Photo courtesy of Za Rodinu http://www.flickr.com/people/36919288@N08/
A German vintner has uncovered a hidden cache 500 bottles of wine untouched since 1945.
Andreas Neymeyer discovered the bottles shortly before Christmas while clearing out a burned-out building on his 38 hectare vineyard in southern Germany.
Neymeyer told Reuters:
It was my uncle’s idea, I was preparing the building to be torn down and he knew that wine had been hidden sometime before the end of World War II.
It was springtime 1945 and the French were about to invade. My family wanted to secure some wine if there was any looting by troops.
The wine is still drinkable; in fact some is quite good. The dark conditions were ideal for storage.”
As well as bottles from the vineyard itself, the stash also contained sweet wines thought to be from Spain or Greece in addition to Brandy, schnapps and sacramental wine.
Neymeyer plans to re-bottle the wine and put it up for auction when the new building is ready to open next year.
