Pilot’s vast duty-free wine collection discovered

Thousands of bottles of wine amassed by a French pilot over 40 years of visiting duty-free are to go under the hammer after the vast collection was found stashed in his garage.

Part of the pilot’s 2,000-strong collection of wine. Credit: Charterhouse Auctioneers

The Aer Lingus pilot, from Bristol, started collecting the wine in the 1970s picking up a case from duty-free every time her flew and storing it in his garage, as reported by the Daily Mail. Over nearly fifty years the unnamed pilot amassed more than 2,000 bottles, but died three weeks ago leaving his vast collection intact.

Charterhouse Auctioneers, based in Dorset, were called in to sell-off the collection after the man’s daughter informed them that he had “some wine” in the garage. Expecting a modest collection, the team was amazed to find a garage crammed with some 200 crates of wine totalling 2,280 bottles.

Behind the wall of wines, auctioneers were even more surprised to find a 1992 Talbot Horizon GL motor car that hadn’t been moved for 24 years and had just 318 miles on the clock. It was apparently won by the pilot in a raffle held by his employer, Aer Lingus.

“We opened it up but couldn’t move for wine,” explained David Baines, a wine specialist at Charterhouse. “We couldn’t see what type of car it was as it was hidden by the wine which was in boxes floor to ceiling. The owner was an airline pilot for Aer Lingus who obviously enjoyed his wine and spirits because he had a vast stock of it.

“Every time he went on a trip he always came back with a case of wine from the duty-free. He collected it because he enjoyed drinking it. He just like to have a good selection of wine in. It is not outstanding wine but quite good, drinkable stuff.”

Much of the wine is believed to be worth just £5 a bottle, with auctioneers valuing the entire collection at around £5,700. Among the wines collected from countries including Argentina, Chile, Italy and France was a 1978 Vina Real from Spanish producer CVNE, a 1974 Rioja from Faustino and a 1999 bottle of “Australian red”.

Auctioneers also discovered 60 cases of spirits in the garage comprising Irish whisky, Scotch, vodka, liquor, Drambuie and amaretto.

The wine and spirits will be sold on May 18 and the car is being sold on June 19 by Charterhouse Auctioneers.

A 1978 Vina Real, by Spanish producer CVNE was among the wines. Credit: Charterhouse Auctioneers