Wednesday, January 2, 2013

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.





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