Le Figaro Bordeaux
France and wine are two inseparable words.
In 2023, France once again became the leading wine producing country in the world.
In Gironde, excessive production linked to the drop in French consumption has nevertheless led to the implementation of a major sanitary grubbing system planned for around 8,000 hectares in 2024. The vine, however, remains intrinsically linked to the history of the Gironde region.
For centuries, a Catholic saint has been particularly venerated there: Vincent of Zaragoza.
Saint Vincent was born in Huesca, Spain, in 290. “
Persecuted and tortured on the orders of
Dacian, prefect of the city
”, he was “
put to death in Valencia in 304 alongside his bishop Valère
”, specifies the diocese of Bordeaux.
According to several scriptural sources, he was tortured for refusing to deny God and his passion contributed to his fame in the Middle Ages.
“
From the 6th century, the Christians of Valencia began to worship him and built a temporary tomb and then a sanctuary.
Today, many places of worship are dedicated to him, mainly in wine-growing regions.
»
Also read: These five vineyards in inner Paris that you never knew existed
The date of the first pruning of the vine
The link between this saint and the vine, however, remains subject to interpretation.
The diocese puts forward several explanations: “
We can think first of his past as a martyr, where the blood from his numerous wounds would directly allude to wine, symbol of the Eucharist.
In terms of phonetics, the parallel is unmistakable: wine and blood.
But from a historical point of view, Saint Vincent would have been charged by Valère
to elucidate the reasons for a significant consumption of wine in the region.
» The reason for the veneration of Saint Vincent by winegrowers could also be found in more recent history.
“
In France, a turning point was taken at the time of the Council of Trent
”, in the 16th century, explained Gaston Duchet-Suchaux, archivist-palaeographer, in the bulletin of the national society of antiquaries of France, in 1986. “
Adopted by certain brotherhoods of winegrowers, Vincent is presented with a bunch of grapes in his hand, or a pruning knife.
» According to this specialist in colors and images, “
we explained this metamorphosis by a play on words
”, but according to him, “
it is better to think of the influence of the great abbeys, and also of the fact that the date of Saint- Vincent, January 22, coincides with that of the first pruning of the vine
.”
A hypothesis moreover “
supported by meteorological sayings attested in several manuscripts from the 15th century
”.
Also read: The Battle of the Wines: the first classification of wines in the Middle Ages
“Values closely attached to wine”
In Gironde, Saint-Vincent is one of the three annual gatherings of the Commanderie du Bontemps, a Bacchic brotherhood whose current organization dates back to 1949, and whose mission is to promote the wines of Médoc, Graves and Sauternes. and all Bordeaux wines.
“
Everywhere, and in front of anyone
”, in the words of its induction ritual, the Commanderie defends “
not only wine, but this set of values which are closely attached to it: friendship, cheerfulness and loyalty to our land
”.
Sunday January 14, the Commanderie du Bontemps celebrated Saint-Vincent in the Bordeaux vineyards, with more than 600 people present.
A procession and celebration took place, as well as the blessing of the new wine, several inductions into the brotherhood and a lunch.
Beyond Vincent de Zaragoza, numerous appellations also recall the links between wine-growing regions and the Catholic religion, such as in Gironde with Saint-Émilion, Saint-Estèphe or even Saint-Julien.