Here’s a London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) wine list from 1936, from the dining menu of “The Silver Jubilee”, the crack express between King’s Cross and Newcastle.
The quality and depth of the wine list is remarkable by comparison to today’s anodyne offering. I guess that Virgin Trains would use Virgin Wines, which is not a pleasing prospect.
I doubt that Virgin or any other train company would list Mendoza’s 1863 Brown Sherry at one shilling (5 pence) per glass.
The Mosel wines are twice as expensive as the Médoc and St-Estèphe wines, which would be unthinkable now. Niersteiner costs the same as Sauternes.
“Empire Wines” would now be called “New World”. (“Commonwealth Wines” wouldn’t go down well with Australasian republicans.) To aid neophyte drinkers, an Australian wine is described as “Hock type” and a South African wine as “Burgundy type”.
I can’t think of a contemporary “Hock type” of wine made in Australia, though Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Elgin in South Africa could be described passably as “Burgundy type”.
The Champagne offering is outstanding. Pol Roger 1926 is priced higher than the great Krug 1928. The renowned Pol Roger 1921 is available in an Imperial Pint bottle for 19 shillings (95 pence). One can estimate a price of £2,000+ for a bottle of this nowadays.
Stuart George | Founder & Managing Director | Arden Fine Wines
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