George Saintsbury 
Notes on a Cellar-Book 

Since its first publication in 1920, George Saintsbury’s classic
Notes on a Cellar-Book has remained one of the greatest tributes to drink and drinking in the literature of wine. A collection of tasting notes, menus, and robust opinions, the work is filled with anecdotes and recollections of wines and spirits consumed—from the heights of Romanée-Conti to the simple pleasures of beer, flip, and mum. Thomas Pinney brings this unique work alive for contemporary audiences by providing the keys to a full understanding of
Notes on a Cellar-Book in a new edition that includes explanatory endnotes, an essay on the book’s legacy, and additional articles on wine by Saintsbury.

Table des matières

List of Illustrations

Introduction: George Saintsbury and ‘Notes on a Cellar-Book’

Bibliographical Note

Preliminary

Note to Third Edition


I. Origins

II. Sherry and Madeira

III. Port

IV. Claret and Burgundy

V. Champagne and Other French White Wines

VI. Hock, Moselle and the Rest

VII. Spirits—Hollands and Whisky

VIII. Spirits—Brandy, Rum and Gin, with Some Exotic Things

IX. Liqueurs

X. Beer, Cider, Etc.

1.Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar-Book 32808 5:12 PM Page v

XI. ‘Mixed Liquors’

XII. Bottles and Glasses

XIII. Cellar Arrangements


Conclusio ad Diversos

(With a Few Barmecide Invitations)


APPENDIX: OTHER WRITINGS ON WINE AND SPIRITS BY SAINTSBURY

A Sentimental Cellar, The Yellow Book, April 1894

The Bounties of Bacchus, Athenaeum,

21 November 1919

‘White, ‘ A Scrap Book, 1922

‘Obrian, ‘ A Scrap Book, 1922

Le Temps Jadis: Wallet II, A Second Scrap Book, 1923

The Order of Drinks, A Second Scrap Book, 1923

The Qualities of Wine, Morning Post, 22 May 1923

The Cellar, The Book of the

Queen’s Dolls’ House, 1924

Le Temps Jadis; Wallet V., 90’s and Later, A Last Scrap Book, 1924


Notes

Selected List of Works Cited

Index

A propos de l’auteur

George Saintsbury (1845-1933) was a journalist, reviewer, critic, editor, and Professor of Literature at the University of Edinburgh. Thomas Pinney is Professor of English Emeritus at Pomona College. Among other books, he is author of A History of Wine in America (in two volumes from UC Press).