How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant - The Beau Monde
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The Gentleman’s Drink 66
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant
Before I go any further on the subject of transporting wine, I want to speak about smuggling. An
entire course could be conducted on how smuggling occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Everything from running goods through the Channel Islands; bands of smugglers that operated
in Sussex and Kent; notorious Dutch merchants who acted as intermediaries between French
négociants and British merchants; and sending French wine through Portuguese factors.
Suffice to say, it happened, but because smuggling is a more interesting topic than how duties are
paid, there is plenty of information that you can read on the subject yourself. Therefore, I’ve
limited the scope of this section to the legal means of importing wine, which, while not as
exciting and notorious, are perhaps less well-known.
Merchant Operations
Very early on, wine merchants acted as the middleman between the grower and the consumer;
however, as time passed, some merchants realized they could make more money if they
established themselves in the locales where the wines were made. This led to some of the most
famous names in wine, brandy, and port today.
Négociants and the Bordeaux Wine System
The négociant system in Bordeaux has been in place since the Middle Ages; however, it wasn’t
until the early 17th century that négociants had a formal place in the wine industry.
Buying Wines En Primeur
All the top producers in Bordeaux sell their wine En Primeur. This basically means buying wine
futures, or buying wine on a predetermined future date and price. It has been done this way since
the 1600s. The best way to think of it is like a wholesaler, except the group of wholesalers is pre-
arranged, they contract to purchase a certain percentage of a property’s harvest each year (before
the harvest), then they all pay the same price on the same day at almost the same time.
Rather than purchasing the wine when it is ready to be bottled, though, the wine is purchased by
négociants from the wineries in the cask, right after fermentation. “But,” you ask, “isn’t wine
already bought in a cask at this time?” The answer is yes. However, most wineries in the pre-
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 67 Georgian era were owned by aristocrats or members of the royal family who had neither the time nor the inclination to “get their hands dirty” with mixing blends, aging the wine, or, heaven forbid, interacting with the masses to market and sell the wine. The aristocratic owners would not have to mingle with the lower classes if they sold their wine directly to négociants. This is part of what made négociants indispensable. They acted as the middleman between the grower, who picked, pressed, and (sometimes) fermented the wine. As soon as it was in a barrel, though, the négociant took over. They basically handled the aging and commercial aspect of making wine. They also functioned as an informal banker to the winery owners. The cost of maintaining vineyards, paying for labor to pick grapes, and producing wine is high. Because the négociant was buying futures on the wine, they were giving the growers money in advance to help fund the costs of harvest and production. Négociants became such an integral part of the wine making and distribution process in Bordeaux that only a handful of wineries today operate without négociants. The Courtier—Middleman to the Négociant Courtiers also had a role in the buying and selling of wine in Bordeaux. They originated in the Middle Ages as the middleman between the négociant and the grower, and their role was formalized by law in 1680. Not only did they handle the financial aspect of sales—moving the money from the buyer to the seller, in some cases holding money in escrow—but they acted as messenger between the two and could be asked to step in as an independent, third-party negotiator if things got heated. Because the standard commission for a courtier is 2%, they are sometimes referred to as Mr. Two Percent by Bordeaux insiders. Courtiers can own châteaux and vineyards, but they are forbidden to own or act as négociant. The most famous courtiers in Bordeaux are Tastet Lawton, Les Grands Crus, Balaresque, and Laurent Quancard. Négociants as Wine Sellers and Brokers Another task that négociants performed—this time for their customers—was producing custom blends. This could be simply a mix of different varietals like Syrah or Hermitage, or perhaps blends from different producers. But it could also mean making blends of First Growth wines, such as a 50/50 blend of Lafite and Margaux. Négociants were also responsible for shipping and sometimes bottling the wine. They might have storehouses both in the country of origin as well as the destination country. Brandy Négociants The most famous names in cognac today started out as négociants, although their system wasn’t formalized as it was in Bordeaux. In the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly for cognac makers like Martell or Hennessy, you begin to see family alliances being built. English négociants would How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 68
marry into French families who owned the vines, thereby joining the growing and selling, and
eventually leading to the major labels we see today.
Merchants in Portugal
The evolution of shippers to merchants to vintners in Portugal was a unique one. The first
merchants in Oporto weren’t English, but Dutch, Flemish, French, and German. The arrival of
English into Oporto coincided with King Philip II of Spain’s rule over Portugal at the end of the
16th/beginning of 17th centuries. Trade accords negotiated after the English Restoration made
English shippers more powerful than the Portuguese themselves. They were allowed to act as
their own judge, consul, and use their own chaplains, they could hold Protestant religious
services and acquire land for an English cemetery, and were exempt from any new taxes. In
essence, they were like an independent colony in Portugal.
In the late 17th century, several firms began to establish themselves as forces to be reckoned with.
A few of them incorporated the bacalhau (cod) trade into their business.
Unlike in France, where some British merchants began marrying into the local French families
involved in wine and shipping, Brits remained extremely cloistered from the native Portuguese
fidalgos, or nobility, into the 19th century. Instead, their children married into other British
families in Oporto, and in fact, the British were so separated from the locals that they barely
spoke Portuguese.
By the end of the 18th century, the British shippers were making excellent profits in Oporto. They
could afford to live much better than if they were in London, and there was quite an extensive
social life for British merchant families in Oporto.
Trade was conducted by fetorias, or factories. There were different factories for different nations
or groups trading in Oporto. The British Factory conducted all of their trade through the
entreposto, or bonded area of Vila Nova de Gaia, until 1986. After Pombal’s changes, shippers
began developing long-term contracts with individual growers. There might have been a handful
of famous names in the early 19th century, but they stood at the top of a pyramid of thousands of
individual growers. The deals made with these growers were (and still are) “handshake deals.”
