Certain geographic regions achieved fame for the quality of their wines at an early
date. In the 6th century, Gregory of Tours commented on the wines produced in the area
around Dijon in Burgundy, comparing them to the celebrated Falernian wines of ancient
Rome. These “wines of Beaune,” as they were known in the Middle Ages, were greatly
prized, making their way overland to the markets of the north and by river south to the
papal court in Avignon. In the 14th century, during the Great Schism, Petrarch declared
that one of the causes for the perpetuation of the “Babylonian captivity” was the fondness
of the papal court for the wines of Beaune.
The “wines of Burgundy” were those produced in a vast area of central France, of
which only a modest portion remains today around Chablis. In the 12th century, the vines
stretched as far as Vézelay, the hills of which the crusader Gui de Bazoches described as
being covered with vineyards. In the 13th century, the Franciscan Salimbene commented
on the quality of these wines, “which gladden the heart.” He noted that they were an
important item of commerce, being transported by river to the markets of the north,
including Paris. Among the most reputed of the medieval “wines of Burgundy”
mentioned by Salimbene were those of Auxerre, which were shipped as far as Normandy,
Picardy, Flanders, and Hainaut.
The wines produced in the area around Bordeaux were probably the most important
commercially from the 12th century on. Sent by boat down the Garonne River to the sea,
then across to England, the wines of this region were not known for their quality, being
weak and pale, and were sometimes fortified by the heavy, deep wines of Cahors.
Nevertheless, the wine trade with England flourished, encouraged by the political
connection between Aquitaine and England and the inferiority of English wines. This
trade reached its peak in the early 14th century, when more than 100,000 barrels of wine,
each containing approximately 250 gallons, were sent to English shores in a single year.
In the later Middle Ages, the procurers for great lay and ecclesiastical lords and the
merchants from industrial areas that did not favor the production of wines traveled long
distances to the major wine-producing areas, where they found a host of local officials to
assist them. Wine brokers guided them to the cellars of local growers and advised them
on quality. Measures varied considerably from one community to the next, but local
officials inspected the barrels to be sure that the standards of the community were
maintained. Finally, official binders saw to it that the barrels were tied in the manner
appropriate to that community, a mark that contributed to the diffusion of a locality’s
reputation. Those who used false measures or mislabeled their wines were fined or
suffered confiscation of their wines.
The wines of a previous harvest, called “old wines,” were sold at a discount or
sometimes discarded when the new harvest was in, and the barrels were reused. Wines
could not be stored for any length of time, since the huge wooden barrels, containing
around 250 gallons each, were porous, admitting air and bacteria. Only the better-quality
wines would be transported any distance. The poorer wines, still unstable when marketed,
could not withstand the hazards of the trip. Glass bottles used for the storage of wines
were not common in the Middle Ages; they had to await the availability of corks and the
invention of the corkscrew in the early-modern period before becoming commercially
viable.
The poorer grades of wines were sold in the local taverns “by the pot and by the pint.”
Almost anyone who had a supply of wine could open a tavern. All one had to do was
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1854