Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-10
KING EDWARDS Wine CELLAR
THINGS THAT THE CELLARMEN
AND BoTTLERS HAVE TO DO.
Vaults Of st. James Palace the
Principal Repository of the Royal
Drink-Wines of Great Age.
From Tit-Bits.

From Tit-Bits.
The bulk of King Edwards wines and
spirits is stored in huge cellars beneath
st. James Palace. A certain supply is
kept at Windsor Castle and Buckingham
Palace but in each case the stock is of
comparatively small dimensions, and on
the occasions of state banquets or the en-
tertainment of royal guests the necessary
supplies are drawn from the st. James
Palace stores. At one time the stock of
wine, accumulated during various reigns,
was of enormous dimensions. No proper
record was available. and one of the first
acts of the king on coming to the throne
was to order a thorough overhauling of
the miles of bins. The result was that
many thousands OF dusty and cobwebbed
bottles were brought to light. These con-
tanned wines Of extraordinary age, but OF
a class never drunk nowadays-Canary,
Madeira, heavy ports and brown sherries,
and many strange liquors of unknown
names, the gifts Of foreign rulers.
Wines of All Nations.
When the prince consort came to this
country he introduced hooks, Moselles
and other light German wines previously
unknown to Britons These wines were
Of fine quality. and are now only brought
out at state balls and other state enter
tainments. when they are made into
cups The royal cups are still ia
nous The chief wine stocked nowadays
is champagne, which is practically the
only wine drunk at state banquets; al
though other wines figure on the royal
menus, they are rarely served. The king
himself used to drink champagne, but a
good many years ago he was ordered by
his medical adviser to abstain from this
wine. Nowadays his majesty only touches
it on ceremonial occasions, and then he
never exceeds two glasses. Later on his
majesty was advised to follow the eX-
ample Of Queen Victoria and TO take a
little old Scotch whisky in mineral water,
but now he drinks Chablis. fine white
Burgundy, usually mixed with a sparkling
natural water. The Chablis arrives in
hogsheads, and is bottled in the cellars
at st. James Palace. No labels appear
on any of the royal bottles. but the royal
monogram is stamped on the seals Of the
corks
Duties of Cellarmen.
The staff of cellarmen and bottlers of
st. James Palace is large one. and is
under the control Of chief clerk and a
chief cellarman. whose duty it is to check
the receipt and delivery of every bottle
and to see that the correct wines are sup
piled according to special circumstances
Thus, when the French president was the
guest of the king special brands of claret
were supplied, while during the sojourn
of the kaiser hook was the wine most in
demand. The car drinks champagne of
a somewhat sWeeter character than is
generally popular in this country, and the
wines most favored by the King Of Spain
are dry champagne and sherry and seltZer
water. The wages Of the cellar staff are
paid out of the kings private purse. and
not by the lord chamberlain. The high
officials of the court given certain
allowance of wine, and the chief sery-
ants are given an allowance of spirits
AS matter of fact, however. very little
spirits are drunk nowadays at the royal
palaces, and punch, that famous tipple
of the Georgian days-when deep drink
ing and shallow thinking was the rule of
the times-is unknown. Some time ago
a large stock Of fine old rum was pri-
Of other spirits-brandy Schnapps. gin
and whisky-have taken place.
Gentleman Of the Cellars.
The supreme head of the royal cellar
bears the title gentleman of the cellars,
and it is his duty to attend or to be rep
resented at all the principal sales and to
acquire suitable lots" Tho fact that the
king is really the buyer is, Of course, kept
secret to prevent fancy" prices being
run up. The Prince of Wales has his own
cellars, but is occasionally supplied from
those at ST. James Palace. The king,
when Prince Of Wales, always made a
point Of taking his own wine with him
when he attended public banquets. and
this custom is still favored by the present
heir to the throne. who usually drinks a
special brand of hook.
The Duke of Connaught. on the other
hand takes the wine supplied at the dim
ners he attends in an official capacity.
The king has his own wine sent to pri-
vate houses when he accepts invitations
to dinner except i'll places where he is an
old or frequent visitor and knows that his
special tastes are understood and will be
catered for. Originally. the cellars at
Windsor Castle, which are of enormous
extent, were the chief repository Of the
royal wines. and until they were over
hauled nobody knew quite wha; they con-
tanned. The electric light now Eliminates
their dark depths, and every bin is num-
bered and catalogued with all the accu-
racy of business house.