The winemaker from each shipper would visit the growers before the harvest, inspect the grapes,
and over a glass of port and a handshake, the two would come to an agreement. Sometimes, the
farmer would even offer his daughter as part of the bargain!
The British Factory wasn’t just an institution, but an
actual building. It stood on the corner of Rua Nova dos
Inglezes and Rua de São João and was begun in 1785-6 by
John Whitehead, who was Consul to the Factory, and
finished in 1790. It was very anti-Moorish in design (in
contrast to other buildings in Oporto) and was a
clubhouse of sorts for the gentlemen of the British Factory
to discuss and conduct business. Balls were given there for
the British families living in Oporto.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 69
During the Napoleonic Wars, the building was occupied (and ransacked) by the French, but
Marshal Soult was chased out of Oporto by Sir Arthur Wellesley after occupying it for only a few
months. The British Factory took possession of the building again in 1811, but in an agreement
between George III and João IV, the “factory” itself had already ceased to exist as an official
entity.
Back in the Day: Six weeks before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Vice-Admiral
Viscount Nelson purchased three pipes of port for £308 2s 0d. It’s said that shortly
before the battle itself, Lord Sidmouth visited Nelson, who apparently drew out the
battle plans on the table top using his finger, which he dipped into a glass of port.
Throughout the late 18th and early 19th century, more merchants moved to Oporto and
established their “lodges” on the south side of the Douro River, in Vila Nova de Gaia. The lodges
not only stored the wine as it aged, but they served as the business headquarters for the
companies. Most business in the early years was conducted in cash.
Portuguese companies also had a hand in the port-wine business. There was a large Portuguese
community in London (in fact, pockets of Portuguese transplants could be found in every major
city in Britain). Bruno Evaristo Ferreira da Silva had settled in London, married an
Englishwoman, and through his own contacts in Oporto, was able to import wine into London.
His firm, Silva & Cosens (the producer of Dow’s port) was established in 1798.
Back in the Day: The Napoleonic Wars put much pressure on shippers to not have
their goods confiscated at sea. Silva was the only shipper to obtain a Letter of
Marque, which allowed his ships to be armed for protection.
Shipping to England
Shipping was arranged either by the négociants or port-wine merchants in the originating
country (or in the destination country, if they had offices here), or the wine could be ordered
from these companies by independent merchants. Wine was received in almost every port city in
England and Scotland, but the majority of it went through London.
Before the 18th Century
Because of the very nature of wine (the cheap, unbottled swill that wasn’t really aged—remember,
bottling wasn’t a thing yet), it was a seasonal product. There were generally two “busy” times at
which was shipped before the 18th century. The first vintages for the year arrived in the late
summer or early fall and were usually consumed by Christmas. A second shipment often arrived
in February and was sold until the end of April, at which time the wine really became quite nasty.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 70
Drop of Wisdom: Tonnage, or the measurement of what a ship (or container) can
carry, originated from the Middle Ages, when merchants and ship captains had to
specify the number of tuns (casks) of wine a ship could hold.
Because the ships sailing south to pick up wine were often going against the prevailing winds,
they typically hugged the coast of France. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have to wait a month
off the coast of England or the Isle of Wight for good sailing conditions. On the return trip, laden
with wine, captains followed the same path, staying close to shore as they made their way back
north.
French Wine “Pirating”
Because of the embargo against French wine in the early 18th century, a scheme developed where
high-end wine was shipped on boats that were “seized” by English privateers who then auctioned
off their freight. The wine was auctioned in London and was bought by merchants who sold it to
wealthy aristocrats or gentlemen, often at exorbitant prices. While there is no definitive record, it
is presumed by many historians that a sort of informal “arrangement” had been constructed
between the shippers and privateers to return back to Bordeaux some of the money made stealing
the cargo.
In 1705, for example, 200 barrels of Haut-Brion and Pontac were auctioned, and in the following
month, 250 barrels of Haut-Brion and Margaux, then another 288 barrels of the same. The
combined proceeds of these three lots was £40,000. This seized and auctioned wine was
expensive…at least three times that of regular (lower-quality) claret.
Bottle vs. Cask Shipments
While most wine was shipped and received in casks, some bottled wine was allowed into
England. In fact, before 1728, some French shippers had begun sending wine via bottles. This
ensured quality and reduced the opportunity for adulteration.
However, in 1728, fearing tax evasion, Prime Minister Walpole drew up a bill that would prohibit
all bottled wine imports (particularly from France). Dispensations were granted to those
individuals who could afford it, thus allowing them to import fine wines, but the quantities were
very low.
Even sparkling wine, which did not do well in casks, was subject to this edict, and many
merchants and gentlemen were given instructions on how to turn cask wine into sparkling wine
at home.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 71
Shipment Quantities Over Time
Various resources can provide quantities of wines shipped to Britain over the years. Below are
numbers for official imports for each decade from 1700-1830 for French and Portuguese wine
and port (note that this includes all wines from both countries, not simply claret, brandy, or
port). Values are in tuns until 1830, which is in Imperial gallons:
Year France Portugal Year France Portugal
1700 664 7,757 1770 62.5 29
1710 113 6,729 1780 376 17,107
1720 1,366 11,152 1790 1,101 21,431
1730 636 8,279 1800 2,078 20,738
1740 856 7,524 1810 4,117 27,360
1750 418 9,030 1820 1,090 10,598
1760 377 10,986 1830 (in gallons) 408,210 2,933,176
1770 468 11,919
The stark contrast in quantities between Portuguese wine and French wine speak to a few things:
• French embargoes and tariffs – France and Britain had been at war on and off since the
14th century and political maneuvers by both countries led to embargoes or tariffs or both.
