'45 Warre at State Banquet

[mosesbotbol]

At the UK state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla for President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle, 1945 Warre vintage port was served.

How many bottles do you think were opened?

[PhilW]

At the UK state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla for President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle, 1945 Warre vintage port was served.

How many bottles do you think were opened?

And how many of the attendees do we think actually enjoy port? I may cry. Or, even if this event was designed to impress - and Warre 1945 is a great choice for that - perhaps the Royal family thoroughly enjoy their port; not something we would know, and in fact I hope that is the case.

[mosesbotbol]

I read the implication of the '45 Warre could've been to commemorate 80 years since the war or in recognition of his 45th presidency. I tend to think it would've been the former.

I assume each wine served is poured for each attendee whether they like it or even drink.

Other wines served that evening included:

Wiston Estate Cuvée Brut 2016
Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 2000
Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2018
Pol Roger Extra Cuvée de Reserve 1998

[jdaw1]

I assume each wine served is poured for each attendee whether they like it or even drink.

I guess that the Palace is aware of who doesn’t drink, whether for reasons religious or otherwise, and lessens the likelihood of offence by not pouring. But that’s only a guess.

[mosesbotbol]

I guess that the Palace is aware of who doesn’t drink, whether for reasons religious or otherwise, and lessens the likelihood of offence by not pouring. But that’s only a guess.

I wonder how large the wine cellar is at Windsor Castle or if they bring in wine per major event.

[hadge]

I guess that the Palace is aware of who doesn’t drink, whether for reasons religious or otherwise, and lessens the likelihood of offence by not pouring. But that’s only a guess.

I wonder how large the wine cellar is at Windsor Castle or if they bring in wine per major event.

from my understanding these wines came from the government wine cellar. there is around 40k bottles in there.

[PhilW]

from my understanding these wines came from the government wine cellar. there is around 40k bottles in there.

Indeed; I think it used to be called the Government Hospitality cellar (or something close to that) a few years ago when a freedom on information request response was published with a list of the contents, which included Noval 1931 and several 1945s including Graham and Warre (though not the numbers of each).

Should the Government wine committee ever require assistance to evaluate the condition of the stock, I suspect the entire port forum would be their humble servants.

[PhilW]

After a quick search, it seems that statistics are now published biennially for the Government hospitality wine cellar; see here for the report on the two years to March 2024. This doesn't provide much details on current contents, but does provide interesting detail on what has been drunk during the period - so anyone revisiting this thread after April 2026 might be able to answer the question of how many bottles of Warre 1945 were opened.

[nac]

Further info about HMG Cellar in this thread.