Quite possibly, providing a reliable supply of good-quality
wine at affordable prices helped rally many poorer French citizens to the Revolution. They were not the first and would not be the last people to measure the success of their government by what was on their plates—or, in this case, what was in their glasses. It was all well and good for Revolutionary leaders to talk about liberty and equality, but removing taxes on wine and ensuring that it was good quality gave these ideals tangible form. By expanding the wine market and improving wine quality, the Revolutionary period might well have embedded wine drinking more firmly into French culture as an expectation that was embraced by successive generations, no matter what their political preferences. In this sense, the French Revolution established some of the bases of the French wine industry and the place of wine in French culture for more than 100 years. Some changes, such as the removal of the Church from wine production, were permanent. Others were transient; taxes were abolished in 1791 but reimposed toward the end of the Revolution and more were added in the 1800s. As for wine quality, it would be nice to think that any improvements during the Revolution persisted, but it is unlikely that they did. Indeed, the 19th century—even without the adulterated wines of the phylloxera period—seems to have been a heyday for wine fraud in France. Still, the model of quality was there, and the Revolution established the role of the state in controlling wine quality. In respect of wine, then, the legacy of the French Revolution is mixed, but there is no doubt that it was an important moment in the history of French wine, as it was in the history of France more generally. François Bertrand would not have appreciated it, but his execution—as appalling as it was—for serving bad wine, makes some sense within the context of the Revolution. Everything—wine included—was highly political in a time of revolutionary upheaval.
Above: The Lesueur Brothers, The Republican Meal.
Notes
1. Archives Départementales de la Côte d’Or (hereafter ADCO), L 1027, Jugement du Tribunal Criminel Révolutionnaire (26 Floréal An II/15 May 1794).
2. Rod Phillips, French Wine: A History (University of California Press, Sacramento; 2016), pp.118–19.
3. ADCO, G 4169, Volnay. 4 ADCO, 1Q 74, Biens nationaux, 1790–92. 5. ADCO, 1Q 80, Biens nationaux, 1790–92. 6. Marcel Lachiver, Vins, Vignes, et Vignerons: Histoire du Vignoble Français (Fayard, Paris; 1988), pp.352–53.
7. Ibid. 8. Archives Municipales de Beaune (hereafter AM Beaune), Registre de Délibérations du Conseil Municipal de Beaune, 1D-3, 4 Brumaire An III/ October 25, 1794.
9. Jugement de M le Lieutenant Général de Police… du 24 Mars 1751 (G Lamesle, Paris; 1751).
10. See Rod Phillips, “By Decree: The Duke of Burgundy’s 14th-Century AOC,” The World of Fine Wine 71 (2021), pp.120–29.
11. ADCO, L 544, Subsistances. 19 Germinal An II/April 8, 1794. 12. AM Beaune, 1D-3 Registre de Délibérations du Conseil Municipal de Beaune, 44v, 13 Fructidor An II
13. AM Beaune, 1D-2, 71v (22 Vendémiaire An II/October 13, 1793). 14. ADCO, L 465, Fête d’agriculture. 15. ADCO, L 574, Agriculture, August 14, 1790. 16. Archives Municipales de Dijon (hereafter AM Dijon), 3F/27 (12 Brumaire An III/November 2, 1794).
17. ADCO, L 3735, Juge de Paix, Meursault, June 14, 1793. 18. AM Beaune, 1D-6 25, Fructidor An VI/September 11, 1798. 19. AM Dijon, 3F/27, 12 Brumaire An III/November 2, 1794. 20. Richard Olney, Romanée-Conti: The World’s Most Fabled Wine (Rizzoli, New York; 1995), p.31.
21. AM Beaune, 1D-2, 1 Nivôse An II/December 21, 1793. 22. AM Beaune, 1D-3, 23 Fructidor An III/September 9, 1794. 23. AM Beaune, 1D-7, 14 Fructidor An VII/August 31, 1799. 24. ADCO, L 1027, September 26, 1792. 25. Archives Départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille), L 376, Subsistances 1792-An VIII. Letter from officiers municipaux, January 11, 1793.
26. ADCO, L 1401, Maximum. THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 125
Gouache taken from a series on the French Revolution; French School, 18th century, Revolutionary period. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Photography © Photo Josse / Bridgeman Images
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