History of France

The Celts

• Indo-Europeans who originated in central Europe and expanded circa 1200 BCE
• A significant portion of France was settled by Celts before the Romans
• Credited with inventing the watertight, rollable, stackable wooden cask for storage and transport

The Greeks at Massalia

• Phocaeans (Greeks from Asia Minor) established Massalia (modern-day Marseille) in 600 BCE
• Introduced the grapevine to Celtic France
• Goal was trade, not conquest
• By the 2nd century BCE, threatened by Carthaginians, Etruscans, and local Celts
• Greeks asked Rome for protection → Rome sent legionnaires

Roman Gaul

• Romans established their first province outside Italy: "Nostra Provincia" (modern-day Provence)
• Romans called Celtic France Gaul — land west of the Rhine from Pyrenees/Mediterranean to the English Channel
• Not content with coastline, Rome pushed inland

Vineyard Establishment Timeline

The Fall of Rome & Rise of the Church

• When Rome fell (gradually), the massive power vacuum was filled by the Catholic Church
• Wine was integral to mass and monastic life
• This saved wine culture where already established and furthered it as monasteries grew

Clovis and the Franks

• After Rome disintegrated, Gaul was attacked by invaders
• The Franks (Germanic tribes) united under Clovis in 481 CE
• According to legend, Clovis made a deal with God, brokered by Bishop Remi of Reims
• Bishop blessed a cask of wine; as long as it didn't run dry, Clovis would be victorious
• Baptized in Reims, uniting most of Gaul under one rule and one religion

Charles Martel & Charlemagne

• Charles Martel pushed invading Moors back across the Pyrenees in the early 8th century
• Held the line at Poitiers in the Loire
• Legend: Arabs left their goats behind → birth of Loire's goat cheese tradition
• Charlemagne assumed the crown in the late 8th century
• Conquered territory in Italy (Lombardy) and Germany (Bavaria)
• Religious fervor → tremendous support to monasteries and Vatican
• Pope Leo III crowned him Holy Roman Emperor

The Norsemen & Normandy

• Norsemen from Scandinavia sacked cities along French coast (9th–10th centuries)
• Sailed up rivers to raid inland
• 911: Charles III (Charles the Simple) offered them land in exchange for peace
• "Norsemen" → "Norman" → land became Normandy

Feudalism

• Fragmentation of Charlemagne's empire set stage for local control: feudalism
• Landed nobility grew rich and powerful with large holdings
• Dukes in Anjou, Aquitaine, Normandy; Counts in Flanders, Blois, Toulouse
• King of the Franks was no stronger than other aristocracy
• Taxes levied on goods; kidnappings and ransom common; territorial disputes ongoing
• In isolation, dozens of dialects developed

Ban des Vendanges

Nobles possessed the droit de ban (right to stop or prohibit). The ban des vendanges was a prescribed picking date for all grape growers, simplifying tax collection. This was the only ban that survived the French Revolution — it helped deliver consistent quality.

William the Conqueror & Henry II

• 1066: William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England and claimed the crown
• Almost 100 years later, his great-grandson Henry Plantagenet (Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine) married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine
• Combined holdings = significant portion of France
• Duchy of Aquitaine: west coast from Loire to Spanish border, inland to Auvergne
• Within two years, Henry became King Henry II of England — both peer and rival to French crown

Occitania & the Cathars

• Occitania (Mediterranean border) was a cultural jewel
• Hundreds of troubadours (musician-poets) sang of honor, love, chivalry
• Language: Occitan / Langue d'Oc — first literary flowering since Rome
• Troubadours rejected "noble birth" — believed in character and behavior
• Many were Cathars — a "heretical" Christian sect
• 1209: Pope Innocent III initiated crusade against the Cathars
• Slaughter of men, women, children → Occitania annexed into France

Claret — England's Beloved Wine

For 300 years, Bordeaux was England's vineyard. As was customary, red and white grapes were fermented together with short vatting time. This light red became England's "claret" — from French clairet meaning clear or brilliant.

The Avignon Papacy & Châteauneuf-du-Pape

• 1305: Archbishop of Bordeaux elected Pope (Clement V)
• 1309: Moved papacy from Rome to Avignon (remained until 1376)
• Seven popes ran the Holy See from Avignon
• Pope John XXII built a summer palace north of the city
• Palace became Châteauneuf-du-Pape ("new castle of the pope")
• Village and wines assumed the same name

The Hundred Years War (1337–1453)

• English king (with French landholdings) refused to pay homage to French crown
• War devastated both nations; compounded by civil war within France
• King Charles VI disowned his son Charles VII — France without a future ruler
• Joan of Arc, a peasant girl, inspired Charles VII to reclaim his crown
• Encouraged expulsion of the English — and it happened

The Bubonic Plague

• Arrived via port of Marseille; spread throughout France and Europe
• Killed 30–50% of population in affected areas
• Bourgogne hit hard — few to tend vineyards
• Chardonnay and Pinot Noir don't tolerate neglect → Gamay began replacing both
• Burgundian Dukes Philippe the Bold and Philippe the Good tried to eradicate Gamay with edicts — they failed

Territorial Consolidation

• 1477: Duchy of Burgundy dismantled; Duke Charles the Rash killed in battle
• Bourgogne and Jura subsumed by France; other pieces went to Austrian Habsburgs
• 1491: France absorbed Duchy of Brittany through strategic marriage
• 1529: France lost to Austria over northern Italy
• 1543: France won Provence from Savoy

