Ceausescu's Wine Turns Sour, Goes Down the Drain

[GoldenRod]

Sep 24, 12:12 pm ET

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Thousands of bottles of fine wine and spirits collected by Romania's loathed communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in his huge palace have been poured away because they went off, officials said on Wednesday.
Romania's lower parliament chamber, which took over part of the world's second-largest building after Ceausescu was ousted in 1989, inherited the stash but found it had perished.

"The bottles were kept in a vertical position for years, the cork got dry and air got in," the parliament said in a note. "As a consequence, the mentioned goods were destroyed by breaking the bottles and pouring the contents down the drain."

The list of drinks thrown away includes 621 bottles of red and white wine as well as 411 bottles of traditional Romanian brandy and more than 1,000 bottles of other spirits. Their value was not known.

The Ceausescus lived in luxury while most Romanians lacked basic goods. They were executed after a bloody revolt before they could complete their palace, which one guide book describes as "the world's biggest eyesore."

What a shame... and it was a preventable disaster, too...