The home farm

The home farm produced much of the food needed on the estate. This wine bottle seal was found in the ruins of a cottage on the farm. The embossed writing on the seal reads ‘Chateau Yquem Haut Sauterne’. Research by archaeologists into the French vineyard of the same name suggests the seal dates from after 1855. However, other sources point to it being a Californian wine. In France, dessert wines labelled ‘Sauternes’ come from the Sauternes region. In California, ‘sauterne’, spelt without the final ‘s’, is a name given to a semi-sweet white wine. Research continues into the wine’s origins and how this bottle of imported wine found its way to the home farm.