• The Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal in 1703 guaranteed duties on
Portuguese wine would be 1/3 less than duties on French wine.
• Smuggling between France and Britain was rife, particularly in the 18th century. A fair
quantity of wine was brought in from France, either through Scotland or via smugglers
who operated the Channel Islands or the coastlines of England.
• As you’ll see in a subsequent section, the notion of English “manliness” shifted
gentlemen’s tastes from wine to port in the latter half of the 18th century.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 72
Receiving at Dock
Prior to the building of the London Docks in the early 1800s, all goods that must have duties
paid—which certainly included wine—were received at the Legal Quays, which lined the south
side of Lower Thames Street from east of the steelyard to the Customs House, just west of the
Tower of London. Eventually, this became insufficient for the volume of traffic on the river, and
new docks had to be built.
Figure 1: The Thames. Areas in yellow are the Legal Quays. In blue, the London Docks. The dot in red is where wine was unloaded
before the London Docks were built.
Legal Quays
In 1559, Parliament passed an act that regulated where shipped goods (other than fish) could be
loaded and unloaded in London. This was done primarily to ensure that customs duties were
paid on these goods.
Back in the Day: Seventy-four port city had “legal quays.” These were designated
areas where goods that required duties to be paid could be received. Legal quays
were established by Queen Elizabeth in 1559. Most references to “Legal Quays”
(initial capitals) refers to the location in London.
This area was demarcated within the City of London and ran just south of Upper and Lower
Thames Street from Three Cranes Wharf to Galley Quay, just west of the Tower, a mere 1,419
feet, which was not expanded until after 1803.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 73
Figure 2: A close-up view of the Legal Quays and Three Cranes Wharf.
A Monopoly on Wine in the Late Middle Ages
For centuries, wine merchants were associated with the area around St. Martin and St. James
Garlickhithe, both adjacent to where the wine was landed at Three Cranes, and the area became
known in the Middle Ages as Vintry. In 1363, these merchants petitioned Edward III and
received their first royal charter, essentially giving them a monopoly on buying and selling wines
from Gascony (which they called claret) at retail. Everyone else (including native Gascons who
were living in London) could only sell it wholesale.
In 1437, the Vinter’s Company was formally incorporated (becoming one of the Livery
Companies of London, ranked 11th in precedence), and all wine had to be landed at Three Cranes
Wharf (red dot on map above). However, by the early 18th century, the Vintner’s Company was
in decline, having lost their charter (and thus their monopoly) on claret wine.
Traffic on the River—and Another Monopoly
Until 1803, the Legal Quays were the only place in London that goods arriving by sail and
requiring duties could be landed. The City of London Corporation, a group made up of many of
the quay owners and other local businessmen, “ran the show” at the Quays, essentially creating a
monopoly. They regulated not only the watermen who worked the river, but the porters who
moved cargo from the dock to the warehouses, setting prices when there was no competition.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 74
Figure 3: Three Cranes Wharf, named for the three cranes used to hoist casks of wine from "lighters," or smaller ships.
Because the quays were small (even with Three Cranes being the largest of all the Legal Quays)
and the volume of traffic large, ships couldn’t always moor at the quay. Instead, they would
anchor mid-river and their cargo would be offloaded onto a “lighter,” or a barge that moved
cargo from ships to the quay. For larger cargo, the ship would moor at the quay and the cargo
would be offloaded by cranes (hence “Three Cranes”).
Wine was landed by wine porters, also known as “tackle porters.” They were originally employed
by the Vintner’s Company, but by the end of the 17th century, they worked as freemen under the
City of London Corporation. There was a hierarchy…master porters wore a badge with the
company insignia in silver, and junior porters (also called “servants”) wore them in brass.
Because the quays were not bonded—meaning they were not secure from theft—cargo could not
be left on the quay. As soon as it was unloaded, it had to be taken to a warehouse or wherever its
final destination might be. Moving the casks from the quay to a warehouse was incredibly labor-
intensive and difficult for porters as they navigated the narrow lanes that led from the wharves to
the small warehouses beyond Thames Street.
Delays, Profit Loss, and Theft
By the end of the 18th century, merchants and ship owners made the case for new wet docks as
well as a river police force.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 75 The number of ships arriving in the port of London had increased to over 13,500 annually. At any time, there could be as many as 8,000 vessels (ships, lighters, and other small cargo haulers) between two miles above and four miles below London Bridge. Hundreds of ships would be forced to moor four and five abreast in the Pool of London waiting to load or unload. Others had to wait as their cargo was chartered to the quays by lighters. Merchants running out of stock in their stores became angry because the goods they needed were sitting on ships floating in the Thames. Ship owners and captains were also complaining because they weren’t making money when their ships were sitting in a river. Their money was made when cargo was delivered. At the same time, theft on the river was becoming a greater problem. Patrick Colquhoun, a magistrate and statistician, estimated that the amount of goods plundered in 1797 alone by “night plunders” (gangs who stole from unprotected lighters at night), “river pirates” (men who bribed watchmen and took off with the cargo), “gamers” (corrupt revenue officers), “light horsemen” (organized gangs who worked with corrupt customs officers), and “scufflehunters” (men who offered to help porters, but simply stole the goods) totaled over £500,000. In 1798, the first organized police force was formed, and it wasn’t for London, but for the Thames. Called the West India Merchants and Planters Marine Police Institution, they primarily served the area around Wapping, where most larger ships moored, but they operated the entire river from London Bridge to Blackwall. In the first six months, it’s estimated they cut theft by £100,000. The passage of the Police Act of 1800 made them a public body responsible for safeguarding all shipping on the Thames and its tributaries. Yet theft continued. That combined with the increase in traffic and the City of London’s monopoly on the Legal Quays resulted in several private wet docks being built in the early 19th century. The London Docks became the new location for wine to be unloaded and stored. London Docks The London Docks, built at Wapping, just to the east of the Tower, were completed in 1805. The bill to form them gave the London Dock Company a 21-year monopoly on importing tobacco, brandy, wine, and rice (unless coming from East or West Indies…the East India Company and West India Company had their own wet docks; the London Docks could also not unload fruit). How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 76
The bill forming the London Docks also allowed the dock to run bonded warehouses. This is a
building or secured area in which goods requiring duties may be stored, but without paying duty
(typically because they will be re-shipped elsewhere. If they are withdrawn with the intention of
being consumed, then the appropriate duty must be paid).
