Regency Reader Questions: Port Service

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Thanks for the question, Elizabeth, and for being a Regency Reader!

I haven’t read the book and do not know the author, but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt that they actually did their homework. Port, as a dessert wine, can very easily absorb smells like cigar smoke so it’s recommended to let breathe in a clean atmosphere in a decanter (Ager, 2012). I think this piece gives us some clue as to why it would be decanted early:
In decanting wine you must be careful not to shake or disturb the crust of it when you move it about or draw the cork especially of Port wine You must have a good corkscrew and a wine strainer with some fine cambrick in it never decant wine without this to prevent the crust and bits of cork going into the decanter Let your decanters be clean and when you draw a cork put the bottle on the floor place your feet at each side then take the corkscrew in the right hand and with the left press the bottle firmly on the floor keeping it upright which is easily done by putting the left hand on the neck of the bottle the corkscrew should be put quite through the cork ex actly in the middle or else you will break the cork in If you have to move Port wine you must always keep the same side uppermost which was in the cellar this in general is marked with a stripe of white When you decant Port wine you ought not to drain it too near there are generally two thirds of a wine glass of thick dregs in each bottle which ought not to be put in in white wine there is not much settling you must be careful however not to let what little there is go into the decanter as it is much finer than the dregs of the Port when you decant it there fore you must pour it off slowly and raise the bottle up gradually the wine should never be decanted in a hurry therefore always do it before the family sits down to dinner If there be company to dinner and several sorts of wine should be wanted you must be very careful not to mix them or label them incorrectly for if you do it will cause sad confusion you will not always be able to know the different sorts of wine

Cosnett, 1825

I am not sure if the set up was a hot day, and so it was in a cooler room while it breathed, or if the party was smoking?  Those variables could account for the separate room.

As for a servant to watch over it, I have no idea.  That may have been practice in some households, but I don’t think it was a rule unique to the service of port. The above seems to imply keeping the decanters safe by locking them up, so maybe that was the thought?

I scoured a lot of resources from the era on serving wines/wine making, etc, and this was really the closest I could come to supporting the author’s choices.

I also think the author may have emphasized the set up, not to reflect historical accuracy but perhaps a plot device?

Hope this helps!

 

Ager, S., St. Aubyn, F. (2012). The Butler’s Guide to Running the Home and Other Graces. United States: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed.

Cosnett, T. (1825). The Footman’s Directory, and Butler’s Remembrancer; Or, The Advice of Onesimus to His Young Friends: Comprising Hints on the Arrangement and Performance of Their Work: Rules for Setting Out Tables and Sideboards; the Art of Waiting at Table, and Conducting Large and Small Parties; Directions for Cleaning Plate, Glass, Furniture, Clothes, and All Other Things which Come Within the Care of a Man-servant, and Advice Respecting Behaviour to Superiors, Tradespeople, and Fellow-servants. With an Appendix, Comprising Various Useful Receipts and Tables. United Kingdom: Simpkin and Marshall, and H. Colburn.

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