Museum Finds Cases of 2-Century-Old Wine in Its Cellar
Museum Finds Cases of 2-Century-Old Wine in Its Cellar
An ongoing restoration project at a New Jersey museum has unearthed cases of wine nearly as old as the United States of America.
US NEWS and World Report, July 10, 2017,
A six-month restoration project at Liberty Hall Museum in Union, N.J., uncovered three cases of Madeira wine dating to 1796 and about 42 demijohns from the 1820s while restoring its wine cellar. The museum said the monetary value of the wine cannot be made public. (David J. Del Grande//NJ Advance Media via AP) The Associated Press
UNION, N.J. (AP) — A restoration project at a New Jersey museum has unearthed cases of wine nearly as old as the United States.
The Liberty Hall Museum in Union says it discovered almost three full cases of Madeira wine dating to 1796 while restoring its wine cellar. NJ.com ( http://bit.ly/2sHP4uh ) reports the museum also found 42 large glass jugs dating to the 1820s.
Madeira is a fortified wine.
Bill Schroh, director of operations at Liberty Hall, says it was the best wine to ship during the 18th century because it almost never spoils — even centuries later if stored properly.
Liberty Hall President John Kean says he's sampled the wine. He compares it to a sweet sherry.
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"Have Some Madeira, M'dear." (The Limeliters)
She was young, she was pure, she was new, she was nice
She was fair, she was sweet seventeen.
He was old, he was vile, and no stranger to vice
He was base, he was bad, he was mean.
He had slyly inveigled her up to his flat
To view his collection of stamps,
And he said as he hastened to put out the cat,
The wine, his cigar and the lamps:
Have some madeira, m'dear. You really have nothing to fear.
I'm not trying to tempt you, that wouldn't be right,
You shouldn't drink spirits at this time of night.
Have some madeira, m'dear. It's really much nicer than beer.
I don't care for sherry, one cannot drink stout,
And port is a wine I can well do without...
It's simply a case of chacun a son gout
Have some madeira, m'dear.
Unaware of the wiles of the snake-in-the-grass
And the fate of the maiden who topes,
She lowered her standards by raising her glass,
Her courage, her eyes and his hopes.
She sipped it, she drank it, she drained it, she did!
He promptly refilled it again,
And he said as he secretly carved one more notch
On the butt of his gold-headed cane:
Have some madeira, m'dear,
I've got a small cask of it here.
And once it's been opened, you know it won't keep.
Do finish it up. It will help you to sleep.
Have some madeira, m'dear.
It's really an excellent year.
Now if it were gin, you'd be wrong to say yes
The evil gin does would be hard to assess.
Besides it's inclined to affect me prowess,
Have some madeira, m'dear.
Then there flashed through her mind what her mother had said
With her antepenultimate breath,
"Oh my child, should you look on the wine that is red
Be prepared for a fate worse than death!"
She let go her glass with a shrill little cry,
Crash! Tinkle! it fell to the floor;
When he asked, "What in Heaven?" She made no reply,
Up her mind, and a dash for the door.
Have some madeira, m'dear.
Rang out down the hall loud and clear
With a tremulous cry that was filled with despair,
As she fought to take breath in the cool midnight air,
Have some madeira, m'dear.
The words seemed to ring in her ear.
Until the next morning, she woke in her bed
With a smile on her lips and an ache in her head...
And a beard in her lug 'ole that tickled and said:
Have some madeira, m'dear!
Dear Friend Buzz: I had an album of The Lime Lighters performing at Radio City Music Hall (33 1/3 RPM) growing up.
In the concert, recorded live, when they came to the line, "View his collection of stamps", one of the group chimed in suggestively, "all un-perforated"! LOL.
In another spot, they referred to the wine as "Chateau Gout".
Maderia is an almost dessert wine which doesn't spoil if left uncorked, and the bottle rotated so the cork doesn't dry out. Once that happens, there are cracks, and air spoils the vintage.
Very interesting article.
Thanks for the memory of the The Lime Lighters too.
La Bre-uut (Hebrew for "To the health"". An ancient toast for a centuries old wine.
Enoch, "Geissen un Gedenken" (Sipping and Recalling - Yiddish).
I would chance its causing a bout of gout to only have a small glass of that Madeira. That's a "Bucket List" item.
Fake News....
They found ''almost three full cases''.....That tells you right there that someone has been nipping out of the case for years fortifying themselves.
Great find both the wine and the article Buzz.
Wow, I wonder how much fundraising they could do with an auction....not everyone gets to say, 'Here, have a glass of 221 year old wine'.
I know a little about auctions, and I think there are people in this world who would pay a million bucks for one of those bottles.
That wouldn't surprise me at all. Just to have something that rare.....