A True Revolution?: Quality Wines in the Languedoc on the Long Run (19th-21st Century)

For several years now, the specialized press as well as the general media have been discussing the renewal of the Languedoc vineyard in terms of the question of the qualitative revolution that would seem be underway in one of the world’s largest wine-producing areas. Indeed, since the 1850s, Languedoc viticulture has been associated with mass production of poor quality wines, destined to be drunk at best by the working or underprivileged classes. It was also used to enhance the wines produced throughout the country, which were very low in alcohol content and color. In other words, it was a wine without identity for the public in France. For nearly 150 years, Languedoc wines were thus equated with mediocre wines, with pejorative nicknames, at best ＂pinard＂, at worst ＂vinasse＂, and even ＂piquette＂. This reputation defined the Languedoc vineyards until the end of the 20th century, when a general movement pushed local producers to transform their practices and techniques. Thus, in this context, the new reputation of Languedoc wines can indeed appear as a real revolution. This paper aims to question this conception and to put into perspective both the reputation of Languedoc wines over time, and also the practices or discourses seeking to establish or promote quality viticulture in the Midi of France since the middle of the 19th century. We then realize that the reality is more complicated than the historical shortcuts suggest and that there was a real qualitative trend in Languedoc as soon as the end of the 19th century, unfortunately drowned under mass production, making its presence invisible.

關鍵字

wine ； Languedoc ； reputation ； quality ； market

並列摘要

近年來，專業與一般媒體常報導隆格多克（Languedoc）這個全球最大葡萄酒產區之一的產品品質革命。如眾所周知，自1850年代以來，隆格多克葡萄酒雖然量多但被認為品質不良，至多只能是工人和弱勢階級的酒飲，也常被其他產區拿去充當低酒精度、顏色淡的廉價酒。換句話說，隆格多克葡萄酒在法國不被認可。將近150年來，隆格多克葡萄酒等同於粗鄙，被賦與許多貶義綽號，尚可的評價是｢粗黑酒｣（pinard）、比較差的說法是｢酸劣酒｣（piquette）、甚至被說成是｢爛紅酒｣（vinasse）等。隆格多克葡萄園的名聲就這樣被定調，直到20世紀末興起一項改革運動，促使本地生產者提升其生產方式與技術。因此，在這個脈絡下，隆格多克葡萄酒的新聲譽可被視為一場真正的革命。本文旨在研究這一場改革運動，檢視隆格多克葡萄酒聲譽的演變過程，以及19世紀中葉以降，法國南部葡萄酒產區如何經由實踐來建立品質的論述。我們發現，事實上隆格多克早在19世紀末就有開始進行品質提升的趨勢，只是因為生產規模過大被忽略，直到當代。