The creation of the London Docks (and the East and West India Docks, further downstream)
effectively ended the monopoly the City of London had on receiving goods (although each of the
docks did have to provide compensation and/or labor agreements to offset the loss of work at the
Legal Quays).
A lock system allowed the docks to maintain a
consistent water level as the Thames rose and
fell with the tide. The lock system also
controlled who could and could not enter the
docks. Lightermen, who still ran their smaller
vessels discharging cargo or delivering ballast,
had to be licensed. This was part of the effort
to reduce theft.
Security at the new docks was very tight. The
warehouses and surrounding grounds were
ringed with high walls. Only authorized
porters and laborers were allowed to work the docks. This ensured that theft was kept to a
minimum. In the 1820s, the docks were handling up to 200 ships at a time, but there was enough
space for 390. At the beginning of each day, men would line up at the gates outside the docks in
the hopes they were chosen for work.
Figure 4: The London Docks looking north, across the Thames. Note the ships moored in
the London Pool (middle of river). Painting by William Daniell, 1808.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 77
In the painting in Figure
5, the five-story
warehouses on the left
stored goods and held
offices related to the
shippers who worked the
docks. Tobacco was
received in buildings at
the far end of the docks.
Figure 5: A view of the London Docks to the east. The Thames is on the right.
Storing Wine at the Docks
When the docks and warehouses were built, so, too, was a large undercroft beneath the bonded
warehouses for wine and spirits. This space could hold up to 57,000 pipes (pipes, not
barrels…about 8,000,000
gallons) of wine.
Over time, it was expanded,
eventually covering about
twenty acres, all joined by
tunnels. A ventilation system
(planned from the beginning)
alleviated the problem of
excessive alcohol fumes.
Back in the Day: In the photo above, note the “growth” on the ceilings of the tunnels.
This was a fungus that seemed to permeate the underground cellars in the London
Docks. It was quite remarked upon by Londoners who visited the cellars in the 1850s.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 78
Whereas before the docks were built all cargo requiring
customs had be landed at Legal Quays, the London Docks had
permission to handle customs themselves. With wine, this
involved sampling and testing the wine for its strength by men
called gaugers. The casks, when received, may be lined up on
the dock awaiting processing before they could be stored.
As all the wine and spirits that reached London were offloaded
and stored at the docks, this area soon became a prime place
for wine merchants and their agents to sample wine. It was
quite the thing for a well-connected gentleman to bring a small
cadre of friends into the vaults, escorted by a merchant or
cooper, to sample glasses of the wines and sherries stored in
the barrels. Even dock management and workers could visit for
a tipple (called a “waxer”).
While storing wine at the port may have been
good for the merchant or dock owner, it wasn’t
necessarily good for the wine. In the 1820s,
complaints were filed from Portuguese port
makers. Whereas port had always been stored in
Portugal (and carefully attended to), with the
new docks, the wines were now stored there and
consequently rolled around, damaged, and not
well tended, ruining the quality of the wine.
Customs, Duties, and Tariffs
Figure 6: While the photos on this page are relatively modern,
Just to make sure we’re all “drinking from the the process was very much the same.
same bottle,” a custom, or a duty, is the tax paid
on a product that is either made in or exported
into a country. Similar but different, a tariff is a tax on goods or services brought into a country
to protect the business of domestic manufacturers. Because there really was no significant wine
production in England during this time, I will refer to the charges paid by merchants for wine as
“customs.”
The Customs House
Before 1909, all customs were managed by HM (His/Her Majesty’s) Customs. Custom Houses
could be found in over 75 ports in England and Wales by the early 1800s. Each Customs House
was staffed by two Collectors, who had persons of varying responsibility serving under them to
examine cargo, assess custom amounts, collect payments, and prevent “evasion” (smuggling).
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 79
In London, HM
Customs was based at
the Customs House on
the Thames, west of
the Tower and
fronting Lower
Thames Street. This
was also the location
of the Board of
Customs, which
oversaw all customs
and duties in Britain.
The original Customs
House burn down in
the Great London Fire
Figure 7: The "Laing" Customs House, originally built in 1814, and rebuilt in 1824 after suffering a
of 1666. The partial collapse. This illustration dates from 1826.
subsequent Customs
House, built to Christopher Wren’s design, also burnt down in 1715. The replacement, built by
Thomas Ripley, burnt down in 1814. In fact, this last fire caused explosions of gunpowder and
spirits, sending papers as far as Hackney Marshes. (A fire suppression system would have been so
helpful!)
A new Customs House, which had already been planned for the area next to the old Customs
House, where Bear Quay, Crown Quay, Dice Quay, and Horner’s Quay had once been, was
under construction and was completed shortly thereafter.
