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”.
After the first lockdowns which obliged wine competitions to stop their activity, the evolution of the sanitary conditions, even if strict, allowed a slowly and adapted return of these events.
This is the case of International Awards Virtus, which took place from 12 to 14 June 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal, under the OIV patronage. The dates initially scheduled for this year’s edition had be to changed, but that didn’t discourage the organisers. “Our competition is at its third edition, we are growing and it was fundamental for us to do it. We considered that cancelling the event wouldn’t be favourable to our evolution”, explained Tomas de Soto Rioja, Virtus General Manager.
© Photo: Ricardo Palma Veiga
A decision that required a significant investment to guarantee the necessary sanitary conditions, such as the antigenic tests which the jurors had to do before entering the competition building where the event was held: the Fundação Cidade de Lisboa.
For Tomas, the most difficult aspect during a pandemic is the unpredictability: “something that is allowed one day, the following day may be legally forbidden, we never know what to count with”, referred.
Earlier in October 2020, in South America, the OIV Brazilian expert Fernanda Spinelli participated in the Brazil Wine Challenge, in Bento Gonçalves (Brazil). Despite the pandemic, the competition also under the OIV patronage, organised by the “Associação Brasileira de Enologia, “had more participation then it was expected, with a greater number of samples compared to its last edition”, referred Fernanda. When it comes to the sanitary protocol, the OIV expert explained that “the distance between the juror tables was respected and the use of masks was mandatory whenever the participants weren’t tasting, with the constant use of hydroalcoholic gel”. Even the meals “were thought out and scheduled to keep the tasters separate”. Fernanda explained that “this was the way found to maintain the event and avoid its cancellation”. From a personal perspective, Fernanda considered the competition a “very interesting and enriching experience”, and for her satisfaction “with a large feminine participation”.
© Photo: Brazil Wine Challenge
Exceptional measures for an exceptional situation
The OIV grants patronage to international or national competitions of wine and spirits of vitivinicultural origin, which required it and provided that their organisation and internal rules procedures are in accordance with the international standards of the Organisation. (learn more about the OIV patronage here).
Aware of the current exceptional situation, the Organisation introduced derogatory measures concerning the geographical dispersion of jurors in international competitions.
The OIV supports the activity of the wine sector by inviting wine competitions to rely on national tasters during this transitional period. “It was extremely important. We wouldn’t be able to maintain the competition if it wasn’t for that.”, affirmed the International Awards Virtus competition General Manager.
The International Awards Virtus is a “familiar spirit” wine competition, held since its beginning in Lisbon. In 2021, an international jury of 27 people evaluated 376 samples in competition, from 9 countries.
This measure was also observed in the Brazil Wine Challenge, with 49 national tasters against 8 international judges. A competition in which 774 samples from 16 countries were tasted.