The Loire Renaissance

• While rulers battled for land, the Renaissance blossomed in France
• Flourished most beautifully in the Loire
• King Francis I took residence there; initiated a flurry of construction
• Palatial estates lined the riverbanks (e.g., Château de Chenonceau)

The Mini-Ice Age & Sparkling Wine

• Northern Europe experienced a "Mini-Ice Age" (1600s–1800s)
• Especially cold periods: 1650, 1770, 1850
• Weather compounded hardships from war
• But incomplete fermentations resuscitated in spring
• This set the stage for development of sparkling wine

The Protestant Reformation

• Martin Luther (Germany) and John Calvin (France) rejected Catholic principles
• Rejected sale of indulgences and authority of the Pope
• Undermined the church and therefore the divine nature of monarchy
• Many French nobles converted (became Huguenots) to weaken the Crown
• Led to the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), decimating Europe's population

Alsace — From Germany to France

• Alsace was previously quite prosperous — ravaged by Thirty Years War
• In the peace treaty, Alsace became French instead of German
• French king gave land grants to whoever would settle there

Louis XIV & Versailles

• King Henry IV enlisted Dutch to drain marshes, including the Médoc in Bordeaux (1600s)
• Agricultural focus continued under Louis XIV
• Canal du Midi (1667–1681): connected Toulouse to Mediterranean
• Significance for transport mirrored the railway centuries later
• Louis XIV moved royal court to Versailles — housed and fed 5,000
• King's fondness for vegetables → 25 ac/10 ha of palace gardens
• Food obsession mirrored by ruling elite
• Served an excitingly effervescent wine from Champagne

The French Revolution (1789)

• France financially broken after centuries of war; food shortages incited riots
• While rich dined well, majority of populace did not
• Revolution began in Paris
• Mobs destroyed toll booths that levied taxes, then stormed the Bastille
• Nobles fled the country

Revolutionary Reforms

• Abolition of feudalism, trade guilds, church tithes, internal tariffs
• Church property confiscated and sold to the public (to alleviate debt)
• France lost more than a million people during the Revolution and ensuing chaos

Scientific Revolution

Alongside social unrest came incredible scientific advancement, technological achievement, and philosophical study.

Napoléon Bonaparte

• Brilliant military man who rose through ranks fighting for revolutionary forces
• Staged a coup d'état, named himself Emperor in 1804
• Waged war against England, Russia, and Austria
• Eventually defeated in 1815
• Took all of Europe to defeat him — threatened the entire continent

The Napoleonic Code of Inheritance

Napoléon's lasting legacy: all holdings must be divided equally among each child.

Impact in Bourgogne vs. Bordeaux

Post-Napoléon

• Monarchy restored after Napoléon, then abolished in 1848 (Second Republic)
• Louis-Napoléon (nephew to Napoléon I) — first elected President of France
• Declared himself Emperor in 1852
• France behind on industrial development — needed catch-up
• 1842: Government began national train system
• In Roman tradition, all rails led to Paris — major cities not connected to each other
• Caused delays moving troops but provided capital with wine from all corners
• Inexpensive Languedoc wines challenged northern regions

Exposition Universelle of 1855

• At request of Napoléon III, wine added to showcase of national strengths
• Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce built a display
• Incorporated listing of 87 Bordeaux châteaux
• Ranked based on prices wines commanded in the marketplace
• Became the "Classification of 1855" — has driven Bordeaux sales ever since

The Vineyard Crises

Consequences

• Drastic reduction in total production
• Exodus of winemakers to other countries
• Importation of wine from non-afflicted nations

Post-Phylloxera Transformation

• Grafting onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstock solved the dilemma
• But composition and appearance of vineyards changed
• Mourvèdre took poorly to graft — plantings dropped from 33% to 3% in Southern Rhône
• Vineyards could no longer be propagated by provignage/marcottage (layering)
• Once planted in rows, vineyards remained that way

Provignage/Marcottage

Traditional method: bury a healthy cane (still attached to parent vine), leave terminal buds exposed. New vine roots and sprouts. This allowed 20,000 vines per acre / 50,000 per hectare — so dense not even horses could fit between vines. Phylloxera eliminated this practice, setting stage for horse and tractor.

Franco-Prussian War & Belle Époque

• 1870–1871: Napoléon III declared war on Prussia and lost
• Lost Alsace-Lorraine
• Crushing defeat unified Germany
• Gave way to Third French Republic
• Belle Époque — decadent period of joie de vivre before WWI

World War I

• Champagne especially hard hit
• One of history's most punishing engagements took place in the Marne
• Row of trenches barely moved 100 yd / 90 m in four and a half years
• Estimated half a million soldiers died for this piece of earth
• Aftermath: trenches, bunkers, bomb craters, unexploded bombs, barbed wire
• Very little capital or manpower to rebuild
• Russian Revolution devastated Champagne market
• Temperance movements (Scandinavia, Canada, USA) curtailed French exports

World War II

• The French knew wine was a national treasure — so did Hitler
• Third Reich plan: purchase best French wines at German-set prices
• Ship wines to Germany and resell internationally at profit
• "Weinführers" (Wine Leaders) sent to Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne
• Systematic removal of France's liquid wealth

Development of AOC Laws

• Push to create national wine laws began before WWII, continued after
• French belief: signature of "place" more significant than "grape variety"
• Overwhelming majority of AOC names refer to growing areas
• Varietal wine at AOC level still an anomaly
• This manifests the French philosophical belief in "terroir"

France's Position Today (2018 Data)

Wine Exports by Value (2017)

Wine Exports by Volume (2019, M hl)

Total Wine Production (M hl)

Vineyard Area (1000s ha)