Back in the Day: There must be something very unlucky about the Customs House,
because in 1824, half of the building collapsed. Apparently, the builders had
underestimated the cost of construction and to save money, had performed sub-par
work on the pilings holding the building up, among other things. It was repaired at a
cost of £180,000.
Establishing Rates
In the early 16th century, a Book of Rates was established, that determined the customs to be paid
on a particular kind of goods. By the 18th century, it had become a convoluted series of laws, fees,
exemptions, and regulations. For wine and spirits, the custom amount could vary depending on
where the alcohol came from, how potent it was, the quantity, and a whole host of other
mitigating factors. A new act in 1787 was passed, simplifying all previous duties and laws, and
replacing them with one single duty for each article.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 80
Customs Amounts Over Time
Below are the customs duties paid over time from the mid-1600s until the 1830s for French and
Portuguese wine (amounts are in pounds sterling per tun and rounded to quarter decimals).
Year French Portuguese Year French Portuguese
1660 6.5 7.5 1750 62.5 29
1670 7 8 1760 62.5 29
1680 7 8 1770 70.5 33
1690 14 17.5 1780 91.5 43
1700 51 21.5 1790** 47 31.5
1710* 54.5 25 1800 107 71
1720 54.5 25 1810 144 96
1730 54.5 25 1820 144 96
1740 54.5 25 1830*** 78 50
*The Methuen Treaty was passed in 1703, which guaranteed Portuguese duties would be at least 1/3 that of France.
**In 1786, the Eden Treaty was signed between France and Britain, which temporarily reduced the duties on French wines, but it
collapsed in 1793.
***With the adoption of the Imperial measurement system in 1824, duties were simplified and reduced on all wines; however,
Portuguese duties still remained 30% less than French duties.
How Customs Were Paid
When ships arrived in London, tide-
waiters would board them at
Gravesend at the mouth of the
Thames and stay on board until the
ships reached port. This was to
ensure no goods were taken off the
ship before it docked. The tide-
waiters would take inventory as the
ship was coming in and would give
the list of items to the land-waiter
when the ship docked. Both tide-
waiters and land-waiters were junior
officers stationed at the Customs
House at each port. They would Figure 8: The Long Room at London's Customs House (image from 1841).
This Customs House was built in 1814, but part of it collapsed in 1825.
watch the goods being unloaded and
would compare their list to make sure all goods were accounted for. Once that was complete and
the ship had been rummaged (searched for undeclared cargo), a receipt would be given for the
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 81 captain of the ship or the merchant to pay the custom at the Customs House (if not being held on bond at the dock). In each Customs House was a large public space called the Long Room. This was where individuals presented themselves to make the required payments of customs and fees on cargo both being imported and exported. Despite this supposed check and re-check, theft was rife, and tide- and land-waiters were easily bought off in exchange for not paying customs on cargo, particularly before the London Docks were built. From Dock to Merchant When wine was received at Legal Quays before 1805, it would go quickly from the wharf to either a small warehouse or the merchant, sometimes even directly to the consumer. There simply wasn’t space to store wine in that part of London. As mentioned previously, any porters used to transport wine from the wharf elsewhere were employed by the City of London Corporation. After the docks were built—and all the storage created beneath the warehouses—more and more merchants relied on storing their wines there. When wine had to be transported, porters employed by either the docks or the merchants would be used. Merchants were separated into two categories: Retail and Wholesale. Retail merchants were those who sold spirits in quantities less than 2 gallons at a time. These were usually gin shops and bars although sometimes spirit shops (brandy), who specialized in the “glass trade” (a.k.a. “dram drinkers”) or the “bottle trade” (those who buy spirits in pint, quart, gallon, etc.). Wholesale merchants, on the other hand, could not sell quantities of spirits less than two gallons. In fact, if any portion of their inventory of spirits was reduced by 5% or more in quantities of two gallons or less (for any reason), a hefty fine was imposed upon them. However, they could sell wine in quantities as small as one bottle. Various Merchants in London There were hundreds of wine merchants just in London alone. The best source for names is Holden’s Annual London and Country Directory. The 1811 edition is available on Google Books How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 82
for free. It is a three-volume set: the first volume is a list of businesses; the second volume lists the
residents of London and their address; and the third volume is a list of businesses in nearby
towns. It is fully indexed and searchable. You will also find names for other businesses affiliated
with the wine industry. I suggest using the following search terms (although there may be more):
• Wine Merchant, Brandy Merchant, Dealer in Foreign Spirit, Porter Merchant, Ale
Merchant, Importer of Foreign Spirits, Brewers, Distiller
• Wine Vaults, Brandy Vaults
• Table Beer, Bottled Ale, Foreign Wines, Rum, Spiritous Liquors, Cordials
• Coopers (or Wine Cooper), Cork-cutters, Bottle Merchant/Dealer, Bottle Warehouse
There is one merchant of note, if for no other reason than where they are located and the length
of time they’ve been in business.
At no. 3 St. James’s Street is Berry Bros. & Rudd (known during the Georgian/Regency era as
Clarke and Sons [referenced in The Epicure’s Almanack on p. 178 as a coffee room]). They began
supplying wines to George III in 1760. In 1810, George Berry, grandson of John Clarke, became a
partner, and his name was added to the company. Their shop, originally founded as a coffee
house in 1698, began selling wines, and is locally known as working under “the sign of the coffee
mill” (the image of which is displayed above their door).
Wine was also available from auctioneers. As we know from contemporary accounts, many a
gentleman lost their fortunes to gambling and vice and was forced to liquidate his assets. Wine
was certainly one of them. You can search in contemporary newspapers for adverts like this one
From the Star (London) on 1 January 1813:
“[Prefaced by a description of a house that abuts Regents Park for lease.]
