. Descending a few steps there appears
n dark. vast subterranean chamber that &c
u
ers acres. ,... 80 ,,,,,otori-
ous dimly lighted passage-ways, streicnine ae
far as the eye can reach IN tne leeole Hsu.. y.
The Immense building, above seven stories In
heIght. Ia supported by the massive stone pli-
lars and arches Of the vault below, so that
while one is only threading the mazes OF
etorehonse of aristocratie toddy, one can
easily imagine himself cropping about tne
cloisiers of monks In ruined monastery;
Indeed, the general musliness, Inc neaVy ano
necnliar masonry, the chill dreariness Oh q
london wine vault, were 1t not tor The long
row of casks. would give 1t striking resem-
hIance TO a ruined cloister. Here are IL, O00
mines of wine In space covering SIX acres.
Think oft! This strong place 1s owned Dy
the London Dock Company, ana was onllt,
along with the other warehouses, III Inc
nsig6borbood, some seventy years ago. The
business of the corporation is managed fDy a
co,xrt of directors, and the capital represented
hv me shareholders is f5,0G0,000. AS many
40 three thousand laborers have been employ,
ed on these wharves In aday. But tnsures .oa
statistics express very lnadequateII ln'
amount of business done.
Fully to realize 1t one must pass, alorg th'.
onays. In The forests of masts, among s"...-
log steyedores, gangers, butchers ana cnal-
terIng sailors ,of every cline, their voices
blending In q dlscordant jninble OF strange
sounds. One must sniff bore the pungsnt
odors. savory and unsavory, OF lndla. africa
ana the Pacific Hess, and must see Win MS
own ewes the hustle and confusion OF this
Enormous business establishment. Under
stand that the London Docks proper do BOT
comprIsa all the docks o. London. There are
besides the East India looks, the west indla
Docks, st. Katherine Docks and 80 on: all 10.
ether covering severss s square ,ha hTeS Tewor VI
fhey were all built by Joint stock companies;
and though not Improbable TO their proyec-
tors. they have redouuded to the still greater
advantage of the city iCself. But to return 70
the wine vaults.
When cargo OF spirits arrives at the Wnarl
the work of unloading ana stoT,ng. s an Ione
by the company's servants. Each merchant
has n separate department, selecled for the
sofa-keepipr of his own wines. When party
snn,ies to the merchant with view OF pur-
chasing. he Is taken TO the vault, ne tastes
and chooses his wiue, and has It delivered 10
him by the Dock Company. The sum paid LOT
storage is, per week, ,, thres PenSe ior oartsT.
casks a penny. Very cheap rates, it would
ennear at first thought, but when the WINE
10 left to grow old, IN the vaults, ana re-
mains wear after year, the charges accum.
mulate to q very considerable sum, ano
are often greater than the value OF the Ilqu0r.
Another source of revenue to the company is In
thSsale of unclaimed Wines Not untrequent-
iy the casks are misplaced. or the merchanC
tor1s,s them and never calls for them, or the
storage fees are more than the liquor VIII
bring in the market. In these cases the Dock
Company, at stated intervals, oier the wine
for sale at auction. In THIS way s0ne VI Iue
oldest and choicest brands are disposed OF.
the vault was formerly lighted with gas, Dnt
owing TO subterraneous vapors, the fumes OF
fhe yvine. or to some unknown cause, IL could
mot be made to burn well, so that now sperm
oil has taken It's place, and serves 10 make lne
darkness visible. ,,,,u,
Covering the floor about the pipes OF snerry
"a q very beautiful 5nOw-whlte funSus-llke
orowth. caused probably by the evaporation
ef snIrits. It is cold and soft TO the feet. and
so delicate and sensitive that 1t is gone almost
af the touch of the finger. The large stone
nillars and the arched ceiling OF sond masonry
are covered with the same substance, out, lor
the most part, this Is OF dlfferent c0lor anu
older growth. It hangs about the roof ana
coInm1s like clouds Of thick. dark smoke,
suddenly arrested and fixed. Here and there
n Ia fIecked with the white variety, hanging
pendulous, aud having very much the appear
ance of the stalectites OF cave. 'Iouch tne
torch to the daIr cloudy mass, ana oTlSnC
flames win shoot quickly overit aud suddenly
disannear. The white fungus will not burn. The
-temperature of the vault is sixty-one degrees
aabrenheit. and is almost invariable summer
AID winter. At this time Of year the STOCK 10
store is comparatively quite small, and YET
unon both sides OF the passages duu IIt'm-
wavs. casks and barrels, pipes, butts ana hogs-
heads seem to be piled up In countless hu n
hers Here are represented all the choice
brands known to the connoisseur IN wines.
Here are casks that have been in store nve,
ton fifteen and even twenty years, every
added wear In the cellar, OF course. increasing
the va ne of the wine. There is kept In the
vasst unite a lerge number of large hogs
heads of East 4, ia sherry. These are dis
tingnished by the strong hoops that are
bo5nd about them. East India sherry, says
the attendant, is imported 10 England
from Spain, and then, alter being
more strongly hooped. is shipped ior voyage
TO India and back. The value OF nogsneao
ia thereby augmented about twenty dollars.
This increase in value, it is said, Is Dy no
means occasloned by the Increased age tnot
the wine gains from its long journey, put II
resnlts from some other more occult cause
Nv srppestion that It's value might vary ac-
cording 10 the dulness or hVenness OF t1e
drinkeT,s Imagination, was greeted Win lhL-
nita scorn. Salt air and long sea voyages are
nrescribed for consumptive people, OUT
HThather the same treatment works some san
ative Chemical change in cask OF spirits
must be LETT to the determination OF Inc lovers
of East India sherry. ,.,.o ot
For some reason the presence OF visitors at
the vaults Ia an annoyance to the merchants
who have wine in store, so that, as a rule, lne
secretary of the London Dock Company does
not give tickets OF admission except u those
who apply with an Introduction from some one
in authority. Your correspondent, on statlng
-. fl,r fr1f nF1T r.