A history of the ancient trade between Bordeaux and Edinburgh in fine wine. described once as ' the bloodstream of the Auld Alliance.'
From the mld-15th century when England lost Gascony to a Franco-Scottish army, the Scots merchants held special privileges which helped create a taste for claret in Scotland, a taste which lasts today in the capital city, particularly among the legal profession.
Leith-bottled claret may now be a thing of the past. but the convivial tradition remains in poetry. anecdote and song.
Presenter Neville Garden Reader TOM WATSON Music NEIL ADAM , ROD PATERSON
Research CAILEAN MACLEAN Producer BILLY KAY BBC Scotland