When the McFaddin-Ward House became a museum, the collection policy accepted
everything that had been in the house and carriage house (items dated after
our interpretive period up to 1950 are kept in storage). Wine and spirits
from as early as 1933 are in the collection. The bottles that had been
opened were drained, but a few bottles that had not been opened still have
their liquid. We never have any intention of opening the few bottles that
have wine in it, so there is no reason to destroy the integrity of the
artifact. We choose to keep it whole.

Bottles are stored upright for several reasons.

1) To clearly identify them 
2) To prevent them from rolling or falling over (bottles were designed to
stand up)
3) To prevent leaks, which are more apt to occur if a cork/stopper fails and
a bottle has not been kept consistently on its side in optimum conditions

They are stored in a designated area just for alcohol, not located over
anything else. If the few that have liquid in it are broken somehow, the
amount of liquid in the storage area would not be a great risk to the rest
of the collection.

I would advise against drinking what is in your collection, as you don't
know how it has been stored. Old liquor, unless it has been stored properly
and it was designed to age in the bottle, does tastes bad. Trust me, I tried
some of whisky from my grandparents' bar that had been stored in a basement
for years after their death, and it was awful! 

Such is our story.

Ware

L.W.S. Petznick, Ph.D.
McFaddin-Ward House 
Curator of Collections
725 Third St.
Beaumont, TX 77701
[log in to unmask]
www.mcfaddin-ward.org
409.832.1906 p
409.832.3483 f
 
The McFaddin-Ward House features three floors of original furnishings,
including a newly restored third floor. Learn how the First World War
affected the McFaddin family as we explore "Foxtrots and Foxholes"
throughout 2007. Call 409-832-2134 for tour information.

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Cindy Boyer
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Wine bottle storage

I'm curious to know why the wine would be accepted into your collection.
Is there a historic connection, connection with your mission?

If you decide to keep them: What type of corks do they have? If they are
actual cork, then storing it on the side keeps the cork wet. You may
have to rotate them on a regular basis if there is sediment. If the
corks are plastic, I don't think it much matters.

If you are not accessioning it, I would drink or ditch.

It will be interesting to see if anyone else has wine or other alcohol
in their collection!


Cindy Boyer
Director of Museums and Education
The Landmark Society of Western New York
Rochester, NY
(585) 546-7029 x12
[log in to unmask]
 
www.landmarksociety.org
 
Our mission is to discover, protect, and revitalize the architectural 
and related cultural heritage of the Rochester region, and to 
educate and inform our community about that heritage.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Marielle Fortier
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:40 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Wine bottle storage

Hello,

We recently received a donation that included two bottles of wine.  They

still contain wine and were bottled in 2004 but the donor believes the
wine 
is no good as it was a home brew concoction.  What is the collective
wisdom 
of the group on storage of the bottles?  Should I ditch the wine? should
I 
keep the wine, store them on their sides and put them in somthing in
case 
they leak? My concern is the rest of the collection...but also know that

aged wine is stored, on its side and in a climate controlled area.

Thank you in advance for all of your responses.

Marielle



**********************
Marielle Fortier
Museum Registrar
Sullivan Museum & History Center
Northfield, Vermont
**********************

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