The OIV welcomed the signature of a consortium agreement between Viña Concha y Toro (Chile), Moët-Hennessy (France), Sogrape (Portugal), Familia Torres (Spain) and Yalumba Family Winemakers (Australia) with the objective of contributing to promoting and supporting the Organisation’s technical and scientific diffusion.
In vino veritas. You have all heard this statement, possibly thinking that it emerged in Latin.
Yet here, as often, the Romans took this notion from the Greek: οῖνος καὶ ἀλήθεια (oinos kai aletheia). It appeared as early as the 6th century B.C. in works by the poet Alcaeus (Fragments, 333), Athenaeus (The Deipnosophists, II), Plutarch (The Life of Artaxerxes), Cicero (Topics), or even the Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 65a).
Among wine lovers, particularly in the Loire, Rabelaisian precepts are quoted at will. We rejoice in the idea of the divine bottle when wine is poured. However, in Rabelais’ work, its physical presence fades into the background: it features an oracle. In the Fifth Book (chapter XLV), when he writes “by wine we become divine”, he alludes to embracing religion, or at least a spiritual quest which prevails, by far, over materiality. Rabelais’ “pantagruelism” itself is an orgiastic simile, standing for knowledge. The body is a mere medium for the spirit’s uplifting.
“Laughing is man’s gift” he wrote, and long before Bergson.
Making this statement as an isolated quotation leads to misreading. Indeed, Rabelais quickly takes it back with the following words:
“Not laughing, but that drinking is the distinguishing character of man […]1.
Such assertions are part of the genesis of the history of wine and are worthy of renewed attention.
As a medievalist, it is my joyful mission to introduce the noble words of the history of wine within their proper context, thereby giving justice to their authorship and scope.
I am delighted to introduce this new column entitled Enocultural Note, regular reminders of my allegiance to the OIV, wine and history: a beautiful opportunity to share insights on wine. Let us hope that the illustrious characters I will be selecting for you will help us understand our own relationship to wine.
Azélina Jaboulet-Vercherre
Since she received her Ph.D. degree in History (Yale University, 2011), Azélina Jaboulet-Vercherre has created wine history and culture courses, tailored to various higher education institutions, particularly Ferrandi Paris (where she currently is an associate professor).
In 2019, the OIV Scientific and Technical Committee appointed Azélina to the position of President of the International OIV Award Jury.
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1 Fifth book, Chapter XLV. “How Bacbuc explained the word of the Goddess-Bottle”
From 22 to 25 June, the Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (ADA) Unit, within the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use at WHO headquarters organise the FADAB. An event in which the OIV took part yesterday, bearing in mind that one of the organisation’s core missions is to help protect consumer health and to contribute to food safety, as stated in the Agreement of 3 April 2001, Article 2.2. In particular: by specialist scientific monitoring, making it possible to assess the specific characteristics of vine products; by promoting and guiding research into appropriate nutritional and health aspects; by extending the dissemination of information resulting from such research to the medical and healthcare professionals.
As an intergovernmental organisation, the OIV supports all actions which lead to the reduction of harmful use of alcohol. The Organisation is also committed to the SDGs, and at a broader level, this involvement is observed in the Axes of the OIV Strategic Plan. In particular, Axis III “Contribute to social development through vitiviniculture” is aligned with SDG 3 “Good health and Well-being”.