Together with a genteel assortment of Plate, Linen, China, Glass, a fine toned
upright Grand Piano Forte, a superlative toned Violin, small Cellar of choice Old
port, and other Foreign Wines, Horse and Gig, &c. &c. Wines might be tasted at
the time of sale.” Also, “other Foreign scarce Wines, many years in a bottle.”
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 83
The “Devious Merchant”
Your gentleman must, however, be wary of the devious merchant. For example, Mr. Warre, a
wine merchant, describes in his book from 1824, Observations on the State of the Wine Trade,
how gentlemen were fleeced:
• The gentleman would agree to purchase a pipe of port to be bottled at his country house.
• The merchant arranges for the bottles to be shipping from the north.
• The result is that 60 dozens of wine are bottled, much more than the gentleman expected,
because the merchant purchased bottles of a smaller size (remember, there were no
uniform bottle sizes as of yet).
• Because the gentleman is charged based on the number of dozens that are bottled, he’s
overcharged…he’s expecting 48 dozens, but it ends up being 60.
To counteract this, reputable merchants got into the habit of measuring the volume of bottles.
(Interestingly, Mr. Warre wrote this book as a request to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
make bottle sizes uniform and with a government mark to ensure their consistency, as well as a
request to punish counterfeiters and expose the contents of the bottle to seizure. He seems to
have been successful, for the Imperial system of measurement was adopted.)
See another example of how merchants could alter their wine for greater profit in the section on
brandy adulteration a little further on.
One sign of a devious merchant is one who required cash up front. Many reputable merchants
would offer their wines on 6-, 12-, or 18-month payment terms; however, those more nefarious
would require cash upon delivery. This afforded them some protection from litigation (or so they
thought), using the “nine points of law” defense (what we know today as “possession is 9/10ths of
the law), meaning the consumer had the wine and the merchant had the money, therefore the
consumer must be happy, and the merchant was not at fault.
Another way to identify a likely dishonest merchant was to investigate whether he had large vats
at his storehouse, warehouse, or cellar. These vats were required in order to adulterate wine and
spirits. But more on that soon.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 84
Adverts in Early 18th Century
Adverts for beverages could usually be found in
newspapers by the early 18th century. They were aimed at
the retail trade, and the beverages that appeared were
usually distinguished by region (again, while there were a
handful of renown makers, most wine was not associated
with a particular vineyard). For example, one might see
adverts for Burton, Edinburgh, and Prestonpans ales;
French cognac; Irish whisky; Jamaica rum; Bordeaux and
Cape wines; and champagne, sherry, and port. Trade
names on display were retailers.
To the right is an example of an advert in the
Northampton Mercury in 1799, by Fell Parker, London
Merchants. (Pardon the blue squares – I was searching
online using “claret” as the search term.)
Occasionally, a retailer’s advertisement would drop
names, but that was rare, suggesting names didn’t have
much resonance with end-consumer. Even if they did
drop names, it might very well be unreliable. Trade press
regularly protested advertisements for alcohol that made
false claims of origin.
Gray’s Inn is another 19th century
merchant who actively advertised their
cellars. The advert to the left shows the
improvements at their location on High
Holborn (dated roughly mid-1800s).
In the early- to mid-19th century, it
became more common to see flyers such
as this one from George Henekey & Co of
Gray’s Inn.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 85
Figure 9: This advert from 1840 shows the wines available, with only a few vineyards mentioned by name. Note that duties are
already paid. (“Do” means “same as the previous line.”)
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 86
The Bottle Deposit Scheme
Today, when you purchase a glass or plastic bottle, there may be a markup applied…usually a few
cents. This “bottle deposit” is a way for the manufacturer or bottler to encourage one to return
the bottles (either for recycling or reuse).
The same applied during the Georgian/Regency period. Many times, the bottles and casks would
be returned to the merchant from whom they were purchased; otherwise, the consumer might be
required to pay for them. An advert in the Gazetteer and New Daily Advocate in 1767 states:
“N.B. Two gallons of wine, or one gallon of brandy or rum, carriage [delivery] free, to any part of
the town, for ready money only, casks and bottles to be returned, or paid for.”
From Merchant to Home
When a gentleman purchased
wine, port, or brandy, it could be
delivered to the man’s home (or a
wine vault) in bottles or in casks.
Depending on the size of the
gentleman’s cellar or vault space,
he could purchase as little as a few
dozen bottles or as much as
multiple pipes or butts.
If the wine was going into a
gentleman’s basement or cellar
storage, it would ideally be rolled Figure 10: A cask cart being drawn by horses.
down lengths of wood, a slide, or a
ladder. Rope would be strung through a
ring bolt (like an eye bolt that can be driven
into the ground or the frame of the house)
and wrapped around the cask, creating a
pulley-like system to ease the rolling cask
into the cellar. A butt has roughly 126
gallons, and a barrel about 60, so it’s
something that can easily get out of control
if not handled properly.
Once in the gentleman’s cellar, it fell under
the domain of the butler.
Figure 11: Moving wine by hand from cart to house.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 87
Adulterating Wine
“Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle
strong drink.” –Isaiah 5:22
Adulterating wine is as old as wine itself. It has been done for thousands of years to alter taste or
correct wine that has soured, but it was also done to fleece consumers of their money. With the
advent of science and technology (particularly chemistry) in the 19th century, it soon became
more apparent when wine had been doctored.
Some adulteration is good…even legal. For example, adding brandy to wine to get port used to
be considered an adulteration. Now it’s considered part of the port-making process and is very
well-regulated. Similarly, today you see blends of different grape varieties, or producers adding
water in a process called “humidification,” but those processes are highly regulated by appellation
laws. In fact, it was the appellation laws adopted in the early 20th century that put an end to most
adulteration of wine that had been pervasive in the centuries before it.
