Before rum launched its successful world invasion in the early 1700s, wine was a frequent libation of choice for pyrates. Well, for everyone, really, not just pyrates. And we’ve already plundered and discovered that pyrates weren’t really picky about their wine. If it was there, they’d drink it.
Madeira! Madeira!
While it’s true that pyrates would drink whatever wine they plundered or whatever the tavern was serving, they did know a good thing when they found it. Madeira wine, in the 18th century, was a GOOD thing. It became the “elite” wine of the 18th century. This, despite the fact that it originated on the teeny islands off of the coast of Africa named…Madeira! It’s a sweet wine that has a “secret ingredient”: brandy.
The Portugese held the Madeira islands during this time so it was quickly surmised that if you wanted Madeira wine and you were a pillaging pyrate, then you needed to most likely pillage and plunder Portugese ships. In time, many merchant ships transported Madeira, so its reach and availability increased.
Madeira had other neat little attributes that fit pyrate life: (If properly sealed) Madeira can sustain not only long sea voyages, but all of the wear and tear of those journeys. There are bottles of Madeira that have lasted for centuries, been drunk, and enjoyed.
While sailing north on the colonial coastline, Sam Bellamy and his ship, Whydah,came across the merchant ship, the Mary Anne. To Sam and his crew’s delight, the Mary Anne was carrying 7,000 gallons of Madeira wine. Pretty quickly, before the plunder of the Mary Anne had even really started, bottles of Madeira wine began to be rowed back to the Whydah. When the plunderin’ of the cargo hold began in earnest, barrels of the wine were opened and serious imbibing began.
Wouldn’t you know, a ship-killing storm roared in that very night and left the new pyrate crew of the Mary Anne tossed onto dry land with a broken ship. But, there was still wine! The pyrates ate a meager fare as they discussed what they should do, and, of course, washed the meal down with more Madeira wine. After a series of pretty bad decisions, (which included going ashore and hanging out at a tavern), the surviving crew members were arrested and later hanged.
But, let’s not end this plunderin’ adventure on THAT sad note. Instead, I will share with you a wine that I discovered that is named for pyrates and very tasty!
22 Pirates
22 Pirates is a California wine that tastes delightful AND has a neat pirate game or puzzle that comes with every bottle…er…cork. Cork and bottle. You need the bottle to drink the wine, and you need the cork to collect the puzzle pieces. The founders of 22 Pirates call the “game”: Grab Yer Cork”. From their website:
Every bottle introduces you to a different member of the crew with a customized cork listing his name and role aboard the ship. We challenge you to “Grab Yer Cork”, visit our website and “Find Ye Pirate” to learn your pirate’s personal tale. The label is an original artwork created by a French painter named Francois-Auguste Biard in 1855. Biard’s work tells the tale of treachery, as the thieving crew lures a passing ship to come closer with the promise of companionship and music. Completely unaware those are not women or fanciful passengers, but a crew lying in wait. Adventure, peril, and impending mayhem…just a day in the life of a pirate!
Drink your wine, check your cork, and see which pyrate you are celebrating! (If you drink enough wine, the cork numbers change!) Just kidding…that didn’t really happen. Well…individual pyrate experiences may vary…Anyhow…
The 22 Pirates folks also include the Liar’s Dice game on their website that can be played WHILE you drink their wine! What a concept!
Liars Dice (from the 22 Pirates website)
22 Pirates Award Winning California Red Wine Blend
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1: Non-Clear Cup Per Person
5: Six-Sided Dice Per Person
HOW TO PLAY:
1. Everyone shakes their dice in their cups and places the cup face down.
2. Peek underneath at your own dice. If any dice are stacked, repeat step 1.
3. Whoever starts first calls out a number and how many dice amongst all the players’ dice they believe have that number. For example, you might say, “Five 2’s”.
4. The person to that player’s left (moving clockwise) will then either up the bid quantity with the same face value, like “Seven 2’s” or they’ll change to a different number on the die entirely “Five 4’s”.
5. Players continue around the circle in this manner.
6. If the current player decides to challenge the prior person’s bid, all the dice are revealed to the group. The amount of the number guessed by the prior player is counted. If the group has that amount or higher, the prior player wins and the current player forfeits one die from their six.
7. Whoever loses that round, starts the next round’s bidding and the game continues. If that player had lost and had no dice left, play goes to the next in the group clockwise and starts up again.
8. A player wins when they are the only one left with dice.
And there you have it! Liar’s Dice in a nutshell. You can buy pirate-y versions of the game from retailers, but really you just need a solid-colored cup and six dice per person playing. Pretty easy to come by which we love! Enjoy your bottle of 22 Pirates throughout the evening, and make sure to have some backup bottles depending on the size of your group. It is rather difficult to stick to one glass.
Sources:
22 Pirates Award Winning California Red Wine Blend
Virginia Chandler 