Wine During & After the First World War (The Great War, 1914-1918)

Wine History & Culture

As today is the 11^th of November (Armistice Day), I thought it would be fitting to dedicate this week’s post to investigating the role of Wine and impact on Wine Production during World War I in France.

Around one month after the war began in 1914, the French Army began to distribute daily rations of wine to its soldiers, to begin with it was a 250ml, but by 1917 it had increased to the equivalent of a full bottle each day (750ml). However, it was often diluted with water and only around 9% ABV – it wasn’t the best tasting wine and was nicknamed ‘Pinard’. The marching song ‘Ode du Pinard’ described the absolute truth about the quality of the wine; that it was terrible but the only thing going. Regardless of this, wine was taken on as a symbol of national unity and identity during the war – reminding the soldiers of their homes and the reason for fighting.

There were multiple objectives behind this rationing, other than sustaining morale in the trenches to make the soldiers more willing to endure suffering and boredom, there was a medical consensus about the benefits of wine drinking and to support the French wine industry - as there were fears of losing its main consumers. During 1915, the French National Assembly voted to send Champagne (which symbolises celebration and peace) as a morale booster to troops and military hospitals on a regular basis!

However, it wasn’t just the French soldiers that were drinking wine on the frontlines and in the Trenches but soldiers from other countries. The wine was usually a cheap Vin Blanc or Vin Rouge, with the amalgamation of accents from multiple countries (French, English, American, Australian etc.) these were often referred to as ‘Vin Blank’ and ‘Vin Roush’. These developed during the war into slang, ‘Von Blinked’ meaning drunk and ‘Point Blanc’ meaning hungover – it is believed that a variation of these lead to the term that is still used today to describe cheap, low-quality wine - ‘Plonk’.

A Thirst for Wine and War: The Intoxication of French Soldiers on the Western Front (Intoxicating Histories) - Book by Adam D. Zienteck

War changed the French wine industry forever by destroying much of the landscape, one of the key geographical strategic points on the Western Front was the Champagne region. This region lost more than half its population, and an estimated 40% of its vineyards.

In Epernay (a city in the Champagne region), the mayor was one of the few officials who didn’t flee when the Germans invaded on September 4 1914 – “I will stay no matter what happens, to reassure and to comfort those who wish to leave by cannot. And I will do all that is humanly possible to defend them”, Maurice Pol-Roger (head of Pol Roger Champagne & Epernay’s mayor). The best-known, most loyal customer of Pol Roger Champagne was Winston Churchill who famously spurred on the troops by saying “Remember, gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s champagne”.

"Very much up." Cartoon by Bernard Partridge depicting the French and Americans hitting back at the Germans in the Champagne counter offensive in July 1918. Foch was the French commander-in-chief of the Allied armies, as the name on the bottle label indicates. The soldier hit is German. Punch Limited

Despite the men all being sent to war as soldiers, the experienced workforce was replaced by the inexperienced - women, children and the elderly. The conditions weren’t favourable with horses being requisitioned, not enough fertiliser or anti-parasite products, the harvest houses being occupied by troops and with artillery fire making the vines a dangerous place to work.

Regardless of this, production was maintained in France throughout the war at roughly half the normal level, and the quality was even very good for most of the wines (for some 1914 was one of the best vintages of the twentieth century). However, due to the precarious conditions for some of the vineyards some grapes were picked prematurely and these produced wines with such exaggerated acidity.

As the War dragged on, consumption kept rising in the trenches resulting in an increase in drunkenness and alcoholism – this also resulted in a growing demand on the frontlines which had a positive effect on the national wine trade.

After the War, most vineyards were re-established – but there was some loss in international trade as a result where countries were recovering themselves from the War and unfortunately did not prioritise the importation of wine. Following this, there was also the impact of Prohibition in the US from 1920-1933 which prohibited the importation of alcoholic beverages – meaning that the French lost a major consumer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the loss of international trade that had a negative impact on French wine trade, but also a continuation of the impact of the phylloxera outbreak from the 1870s – where the dramatic drop in production lead to an increase in fraudulent wine.

These factors lead to the creation of the 1935 Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) which is a certification of authenticity designed to protect distinctive and traditional products, based on the concept of terroir (this doesn’t just apply to wine, but also to other agricultural products, such as cheese, meat, honey etc).

Firstly, wine was defined as being made from fresh grapes and the addition of water was made illegal and secondly the French Government created 12 wine regions in France (Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Jura & Savoie, Beaujolais, Rhône Valley, Provence, Corsica, Langeudoc-Roussillon, South West, Bordeaux & Loire Valley). Laws were passed that aimed to control viticulture and methods of production and this was not only good for the winemakers, but for wine drinkers. It helps you to know what to expect from your wine and gives assurances on the quality.

While today the AOC system is sometimes criticized as being too restrictive, none can deny its effectiveness at preserving regional identities and heritage. As a testimony to its success, it became the blueprint for almost every other appellation program established around the world.

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Sources

SJMC

Worldwar1centennial

Union des Maisons de Champagne

Journal of Wine Research

Decanter

Thisdayinwinehistory