Belinda Goldsmith at Reuters: "Britain's government is selling vintage French wine at around 5,000 pounds a bottle ($7,500) in a bid to make its wine cellar self-funding."

  • http://boingboing.net/ Rob Beschizza

    More Chateau Latour 61 than you could drink in a lifetime. Just think about that, people.

    • oasisob1

      A self-funding government… interesting!

      • SomeGuyNamedMark

        We already have corporate USA

  • peregrinus

    “This is part of the process for making the cellar self-funding for the lifetime of the current parliament,”

    … as in, all the privileged lot in Whitehall are so peeved at Osborne and his little publicity generating stunt that we’re going to bin it, whoever wins, come the general election, and enjoy some of the lovely stuff we paid for.

    Yes, it was with our own money.  We get it in the annual budget.

  • Nash Rambler

    A plan worthy of the senior wizard staff at Unseen University.

  • jerwin

    Details in the annual statement on the government wine cellar for 2011-12 showed that 4,651 bottles worth 55,679 pounds were drunk from the store between April 2011 and March 2012.

    Wow, that’s almost £12 a bottle!

    • peregrinus

      A spokeswoman said this was “the first time that wine from the Government Hospitality Cellar has gone to auction” with previous sales conducted privately.

      I wonder who’s been privately buying the stock, and whether they paid arms-length price for it.

      Can anyone actually see the annual statement?  All I can find is extracts.

  • jerwin

    I suppose the concept of buying wines when young and cheap, and selling or serving the wines when mature and impressive is sound enough, but austerity is about penitence for penitence’s sake.

    • Nash Rambler

      LORD SMYTHE: Oh dear, I do hope that “penitence” doesn’t include the cheese and sausage trolley?

      LORD DEMURE: Harumph!  Of course not man!  We’re shedding some frog wines, not reverting to bloody savagery!

      • jerwin

        These are wines that are served at diplomatic functions–state banquets and the like. They aren’t parliamentary perks. The intent is to impress high level foreigners (Putin, Obama, etc). The idea of the cellar is to buy wines cheaply, when they’re too young to drink, and serve them when they’ve aged (and considerably more expensive to buy on the open market).
        Theoretically, this saves money, but only if the cellar is well managed.

        • peregrinus

           But doesn’t Sainsburys keep winning the champagne awards?

          I see this as investment activity on behalf of the nation.  They could never get great deals without loads of money, and it’s my money.  So it’s my wine.  And I’d love a glass.  Or two.

        • Antinous / Moderator

          If it were France, no one would be in the least surprised that there was a government wine cellar.  In fact, French pre-schools probably have their own wine cellars.