Wine collection in Pidhirtsi castle: types and circulation (1874–1880)

This article introduces an unpublished register of wines from Pidhirtsi Castle, composed in 1874. This source contains information about the sorts of wine, the number of bottles, wine circulation (dates and circumstances of consumption) in 1874–1880, and the names of guests. It is suggested and justified that the authorship of the register belongs to Antoni Kryczyński, a perennial administrator of the castle (1869-1890). The register of wines was designated primarily for Burgrabiy’s report to the owner of the castle – Prince Eustachy Sanguszko, and his proxies regarding the circulation of wines in the castle. However, this source also allows us to trace the dynamics of daily life in Pidhirtsi Castle in the end of the 19th century, to track the visits of individuals, government officials and public events. The register presents mostly French and Hungarian wines. The quantity of wines correlates with their value. There are references to the sale of part of the wines, which may be due to the short life of these products. Consumption of certain wines is also correlated with the social level of the castle guests or family or friendship ties with them. This source also confirms not only the gastronomic, but also the broad cultural and social functions of wine consumption. In particular, the register illustrates that wine had a very instrumental role: it was a gift to local residents who were ill and a payment for various works. For instance, it was a symbolic gift to the participants (ca. 300 people) of the Second Congress of Polish Natural Scientists and Physicians who visited Pidhirtsi Castle in 1875. The article proposes a hypothesis about the location of the castle brewery (based on the preserved drawings of the premises in Pidhirtsi Castle by Leon Rzewuski). By comparing the information of the register of wines and entries in the “Guest books”, it is possible to identify complete lists of visitors to the castle who were treated to wine and to reconstruct the chronology of the visits by Prince Eustachy Sanguszko. The article, besides the publication of the primary source itself, is an attempt to cover through the prism of the history of wine the insufficiently researched everyday life of Pidhirsti Castle in different historical epochs.