Why Adulterate Wine?
To put it bluntly, wine makers, merchants, and
owners (or their butlers) adulterated (or
“medicated”) wine a lot, and using a variety of
means.
Salvaging Bad Wine
Sometimes, the reason for adulterating the wine
was legitimate, perhaps to correct a bad taste or
color or to salvage a wine that was “pricked”
(gone bad). Given how unregulated the wine
industry was at this time, it wasn’t uncommon for
wine to go bad, and when one had spent a lot of
money acquiring it, one would do much to
salvage it.
Consumer Preferences
Other times, it was done to make the wine look or
taste a particular way, sometimes based solely on Figure 12: The innkeeper's wife distracts a customer while her
what was popular at the time. Englishmen husband waters down the wine. c.1660 by J. Lagnier
generally preferred stronger and more alcoholic
wines up until the 1830s, so claret and other red and white wines from France would be altered to
increase the alcohol content.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 88
Fleecing Consumers or Customs
With the advent of First Growth producers like Haut-Brion and Lafite, gentlemen of means came
to appreciate and demand quality. That put other merchants who peddled lesser-quality wine at a
disadvantage. Many a merchant or shipper—including those on the Continent—would conjure
up their own recipes and sell them as genuine growths, when in fact the wine had little to no
grape juice in its composition. They also adulterated wine to increase profits by blending a small
quantities of high-quality wine with swill, then selling it for a higher price.
Back in the Day: Excise Officers, when sniffing out dishonest merchants, honed in on
those who had quantities of large vats or casks at their storehouse; these were
necessary in order to adulterate wine. Reputable merchants supposedly had little use
for them, for besides racking and fining wine, the wine went from the cask to the
bottle.
Of course, merchants sought ways to avoid paying duties on wine (particularly French wine,
whose duties were much higher than any others). By either purchasing a smaller quantity then
adulterating it to make 2-3 times what they originally purchased, or by simply making their own
wine and passing it off as imported, they could avoid the Customs House.
This could be done right under the eyes of the Excise Men (sometimes with their tacit approval
in exchange for a bribe), for wine was generally received at the docks in larger casks, then racked
into smaller ones, giving plenty of opportunity for adulteration to happen during that process.
Drop of Wisdom: According to some in the wine trade in the early 19th century, those
merchants who advertised their wine were generally thought to be adulterating it;
those who did not advertise, while not wholly innocent, were thought less likely to
engage in adulterating wine.
Those in the Customs office knew full well that wine was being adulterated and larger quantities
were being sold than were being officially imported. A bill proposed in the mid-18th century
would transfer the payment of duties on wine from Customs to Excise. By doing so, the Excise
Men would be able to enter a gentleman’s or merchant’s cellar and inspect the wine, ferreting out
wine that had been falsely declared, smuggled, or faked. Fortunately for merchants (if not the
gentleman consumers), the bill did not pass.
Impacts of Adulterating Wine
Adulterating wine—in particular falsely selling quantities of imported wine—might seem to
produce a short-term gain, but in the long term, it harmed the wine industry. Adulterated wine
became so common in the mid-18th century that it diminished the reputation of the real thing,
and consequently, imports (and both duties and profits) dropped. This is especially true with
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 89 port before the 1750s, but even in the latter part of the 18th century, much of the port wine in England was adulterated or counterfeit. How Wine Was Adulterated Naturally, there was a very robust business around adulterating wine. In fact, books were published on exactly how to do it, depending on the problem or the wine. The Innkeeper and Butler’s Guide by John Davies gives ample recipes (called “receipts”) for creating “fake” wine such as “English Port” and “English Claret”, as well as remedying problems for wine that had begun to go bad. Most of the recipes involve adding some sort of sugar or honey, some good wine, maybe some brandy, and/or a mix of spices, herbs, or fruits. You can download Davies’ book on Google Books for free to learn more about these specific recipes, or you could read The Art of Making Wines and Cordials by Khelen Nicole (available on Kindle Unlimited in US), which is a collection of British recipes from the 19th century for various kinds of wine. Adulteration of Claret Claret, and indeed all French wine, has been adulterated for millennia, whether it was to repair “pricked” wine, or make it go farther by watering it down, or claim the wine was from a famous vintner (by mixing a little of the good with their own concoction or with poorer quality wine). The tastes of Englishmen generally favored stronger wine during the Georgian/Regency era. You’ll learn more about why in a subsequent lesson, but on the whole, gentlemen favored claret that had a stronger alcoholic content, and a stronger taste, which required some, ahem, adjustments. The wine that was exported from Bordeaux versus that which was actually consumed by Frenchmen was vastly different. Wine for domestic (French) use was considered “pure,” because there was very little adulteration (rules existed in France to prevent this). Wines shipped to England were not pure. In fact, there existed between some French and English merchants a sort of “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” agreement, whereby very cheap French claret would be imported into Britain and subsequently doctored by British merchants, then sold for a higher price by advertising it as “good quality claret.” Even for wine of finer quality, before shipping to England, merchants in Bordeaux were obligated to “work” the wine, which meant mingling stronger wine with claret. This practice was called “Hermitaging.” Merchants would make use of bolder wine, like Syrah from the Rhône Valley, especially from the Hermitage district, and would add it to Bordeaux wines. The purpose of doing this was to give claret more complexity and aromatics. However, if that was insufficient, other ingredients such as orris root or raspberry brandy might be added. Other adulteration included mixing in Spanish red wine, rough