History of French wine of Aquitaine and the future King Henry II of England brought a large portion of southwest France under English rule. When Henry's son John inherited the English crown, he sought to curry favor among the Gascons by bestowing upon them many privileges-the most notable of which was an exemption among Bordeaux merchants from the Grand Coutume export tax. With this exemption and favored treatment in London, Bordeaux wine became the cheapest wine in the London market and gained immense popularity among the English, who call it claret. For over the next 300 years much of Gascony, particular Bordeaux, benefited by
Silver claret jug examples were made entirely of silver. The level of craftsmanship and their aesthetic qualities determine their value. Unusual jugs, such as made by Charles Edwards or Christopher Dresser, or examples with fine engraved scenes may command high prices. The popularity of wine fell after the First World War and did not recover until the 1970s. The re-emergence of wine had a product that was less reliant upon decanting (part of the purpose of the jug) and the fashion was then generally to serve wine straight from the bottle. The purpose of the claret jug is therefore largely gone. Silver claret