19 Crimes is an Australian red wine that tastes of licorice,
fruits, and vanilla. The brand is labeled after the historical development of
colonies in Australia. It is a label associated with the experience of being
accused and being sent to work camps from England. It is an Australian wine and
imported to the U.S. in Napa Valley. The taste is relatively light, fruity by
nature, and does not have a large tannin aftertaste.
The name is interesting in that it represents how Australia
started and gives honor to all those who are falsely accused. There were 19 crimes that could get you sent
from England to the Australian work camps that eventually turned into colonies.
At this time in history an unfair suspicion could land you in a work camp for
decades. Young children barely in their teens were sentenced for life for
stealing something as simple as what we might consider candy or being
born into the wrong ethnicity.
The wine name after John Boyle O'Reilly comes with an
interesting tale of a person who was sentenced to an Australian work camp
because of associations in his Irish youth. Through time he moved from a
worker to someone who overseas other workers. He made friends with a priest and
escaped aboard an American whaling ship. He started over in the U.S. and became
a speech-maker and writer for a Boston newspaper.