cider (which was apparently added to cheap clarets sold outside of the UK, as well), and either berry dye or tincture of Brazil wood to enhance the color. Recipes also existed to make “English Claret” by mixing water, cider, and raisins and letting that ferment, then adding barberries, raspberry juice, and black cherry juice. English Claret could be How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 90 mixed with claret imported from France. In fact, it was recommended that wines received at the docks be moved into the underground cellars as quickly as possible and a measure of brandy added to the cask to prevent spoilage. There were even methods to artificially age claret. Want to give a bottle the appearance and taste of a nine year-old wine? Simply open the bottle, pour out one glass worth of wine, re-cork the bottle, place it in a warm oven for a short time, then let it cool, after which the removed wine should be added back to the bottle and recorked. Voila! [I’m sure if I could read French I might discover more of how wine was adulterated across the Channel.] As bad as altering wine was in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it became a huge problem after phylloxera destroyed all the vines in France and Europe, and is part of what led to the appellation laws in the early 20th century. Adulteration of Port The earliest adulteration of port involved adding brandy to the wine, as mentioned earlier. But in the early 18th century, shippers wished to increase the red color of the wine, so they began adding elderberry juice (called baga in Portuguese). In the 1730s, they began adding sugar, the goal being to enhance both the flavor and color of poor-quality wines. Even worse, “bullock’s blood” (Spanish wine, from types such as Benecarlo and Figuera) and raisin wines mixed with British spirits extracted from malt were being sold as or blended into port. Cyrus Redding, a well-known wine expert in early 19th century, speaks of 4,000 pipes of Figueras wine (from Spain) being received in Oporto and subsequently mixed with port destined for England. Adulteration also came in the form of adding various ingredients such as sal tartar, gum dragon, berry-dye (usually bilberries), brandy cowe (see the section below on adulterating brandy for more details), and cider. LOTS of cider. Prime Minister Pombal’s regulations, which went into effect in 1756, did stem the tide of adulteration a little bit (one of his edicts resulted in all elderberry trees in the Douro valley to be uprooted and destroyed), but by the early 19th century, other Englishmen were accusing the local growers of falsifying their wine, sometimes adding as much as 56 pounds of dried elderberry per pipe of wine. Another method of adulterating it was to add jeropiga, which is made of dried elderberry, brown sugar or treacle, unfermented grape juice, and strong brandy. How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine Covington
The Gentleman’s Drink 91
Hold the Wine! While major port shippers today do not admit to using elderberry
berries to redden port, Richard Mayson, author of “Port and the Douro,” has gone up
to the vineyards on the Douro in early September, harvest season, and seen
elderberry bushes picked clean.
There were even “recipes” to alter the cork used to stopper port bottles by soaking them in a
“strong decoction” of Brazil wood and alum. This would give the corks the appearance of old age,
so that port bottled only recently could be sold as 5-, 10-, or 15-year port.
Adulteration of Brandy
Brandy was adulterated in a variety of ways, usually by adding inferior or British brandy to
cognac or Armagnac. However, other additives might be used, such as neutral-spirit rum,
rectified spirits (which are flavorless spirits made from anything but wine), British brandy bitters
(made from rectified spirits, cassia, carraways, chamomile flowers, and orange peel, among other
things), British brandy (rectified spirits, vinegar, orace root, raisins, and vitriol), cherry-laurel
water (thought to be poisonous), almond cake extract, and spices such as extract of capsicums
(called “Devil”) and grains of paradise. Of course, caramel coloring and sugar are required to get
the right look and flavor of a particular style of brandy.
These neutral spirits, often underproof, allowed merchants to concoct their own recipes and sell
them as the real thing.
Drop of Wisdom: “Underproof” or “below proof” means that the spirit is more
diluted than what is considered “proof,” or the specified level of spirit for that type,
and therefore requires evaporation to increase the alcohol content. Alternately,
“overproof” means that the spirit must be diluted. 15% overproof means 15 volumes
of water must be added to bring the spirit to proof.
An act passed by Parliament in the 19th century allowed merchants to sell spirits (like brandy) up
to 17% underproof. Most “reputable” merchants only sold their spirits at 6-8% underproof.
Using underproof British brandy or neutral-spirit rum, plus a little bit of proof brandy and water
would result in a saleable product at 17% underproof, and for a higher profit than proof brandy.
How Wine Got from Vintner to Merchant ©2020 Justine CovingtonThe Gentleman’s Drink 92
For example, proof brandy might be sold at 29s. per gallon (at a cost of 28s. 8d. per gallon, or a
profit of 4d.). If 117 gallons are sold, the profit would be £1 19s.
However, if “making” proof brandy, then diluting it to the minimum underproof level and selling
for less, the profit would increase substantially. Example:
50 gallons proof Cognac brandy
31 gallons proof neutral-spirit rum
9 gallons 25% overproof neutral-spirit rum
+ 10 gallons 22% underproof British Brandy
100 gallons of proof “French brandy” (at a cost of 21s. 4¼ d. per gallon)
+ 17 gallons water
117 gallons 17% underproof (at a cost of 18s. 3d. per gallon)
The underproof brandy might be sold at 24s. per gallon. Minus the cost of 18s. 3d. per gallon x
117 gallons sold = £33 12s 9d. in profit.
Merchants took advantage of brandy’s time on the docks, as well. Inferior brandy was made by
filling a brandy puncheon that had just been racked (emptied) with water and letting it sit for
several weeks. The brandy that had infused its way into the wooden staves of the puncheon
would be released into the water. This created something called “cowe,” which could be used to
either dilute brandy or adulterate other wines, such as claret.
**
So…the wine has been received and it’s in your gentleman’s cellar. Now it falls under the domain
of the butler to manage both keeping and serving it.
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