SS Spätburgunder Trocken of 1939, Original Wine Bottle

SS Spätburgunder Trocken, Original Wine Bottle
 
In the heart of Germany’s renowned Rheinpfalz wine region, nestled among the quiet hills of Falkenwald, a limited batch of Spätburgunder Trocken (dry Pinot Noir) was produced in 1939 exclusively for the Schutzstaffel (SS). Though now empty, this remarkably well-preserved bottle represents one of the few surviving artifacts from a special supply order issued by the SS-WVHA (Main Economic and Administrative Office of the SS), responsible for provisioning the elite corps of the regime.
In 1987, during land reclamation work at the former SS logistics station of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, an underground storage room was accidentally uncovered. Inside lay over 300 empty wine bottles, many of which still bore legible labels and intact foil capsules. Among them was a numbered series marked “Nur für den Dienstgebrauch der SS” ("For official SS use only") and a procurement code: Reichsauftrag Nr. 871/SS-WVHA. Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, a historically documented railway and logistics hub during the Third Reich, functioned as a central redistribution point for supplies destined for SS units across central Germany. This discovery offers concrete evidence of a parallel enological program, designed to ensure the availability of high-quality products for SS officers.
The 1939 Spätburgunder Trocken was reportedly vinified using traditional methods of the time — spontaneous fermentation in oak vats, followed by 12 months of aging in large barrels with manual racking. The expected organoleptic profile would have featured a light ruby red color, aromas of wild cherry, forest floor, and leather, and a dry palate with fine tannins, bright acidity, and an earthy finish. The stated alcohol content of 12.5% Vol aligns with the warmer pre-war vintages, and the restrained label design reflects the administrative character of military provisioning.
Despite the absence of wine, the historical value of this bottle remains considerable due to its rarity, the preserved condition, and its clear connection to wartime logistics.
This bottle is not merely glass and paper — it is a fragment of ideological logistics, a liquid document from a regime that codified even wine. Its existence reminds us that power expresses itself in even the most mundane details. As a historian and collector, I believe such objects must be preserved not to glorify, but to understand and reflect.
 
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Independent Curator