The true story behind the 19 Crimes
When you walk into any wine store, restaurant, grocery store and depending on the state you live in, gas station, you will find a brand called 19 Crimes. This wine, with its amazing marketing gimmick dons faces such as Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart as well as many other individuals from the 1700s or 1800s.
Though most people know it as a cool bottle with a few famous/infamous people’s faces on it, many do not realize that with their smartphone, these labels also come alive. Most people, including many wine experts do not know where the phrase “19 crimes” originates and most do not know the chilling story behind the tale of the 19 crimes.
My hope is to shed some light on 19 crimes the wine but opening your mind to 19 crimes the story. So, let’s step back in time.
The late 1700s to the mid 1800s were a period in England where if caught committing a crime (yes, committing one of NINETEEN crimes) and convicted, you would be transported to a land seemingly far way. Sometimes an individual would be shipped over to the states but most of the time they were sent to Australia. In fact, over the course of almost a century, it has been reported that nearly a quarter of a million English criminals were transported out of England. The argument for this practice was reported to alleviate overcrowding of their prison systems but some books claim it was done to ease up on their use of the death penalty.
These 19 crimes included:
1 – Grand Larceny (theft above the value of one shilling) – a shilling would now be worth less than a half a cent – far less.
2 – Petty Larceny (theft under the value one shilling)
3 – Buying or receiving stolen goods
4 – Stealing lead, iron, or copper
5 – Impersonating an Egyptian
6 – Stealing from furnished lodgings
7 – Setting fire to Underwood
8 – Stealing letters
9 – Assault with intent to rob
10 – Stealing fish from a pond or river
11 – stealing roots, trees, or plants
12 – Bigamy
13 – Assaulting, cutting, or burning clothes
14 – Counterfeiting copper coin
15 – Clandestine marriage
16 – Stealing a shroud out of a grave
17 – Watermen carrying too many passengers on the Thames, if any drowned
18 – Incorrigible rogues who broke out of prison and persons reprieved from Capital Punishment
19 – Embeuling Nala Stores (stealing naval supplies)
For years it was debated if these were the true 19 crimes or just a marketing gimmick by the wine house in Australia. However, literature has mentioned that if a crime was a “single felony” it was punishable “by transportation, whipping and imprisonment.” In fact, a book written in 1800 titled A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis mentions this same wording “crimes denominated single felonies; punishable by transportation…” and this book goes on to list 22 (not 19) crimes as an example. These 22 crimes include the same as above but goes on to add;
1 – aliens returning after being ordered out of the kingdom
2 – stealing children
3 – manslaughter or killing another without malice
So, presumably truth, once again, is stranger than fiction.
If the story was not enough for this brand, they took it a completely another step. A step many still do not even know about. They created what is called, living labels. If you own a smart phone and point the camera at one of the many different wine labels, the “criminal” comes to life and will explain his or her side of the story. This augmented reality experience is unlike any other in wine.
If the story and living label was not enough for this winery, they even went on to pick up a few famous/infamous individuals to also be a crime on their label including Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. In fact, their wines have earned critical acclaim and some magazines even have Martha’s Chard listed in their top Chardonnays for the year.
So, I encourage you, the next time you see a 19 crimes bottle, check out the label. Pull out your smart phone and listen to their story. However, I also want people to be acutely aware of the possible truth behind the 19 (or 22) crimes they may have had individuals transported to other countries, many of which found their way to Australia. In fact, it has been reported in some literature that 22% of living Australians were ancestors of convicts who were transported out of England.
Cheers
