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The Wine Society is the world's oldest wine club 〔(Wine on the Web )〕 having been founded at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 4 August 1874.〔Edmund Penning-Rowsell, ''A Short History of The Wine Society'', 1989.〕 The Wine Society was created and still operates as a co-operative with each member owning one share. The Wine Society continues to be owned solely by its members and trades only with them. == History == The International Exhibition Co-operative Wine Society Limited, which is more commonly referred to simply as The Wine Society, was established in London in 1874. The foundation of The Wine Society followed the last of the great Annual International Exhibitions. Various countries had sent large quantities of wine in cask to the exhibition to be stored and poured in the cellars of the Royal Albert Hall, but visitors to the exhibition were unaware of its presence. With no return to show for their investment, the growers from Portugal appealed to the British Government for assistance. In response to this, a series of lunches was held to publicise the wines. The organisers of this publicity drive were the "Committee of Gentlemen" that would become the founding fathers of The Wine Society: Major-General Henry Young Darracott Scott was one of the architects of the Royal Albert Hall and Secretary to the Great Exhibition Commissioners. After many of the lunch guests expressed an interest in purchasing wine, Major-General Scott proposed the setting up of "''a co-operative company''" to buy good quality wines on a regular basis to sell to members.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.thewinesociety.com/history-of-the-society )〕 He served as The Wine Society's first Treasurer until his death in 1883. Robert Brudenell Carter FRCS was a Fellow of the Medical Society of London and worked as an ophthalmic surgeon at St George's Hospital. He had previously served as a staff surgeon during the Crimean War. Carter replaced Major-General Scott as Treasurer and in 1895 became The Wine Society's second Chairman. He remained a member of the Committee until his death at the age of 90. More than anyone else, Carter was responsible for the supervision and conduct of The Wine Society during its first forty years. George E. Scrivenor, a senior Customs and Excise official, became the first Honorary General Manager and did much of the early day-to-day work of The Wine Society until another appointment forced his resignation in 1876. Although there is no evidence explaining why Major-General Scott suggested following the example of the Rochdale Pioneers to form a co-operative society rather than a joint stock company, the founding members' aim was to buy wines direct from growers to ensure their authenticity and quality and to offer them to members at fair prices. The "''Objects of the Society''" were originally published as follows: * ''To purchase and import Foreign Wines, and to sell them at cheap rates to Members of the Society.'' * ''To introduce, in addition to the Wines in general domestic use, other Foreign Wines hitherto unknown or but little known in this country.'' * ''To endeavour to obtain Wines direct from the growers, in a pure, unadulterated condition, and, as far as possible, free from added spirit.'' * ''The Society is enrolled under the Industrial and Provident Societies' Act, 1876.'' * ''The Interest of a Member is limited to One Share.'' * ''No Dividend will at any time be payable on the Shares, which will form the Working Capital of the Society.'' * ''Wines will be sold at the lowest possible price, and for ready money only.'' The first Chairman of The Wine Society was Norman MacLeod, the 25th Chief of the Clan MacLeod. The first Trustee was Earl Spencer KG, the Liberal statesman, who had also been one of the Great Exhibition Commissioners. Other famous members during The Wine Society's early years included Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, the Rt Hon Earl Russell, Sir Henry Wood and Alexander Fleming. The Wine Society grew gradually and, without any external shareholders to consider, surplus trading profits were used to provide better services to members and to increase the value of its wines. By 1965, The Wine Society was operating out of three separate cellars in London: one under the London Palladium, one at Joiner Street under London Bridge Station and one at St James's Bond in Rotherhithe (which flooded at high tide).〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.thewinesociety.com/history-of-the-society )〕 In 1965, thanks to the foresight of the then chairman Edmund Penning-Rowsell, The Wine Society moved to more suitable premises in Stevenage to the north of London, where all its operations have since been concentrated. The freehold of the Stevenage site was acquired in 1983, adjacent land purchased, a fleet of own delivery vans built up, and over of temperature-controlled warehouses have been built between 1965 and 2008 to contain some seven million bottles of wine. The Wine Society has over 120,000 active members who together spend more than 1 million GBP per week, and a list made up of 1,000 wines from 23 countries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wine Society」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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