BOTTLED HISTORY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 22, 9 November 1943, Page 6

BOTTLED HISTORY

ANCIENT VINTAGES 1 WIiNES AM) LI.OUKUUS ' i - i Russian Muscat from the Crimen, ' tawny port blended in the days of 1 the Duke of Wellington, champagne • as once served to the Kaiser, and J Madeira bottled more than 10(1 years ngo. are wines which connoisseurs « dream about, yet these —and otheis equallv ran —were included in a collection of '21)0 bottles of imported wines and liqueurs which were < sold at a private auction in Mel-/ J bourne, run to help the ltoyal Australian Naval lie lief Fund. 1 There were three bottles ol Chilean hock, a type of Rhine winev and from Italy a bottle of liqueur called Ofl'ieina de S.M. Novella Alkcr--111 c\s. Another liqueur with an*interesting history was a bottle of Aqua Vite. It was originally a gift from the Danish Government. According to a legend 200 years old, "Goldfish" liqueur acquired its tiny pieces of gold leaf because it was distilled, in a golden still. A bottle of this liqueur (Fan de Viq-. de Dantzig Debrise Freres. Paris) was also sold. There was al.so a bottle of Green Chartreuse, as delicate and rare as its classic bottle, ■while, according to one connoi.s*si v ur, the bottle ol Chateau d'Yquem (1921) was one of the greatest French vintages and among the lincst white wines in the world. Rare bottles of Benedictine and other French liqueurs, which bad been in a private cellar for more than 50 yeam. were, also included in the collection. Covered with the dust of years, the labels weie almost unreadable, but one old stone bottle was believed to contain Curacao.