Silver claret jug Silver claret jug A silver Claret jug is a wine jug made of glass and silver for the so-called Claret, which is the British name for a French red Bordeaux wine. From the introduction of claret to Britain in 1663 specific vessels soon began to be designed to contain the wine and let it "breathe" before consumption. Early examples of claret jugs are usually in green glass (as were the wine bottles themselves) with a pewter lid, usually raised by a simple finger pad. From around 1740 to 1820 the fashion was to serve claret in either a fully glass
Coonawarra wine region Coonawarra wine region The Coonawarra wine region is a wine region centred on the town of Coonawarra in the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia. It is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its "terra rossa" soil. Coonawarra is an Aboriginal word meaning "Honeysuckle". It is about 380 km southeast of Adelaide, close to the border with Victoria. The first vines were planted by John Riddoch at Yallum, South Australia in 1890. Only the Redman family of Rouge Homme continued to produce table wine during this period, during which Shiraz was the main grape variety grown. Fortunes changed