In wine groups on Facebook, questions like, “I found this old bottle in a cellar, what could it be worth?” often pop up. Nine times out of ten, no, rather 99 times out of a hundred, the answer is, “almost nothing, drink it instead.” It could be a “unknown Bordeaux from the 70s, a René Barbier of unknown age, but certainly from the 80s or older. But the other day we received an email with a similar question, but with a different answer. We said, “no, don’t drink it, at least not right away, it could be something that could be very valuable, maybe!” The bottle, or rather the bottles, that our reader had found were from the Titanic. Here’s the story, and what we suggested he do.
Most old wines don’t really have much value. It’s only really exclusive old wines that you can sell and get some money for that make it worth the trouble. In fact, for those who are interested in old wines, you can find wines at sometimes ridiculously low prices at auctions in, for example, France.
But what turned up the other day was special, and perhaps very valuable. Maybe.
We received an email from someone who had found some bottles from the Titanic. Not from the sunken ship but from when it was built. A relative had long ago worked at the shipyard and received the bottles as a gift from the captain, he who contacted us thought.
This is what the email said:
“I inherited wine and champagne from the Titanic. The wine is from 1904 and the champagne is from 1911. Both bottles are unopened, but unfortunately the labels on the bottles are very dirty. My distant relative, from whom I inherited the bottles, was one of those who helped build the ship in Belfast, Northern Ireland. My relative received a case of wine and champagne from the Titanic’s captain, Edward J. Smith, before they set off on their maiden voyage from Southampton, England. This was to show his appreciation and as a thank you for my relative’s efforts in building the Titanic. The bottles were not with the ship when it sank, but were a gift from the Titanic’s captain the same day they left Southampton for their voyage to New York. Edward J. Smith and my relative were good friends and spent a lot of time together. I also have an unopened bottle of cognac from the Titanic, from the year 1875.”
“What I’m wondering is, can you drink these, or could it be downright dangerous considering all the years that have passed?”
“I would be very grateful for your expertise!”
“Thank you very much!”
For once I didn’t say, “drink it”.
My first answer was instead:
I think it might be of much greater interest to a collector of Titanic memorabilia.
I think it might be worth the trouble to contact an English or American auction house and ask what they think. If it had been from the sailing when the boat sank, the value would have been great! 😲 But it might be interesting even as it is.
Two things to consider:
- If you have any documentation whatsoever on the origin of the bottles, it is important to save it and show it in the context.
- Avoid trying to clean the bottles yourself. If it comes to selling, the auction house can probably advise on how to do it. Careless cleaning can ruin more than it helps.
An alternative could be to contact the champagne company or wine producers who made the wines (cognac) if you can see who it is. It might be of interest to them too.
Then I thought about it a bit and did some more research and came up with a bit more detailed analysis.
That label with a lot of text looks like it could be a back label on the bottle that has Titanic on the front. Maybe. I was not told where that text is, on which of the bottles.
It’s hard to read the text in the picture, but it looks like the label is actually a stock certificate or a replica thereof. I would guess that the handwritten text is first the name and address of a person and then some text (in the striped field) that says how many shares it’s about. But that’s just a guess.
With a little help from AI and my own analysis using image processing, I can at least identify most of the fragments:
The Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited
Incorporated under the companies act
This is to certify that…[unreadable name but could be David Thorle / Thomas / thornton / Colonel David Thorton, Esq. ?] [unreadable address but could be 46 Hampstead Road, ?? London]
Proprietor of One hundred fifty five [maybe?] pounds [maybe?]
Ordinary stock fully paid of The Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited subject
To the memorandum and Articles of Association and Regulations
Of the company
Given under the common seal of the company this 18th day of March [?] 1909
[Registrar? Director???] Trandy [“Trevor” / “Jas. Towry” / “Josh. Fowry” ???]
- Campell
[unreadable stamp ???]
cancelled
So this is clearly a stock certificate. How it ended up on a bottle is unclear. Or is it something that was given to the passengers with their names on the fake share certificate?
Another bottle in the collection is a champagne. On that label you can read:
31st May 1911
White Star Line
??pl [Triple?] Screw Steamer
RMS [Royal Mail Ship]
Titanic
May god bless her and all who sail in [her?]
Belfast 1911
And indeed, the Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. The year is obviously not the vintage of the wine but rather marks that it is a wine, a champagne, for the launch. Could this have been a spare bottle in case the one that was to be smashed against the hull of the ship did not work? Or is it just a bottle of the champagne that was loaded onto the boat for the passengers?
Sadly, it seems God did not bless her.
The third bottle is easier to read. It simply says “Premium Red Wine 1901”.
A fascinating story that is certainly worth investigating further, perhaps with a British or Irish (Belfast?) auction house.
Do you know anything about the Titanic or its history that can relate to these wines (and cognac)? Do you have any thoughts on what the owner of these strange bottles should do? Post a comment below or send us an email.
(A curious coincidence – we had a participant, a traveler first on our wine tour to Chile and Argentina and then on the tour to New Zealand, who had a relative who worked as a steward, i.e. hotel staff, on the Titanic on its first (and last) voyage. So she was on the ship when it sank, but survived. She continued to work as a steward on ships and then was on another shipwreck, a hospital ship called the Britannic, a sister ship of the Titanic that never sailed commercially that was sunk during the First World War, but she also survived that. There is a book about that fate called Titanic Survivor.)
