Why were early French Christians promised a sea of wine?

Christian priests had a tough job finding converts in the Roman empire during those first centuries after Christ died. Followers were not just persecuted, but killed. Would you go to church knowing that you might be punished or slayed for doing so?

So how to entice people to join the Christian flock and then keep the surviving faithful on board?  


Around 200 AD, Saint Irenaeus, bishop of what is now Lyon, France, developed a great marketing package. He offered incredible rewards in the afterlife—perfect just in case the convert was killed for his beliefs.

Early Christian marketing genius St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul (now known as Lyons, France).

Irenaeus's afterlife reward package included the usual: lots of grain, delicacies galore, no work and "highly fertile" women. (No mention of the rewards for women.) 

For wine lovers, the best part of Saint Irenaeus's afterlife package included huge quantities of wine. (Vineyards were already well developed in France by this time.)

Here's his vino pitch: "vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the cluster ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine." 

I'm not sure how much 25 meters of wine is, but it sounds like a sea of Bordeaux red.
 
In the end, I couldn't find any records showing how well Irenaeus's marketing plan worked. 

Sunrise in Oregon vineyard.

The final question is: Would 75 feet of wine in your afterlife be enough to entice you to become a Christian?

 

When did the French kick Christ out of Romanée-Conti?

Many vineyards in Burgundy have crosses like this one at Romanée-Conti vineyard, most many years old.

When looking at my photographs of Romanée-Conti, probably the world's most famous vineyard, two things struck me. First, hords of visitors flocked to the vineyard as if they were on a pilgrimage.

This multi-lingual sign posted on the small stone wall surrounding the famous Romanée-Conti vineyard shows the obvious frustration the owners must have in keeping visitors out. Regardless, I saw common tourists  wandering amongst the vines, even picking a grape or two. Obviously they could not read French or English.

Then, looking down at the vineyard, I noticed that the neighboring village of Vosne-Romanée surrounded the church. Looking further at other villages, they too surrounded churches that were hundreds of years ago.

What are the churches in the center of modern cities?  I"m suspecting that today's churches revolve around money rather than spiritual matters. Are we living in a different era?

I"ve circled in red three churches in Vosne-Romanée and neighboring villages. The famous Romanée-Conti vineyard is in the foreground, circled in blue. A spray including sulphur makes the famous vineyard appear lighter than the surrounding vines. I think that the owners were worried about a rain that never came. That's a big worry when a bottle from a great vintage can cost thousands.  No word if the vineyard managers sought spiritual help or intervention.

Chinese buying France, French buying China

 

Chinese buy France:  A Chinese business man recently bought this chateau, the only one in Gevrey Chambertin appellation, which is home to some of the world’s most prestigious (and most expensive) red wines with 26 Premier Cru and 9 Grand Cru vineyards.

French buy China: French wine and spirits maker Moet Hennessy earlier this year partnered with Shangrila Winery (a subsidiary of Chinese liquor maker VATS Group) to develop vineyards and produce a super-premium red wine in this remote region of China's Yunnan province bordering Tibet.

We discovered Chandonnay with the bones of Mary Magdalene

My wife Eddi and I decided to take the back roads from Gevrey-Chambertin to Chinon in the Loire Valley. We got lost winding through small villages, found huge chateaux not listed on any guide books and stumbled upon the bones of Mary Magdalene.

The hilltop Abby and community of Vézelay.

According to legend, near the end of the first millennium a monk brought bones of Mary Magdalene to Vézelay, France from Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. In 1058, the Pope confirmed the genuineness of the relics, leading to an influx of pilgrims that has continued to this day.

Vézelay Abbey was also a major starting point for pilgrims on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela, one of the most important of all medieval pilgrimage centers. 










In the 9th century the Benedictines were given land to build a monastery. The current Basilica was built in the 11th century. The town and the Basilica of St Magdelene are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade at Vézelay in 1146. In 1189, the Frankish and English factions of the Third Crusade met at Vézelay before officially departing for the Holy Land.

Today, Vézelay is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy.  Bourgogne Vézelay is the local wine appellation. Vineyards descend to the edge of the town and produce a range of mostly white wines, mainly on the Chardonnay, Melon de Bourgogne  and, of course, Pinot Noir.

Today the town is swarming with pilgrims—some would call them tourists—still seeking. Seeking what?  Well, I'm not exactly sure what they are seeking as they sit in the outdoor cafes sipping local Chardonnay. Surely this could not be the beginning of a new Crusade?

Maison Joseph Drouhin hides 3-acre cellar under Beaune, Burgundy

This is an unused portion of the hidden cellar.

Mason Joseph Drouhin has a 3-acre cellar built in the 1200s, catacombing under the city of Beaune. According the Jean-Pierre Cropsal, the winery's public relations officer, much of the building material is actually recycled from centuries previously. That's old and hidden under the city. It hasn't been until a couple of months ago that the winery allowed tourists into the cellar.

Here, aging under layers of mold, is a library of wines dating back to at least the 1980s. Many of the bottles and barrels are probably older, but I couldn't read the signs for the layers of fluffy mold.

Jean-pierre Cropsal pouring some Drouhin Burgundy in the hidden cellar. He says that the recycled stones surrounding him were placed in the 1200s.

Farmers are Told to Begin Harvest in Alsace, France

On Monday, September 10, harvest began in Alsace, France. (You know that area where I got to speak German because ownership of the strip of land went back and forth between the Germans and French. The French won the last skirmish.) This is the regulated earliest date that harvest can begin for Crémant (translate to bubbly) in Alsace part of France. That Monday morning was like a floodgate opening of workers pouring into certain vineyards. Harvest of grapes for still wines will begin on Sept 24, per regulations.  

Wine history here is ancient. The Alsacian vineyard is one of the oldest ones of France. There were 108 wine-producing villages in 800, 160 in 900 and 430 in 1400. By this time, Alsacian wine, red or white, was one of the most famous wines of Europe and one of the most expensive. Today, prices for wine are more reasonable, but the land is among the most expensive in France.

Near the little village of Eguisheim, Alsace, France, these happy guys are harvesting Pinot noir, destined to become Crémant d'Alsace (which means bubbly).

Just in case you didn't know what the Alsace wine region looks like, here is Husseren les Chateaux (to the best of my non-French ability, that means "Husseren the Chateaus" for the nearby ancient castles.)