The times., 1898-11-20
DRINKERS OF old PORT
No More DO They Reyel in the
0nce-Popular Wine.
A FAMOUS CUSTOM BROKEN
Even in England. Where the Rev
crage Wa SO Freely Used, II Has
FnIIe. Into Disfavor Celebrated
Vintages OF Thirty Years Ago
How They Were Tested


1t never existed to any great extent in
this countty. and, a. a matter of fact
Great Britain was the only place where
ii was carried to the curious extremes 1t
reached there thirty years Or so ago.
There are probably not fifty Of the old
time connoisseurs alive today. The wine
was totally different from the port wine
OF California. being a rich fruity. mos;
syrupy wine with a remarkably fragrant
odor or bouquet TO it, which the mixer
inhaled before slipping. Until they had
been aged in wood and bottle the finer
vintages were practically unfit for drink
ing. Compound interest on the orisina'
cost and scarcity of Individual V.ntages
or years of fine production sent pr ceS
soaring to the clouds.
II was the custom fifty years ago for
well-to-do F:ngiishmau to buy pipe u2'
eallonsD on more of a remarkably fine VIM
tage and lay it down" rs good inter-
est-paying legacy ior his children. Con
noisseurs could tell the year the wine
was made from the sight and bouquet
with marvellous accuracy, and announce
II before tasting. To emphasize thei' Jud J
ment. ard such men earned salaries TO
which those of the tea tas:er were rs
nothing. The finest judges were found
among the wealthy landed gentry o'
Great Britain, who. as compliment
were often asked to journey To London
and other places to pass upon c-rtaih
wine which would be offered for sals-
Their verdict was accept d uahes-tatiiis
ly.
When a yell-known wine drinker died
or WAS declared insolvent "a rare case
indeed. for the wine drinker as ruie
was n sound business man ana loHe'
of snort generally in its broadest ana best
sense, his cellars contents would be
offered and a coterie of not more tilAh
fifty men would bid in lively manner
to secure the choice bins, the representa-
tiyes of wine-dealirG houses stahuihs
aside and not attempting to run up the
,,rice to the consumer. this being a matter
of etiquette If the dealer wished for any
of a certain bin he would approach tEe
consumer buyer and ask, as a favor, tnat
he would let him have 50 much, and inns
was granted at the price paid pS the
bryer without profit The famous Nlht-
ares were 1865 Of which a Mr.. Thompson
a solicitor OF Stamford, bought thFee
pipes for his own cellar, paying S2.5o a
bottle for It. or about SIS gallon This
was bought as a legacy and was so rich
a wine that Cabourn PocklinSton, we'll
known wine judge of Boston. in Lincoln
shire, predicted il would not De NJ 10
drink for thirty years. IT is now ap-
proaching perfection and its value TO-DAY
a n
terest as about $d5 2 gallon. Other famous
years were 1851. 1877, and lsii. The 1871
was n wine which needed keeping for
twenty years: then came 1881 and 1854, and
then the limit Of age was exhausted e&-
cept in rare cases.
The grading process was quite func-
tion. 4 few judges OF choice wine would
be invited TO dine at the gentleman
house. preferably eight, that being about
The number OF port wine glasses bottle
would MI. thus iusUring just one round
from each bottle. The dinner would be
SOUP. FISH. saddle Of mutton, game. cheese
no sweets-and the wines would be a
tight sherry. still hook a rich Burgundy
with the game and cheese, and then n
few olives would iiN the palate for the
business Of the afternoon. The table
would be cleared, but the cloth retained,
and a few English iilbert nuts with salt,
applcs pears etc, be placed around
Then. with glasses polished Ike mirror
Che wine being AL decanted TWO hours
previously and stood IN the room TO gain
the temperature OF the room, the
ball would be opened with possibly
p bottle OF 1864 vintage. Chatting upon
general topics-politics strictly tabooed-
the wine would be gently and slowly
slipped. art. music. etc, supplying the
tories the bottle travelling with the SUM-
round the table until the tiny individual
second drain was gone and the empty bot
lie reached the host. Then would come
1855 wine drunk in like manner then 1854,
1884, which brought to the tongues stories
of marvellous wines of the Incompatible
1874 vintage. and who owned them. That
passed there would come 1851 the 1884,
scarcely less fine and then 1929, magni-
ficent vintage. thus generally closing the
seance with each man outside of bot
tie and half, occupying matter of five
hours to drink. The younger men would
go out in the clear. cold air for walk.
such dinners being held in the Winter. as
a rule. and the elder men would sit in
their easy chairs and doZe until 8 p. m,
when coffee and the ladies stirred them
up. An hour of whisky and water and
cigars would bring the evening to a close.
Woe betide the neophyte who failed to
sip his wine with the reverence due to
age and quality. still worse If he ate nuts
with il instead of between the vintages,
while decapitation awaited the man who
would dare TO light q cigar The guests
were most carefully chosen to prevent
such ''desecration of the Offices SUI
rounding the worship of Old Port, and
to all but the initiated it was a period
of unmitigated boredom. Still, il was the
one test OF gentle birth and refined sur
roundings in those days. and one which
the masses could never attain An arrnus
ing incident was the case of a well-known
wine drinker whose sons, from the age of
eight years. always had a glass of mini
mum size a the table with the men until
their taste became trained and they could
distinguish certain famous vintages
Every time they named these Alright sixty
cents was awarded them.
One of these youngsters was invited one
day as q compliment to dine with a GER
tain nob,eman who had magnificent eel
lar. and going through the dinner all
right Ee was asked. later by his titled
host what wine he preferred. and the boy
named '"5S to start withr' much to his
entertainers amusement. Wondering how
much the youngster knew, he gravely
entertained him Tor a couple of glasses
The boy declining more. he spoke TO his
butler and ordered in some 1874. to give
the boy treat. The wine came. was
opened and poured into the boys glass.
He smeIled It. raised his brows and put
his glass down untasted.
''What is the matter2" asked his host.
"Corked,' was the calm reply. paralyz-
ing his host. This meant that the cork
had proved imperfect and impaired an
extremely faint. almost intangible tang
to the wine which hopelessly ruined II
TO the connoisseur His host denied the
imputation but the boy reSDectfully in