1912 Hoffman House Bartender's Guide by Charley Mahoney

HANDLING CLARET WINES In order to keep claret properly it should not only be handled with great care, but should be kept in a horizontal position in a temperature of from 60 to 7() degrees. Be careful when serving or drawing the cork not to shake the bottle and so disturb the sediment which is in the bottom. All good wine should be handled with equal care, and—excepting champagnes—placed first in a wine basket in a hori zontal position. While still in that position, draw the cork gently. If the bottle is too cold, the glasses may be steamed or the bottle itself placed in lukewarm water until it is of the proper temperature, when its flavor is the best. All the claret wines should be placed on shelves where the temperature is nearly even all the year round. It is advisable for the proprietor to have as large a stock of clarets on hand as possible, pro viding he has the demand for them, as this brand of wine requires considerable time to rest and re cuperate—after being jostled about—from what is known as “wine-sickness.” - 107