Winemakers throughout Burgundy will celebrate his birthday on January 22 with a colorful procession, possibly a mass, and definitely a traditional feast of roast pig. Some wine will be consumed. One week later the patron saint of the vine will be honored again, this time in the town of Chassagne Montrachet for the Saint-Vincent Tournante (tournante because a different village takes its “turn” each year). Since 1938, the festival has been organized by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin (the name alone makes you want to join). By the way, if you should need a tastevin or a wine map of Burgundy…
How Saint-Vincent became the patron saint of the vine, however, is a more full-bodied discussion. He’s also the patron saint of negociants, oenologists, wine inspectors, vinegar makers, and café proprietors. Some believe that the first syllable of his name provides a clue but by that reasoning, Saint Arthur would be the patron saint of the arts. The manner of his martyrdom, evocative of grapes being crushed by a press is not a happy association for such a pleasant profession. The journalist Bernard Pivot believes the answer lies with some of Saint-Vincent’s relics, a few of which found their way to a small wine-making parish in Paris. The monks invoked Saint Vincent to protect their vines from frost and hail and from that point his reputation spread. Centuries later the abbey would change its name from Saint-Croix-Saint-Vincent to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. No wonder a glass of red at the Brasserie Lipp, Les Deux Magots and the Café de Flore is so pricey.
A la votre,
