Parliament eventually gets its costly white wines

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The wine bottles ordered from South Africa for the 100th anniversary of the first Finnish Parliament in 2006 are now available, and they were picked up from the warehouse of the importers on Tuesday.
      The 920 bottles of Thabana Sauvignon Blanc and the 102 bottles of sweet Hungarian Tokaj are now lying under lock and key in the cold store of Parliament’s bomb shelter.
     
The quantities are not quite the same as originally ordered.
      According to the purchase order, the number of Thabana bottles was to be 1,008 and that of Tokaj 126.
      According to Martti K. Korhonen, the head of Parliament’s administrative office, some of the bottles had been delivered to Parliament’s restaurant before the National Product Control Agency for Welfare and Health (STTV) forbid the transfer of the wine bottles to Parliament.
      STTV said that the wines had been delivered incorrectly and in contravention of Finnish licensing practices.
      However, some 20 bottles are still missing and unaccounted for, but the importing company has promised to locate them.
     
Following suspicions expressed by some members of the media that the white wine - its arrival delayed by three years - could already be undrinkable, restaurant chief Ulla Kupari from Parliament’s restaurant opened a bottle of Thabana at the importer's premises.
      ”It was all right and fully drinkable”, Kupari noted.
      Speculations over the use of the wines have started, now that the centennial celebrations are long gone.
     
On Wednesday Helsingin Sanomat also had an opportunity to taste and assess two bottles of the Thabana wine.
      The experts called in to do the tasting said that the three years in the warehouse may have slightly changed the taste of the wines but had not ruined it.
     
The reason for the ordered white wines' having to sit in the warehouse for three years was that Parliament had paid for the wines to the importing company and not directly to the producer in South Africa.
      In other words, the National Product Control Agency for Welfare and Health (STTV) interpreted that Parliament was not the actual buyer of the wines and did not allow the transfer of the wine bottles to Parliament.
      According to the law, anybody may order wine directly from the producer for his or her own consumption.
      The wines were released only after the Helsinki District Court ruled that STTV ’s interpretation was ultimately flawed, but at the same time, along with its wines Parliament also got a hefty bill in court costs for its troubles.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Parliament receives huge bill for centennial wines (29.9.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat