The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-10
WINES OF SHAKESPEARE
FaIstans "IntOIerabIe Deal OF Sack"
Was sherry.

" "a cMtEEts
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The wines mentioned in Shakespeare's
,lIavs have been the cause Of consfdera-
bic discussion among the commentators
who have not always agreed on their
nature and origin They were all OF for
eign growth, and the names the dramatist
applies to them are very few, though
under each appellatOn are included sew
eral kinds often Coming from widely
separated localities. in these DAYS there
are hundreds of varieties and each ieal-
ously guards the name of the country,
island or district in which IL is produced
or OF the port from which il is sent abroad.
Though wine was made IN some parts
II the South of England during the mid
die ages and perhaps down TO Shakes
peare's time, ii does not appear that 10
was ever sought after in London. where
ale was from a remote epoch the COM
mon beverage of the people and wine
that Of those who had the money to spend
on such luXuries.
The wines mentioned by Shakespeare
were sweet, with a few exceptions. One
of these was sherry. which, with the ad-
ditiOn of sugar, was consumed in such
immOderate quantities by Falstaff. Claret
is only mentioned once. and that in the
second part of Henry VI, where Jack
Cade, in a burst OF generosity, prom
ises 10 his followers to make the water
COnduits flow with IL. Though this was
undoubtedly a red wine, it is not known
whence il came or whether il resembled
the modem Bordeaux wines. The Jack
Cade rebellion occurred more than 100
years before Shakespeare's time. and it
seems hardly possible, considering the
very recent favor shown by the En-
glish for the Bordeaux vintages, that
they should have been known in England
at that date. The red wine spoken of in
Henry VIII. was perhaps he that of
Jack Cade, a sweet wine from SPAIN
Portugal or the Greek islands.
Malmsey, called by the French Nal
voisic, was IN more general use and Of
more ancient origin. II was first made in
the southern part of Greece, then in the
Greek islands, later in Naples, and in the
seventeenth century in France, the last an
imitat ton made wholly or in part OF hon
ey That consumed in England probably
came from a variety of sources IL was
always very sweet and could be kept for
some time in vessels imperfectly closed or
entirely open. like the butt into which the
assassin Of Prince Clarence promised to
throw him, though II does not appear
from the play that the threat was actu-
ally carried into execution. Shakespeare
also alludes 10 Rhenish, a white wine
coming usually from the Rhine, and per-
haps sometimes from the district about
Reims IN France. AS during the one hun
cred years war the English overran the
north and west and a good part of the
center of France. they must have known
nearly all the wines made in those parts
of that country long before the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, which makes IL seem
strange that Shakespeare's nomenclature
should be so limited.
OF the four Vinous beverages alluded to
specifically by the dramatfst sack is Of
Senest mentioned and it is that to which
commentators have given most attention
Most Of them consider he word sack
corruption of the French sc dry. A few
think the name may have come from the
Spanish SAGA (sack), because the Spanish
inheriting the custom from the Romans
have from the most remote times and still
do put their wines in leather bottles and
bags. Tn consulting Spanish dictionaries
one may find the term SAGA applied to a
kind of wine brought from the Csnaries.
The reason given for thinking the wine
used so freely by Falstaff was sherry in
the mind Of Shakespeare is that IL is alb
surd to suppose he would have added sugar
10 a sweet wine like those of Malaga or
the Canarles. 1t is possible that the term
sack may have first been applied in
England to sherry, but as we learn from
various writer's IL was used afterward to
designate various sweet wines. Ritson de-
clares that Shakespeare's sack was a mix
ture of sherry, cider and sugar, but he is
alone in his opinion. Ben Johnson makes
the terms sack and sherry" synOny-
nous. "Sherris-sack" was a common ex-
preston in the time of Queen Elizabeth
The phrase "o:d Malaga sack is found in
Percys "Reltques." Later Herrick mem
tons "Canarie sack" which was, perhaps
the kind of wine so called in Spain. There
is also palm sack" spoken of by one of
the old dramatists.
II is to be inferred that few of Shakes
peares contemporaries found the wines
of their day so agreeable to the taste that
they preferred them pure. Falstaff, on
one occasion, demands quart of sack
brewed with sugar, and when Bardolph
asks if he shall add eggs refuses contemp-
1uously. Sack-posset was made of milk
curdled with sherry, to which sugar was
added and other ingredients if desired.
Malaga sack and Canary sack were prob
ably mixtures but it is not known how
they We're prepared.
Shakespeare's plays usually portray the
manners of his time, no matter at what
epoch or in what country the scene is laid,
50 that though the action in THE Merry
Wives of Windsor and the first part of
Henry ". passed over 100 years before
the author lived the wines he mentioned
We're those drank in England during the
last OF the reign of Elizabeth and first
part OF that of James /. If Falstaff was
the type of any one or of any class that
haunted the Elizabethan taverns the ca
paclty of the period for wines that are
now drank sparingly in small glasses was
phenomenal Falstah drank several
quarts OF sack at a sitting and on one
occasion, 'as in shown by the bill found by
frlnce Henry in his pocket, he consumed
Two gallons at supper with a capon and a
mar penny worth of bread, besides adding
neaIly half as much with anchovies after
,,he meal was over, or what would now
De the contents of ten or twelve bottles
IN these days few men would be consid-
treG responsible for their conduct after
GaNlng consumed a pint of dry sherry
gun: we must bear in mind that Tenny-
son IN ms youth, if one of his poems is to
ne DeneVed, used occasionally to carry
away under his belt from the Cock Tav-
eIn IN the Strand several Dints of port