The biggest vineyard in the world
...that all but disappeared
Everything is ephemeral, both that which remembers and that which is remembered. Marcus Aurelius
UPCOMING AND ONGOING WINE EVENTS
On 6 March, the first wine of the Clos des Arenes will be bottled at the Mairie du 5e. On 8 March, in the Clos des Arènes itself, there is a pruning and replanting workshop starting at 10am. For both events, contact@clos-des-arenes.fr for full details.
The 2nd pruning festival for the Domaine Viticole Paris Gravelle is being held on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March 2025. For details and to sign up to participate, click here.
The tasting of Austrian wines at Fringe Café, 106 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris continues every day from 6pm-11:59pm through till the end of February (which sadly, is tomorrow)
The fact that the Île-de-France was once the biggest vineyard region in the entire world is but a footnote in the history of Paris. It is but a blip, a forgotten era that has somehow been ignominiously excluded from what seems to prevail as the grander history of the French capital.
Having been made aware that the vineyards of the Paris region once exceeded those of every other vineyard region of the world, I have been baffled ever since by the general lack of interest in this, at least for wine lovers (if no one else), salient bit of wine history. And yet it is wine that fuelled the expansion of Paris and the surrounding region, and it is wine that is directly and irrefutably responsible for the existence of gothic architecture.
There are vestiges throughout the Paris region, reminders in the form of municipal, associative, heritage vineyards, historical plaques, museums, tools, and winery cellars that perdure, but are mostly hidden. Although it is certainly a reach to say so, exploring this history is not unlike archaeological research of past civilisations. Digging into this not so distant past provides us with a, dare I say, earthier perspective on how lives were lived around the French capital. The work of cultivating vines, making and selling wine occupied a very large portion of the population, in many instances being the singularly biggest part of the economy.
Admittedly, centuries of history and multiple layers of human endeavour have been effaced by what followed after, and so this little chapter in the grand scheme of things is of no great consequence. It is, however, an intriguing tale that continues to evolve.
VINEYARDS AROUND PARIS – A Renaissance
The vineyards of France are well established, world renowned and have remained pretty much the same for centuries. But the vineyards of the Île-de-France are making a comeback, although it is doubtful they will ever come close to the glory they once new.
Up until 2016, there was a ban on the commercialisation of wine from the Île-de-France, which the European Commission lifted after years of lobbying by the Syndicat des Vignerons d’Île-de-France, and in 2020, five IGP (indication géographique protégé, similar to an AOC) labels were granted. The vineyards of the Île-de-France are beginning to emerge from obscurity, benefitting from a renaissance that has only just begun.
In the 19th century, the vines of the Île-de-France went into a steep decline, to the point of practically being forgotten. Isolated plots of ‘vignes franches’ (non-commercial vineyards) here and there around Paris have sustained the memory of this past greatness but are known only to an informed coterie of impassioned wine lovers, and completely ignored by the general public.
This decline was due to a number of events and circumstances, culminating with urbanisation as the wealth generated through the sale of ‘Francoy’ (in the Middle Ages, ‘France’ was limited to the Île-de-France) wines grew, urban expansion also grew, with housing and industry replacing vineyards. The current struggle of protecting agricultural lands from construction, and preserving green spaces is not new, and has been the source of tensions in the Île-de-France between those we would today call ecologists and those we might generally refer to as developers, for centuries.
Another factor that contributed to this decline was a drop in quality. In the Middle Ages, peasants were deprived of wine and drank ale or ‘pomace’, a drink made of water filtered through grape mash as water was often contaminated. From the 17th century, when a broader range of the common people began drinking wine, quantity took precedence over quality in the Île-de-France, carrying on through to the time of the French revolution. The traditional consumers—nobles and the clergy—switched to wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux as transportation networks developed. This was the principal reason for the ruin of the reputation of ‘Francoy’ wines and the subsequent rise in the reputations of Burgundy and Bordeaux. The development of the railway, which made cheap wines from the south available in large volumes was another factor and the arrival of phylloxera in the mid 1800’s, the nail in the coffin.
But there is a renaissance in progress. Since 2016, when the European commission reversed the ban on commercial wine production in the Île-de-France, the combined surface area of vines planted in the Paris region has tripled and as of May 2020, been awarded with the distinction of its own IGP labels (indication géographique protégée or protected designation of origin).
Today, the territory of the IGP Île-de-France has around forty professional farms, for a hundred hectares planted or being planted. Patrice Bersac, the president of the Vignerons Franciliens Réunis (Greater Paris Winegrowers) and the Syndicat des Vignerons d’Ile-de-France (SYVIF - Syndicate of Île-de-France wine growers) says “we plan to reach 300 ha within two years, several farmers, especially from Seine-et-Marne, planning to diversify and integrate wine production into their activities”.
For twenty years, the SYVIF has campaigned for the Ile-de-France vineyard to emerge from its marginalization. With the approval of the IGP Ile-de-France wine specifications on 19 May, 2020, a new chapter has opened up for its supporters. “The liberalization of planting rights has enabled the creation of new farms, which has given new impetus to our campaign,” says Patrice Bersac.
The appellation covers the 8 departments of the Ile-de-France region, but also the departments of Aisne, Oise and Eure-et-Loir and includes a potential 73 different grape varietals that can be used in wine making.
Though the quality of these wines varies greatly from one domain to another, the revival of vineyard areas that were traditionally planted to vines is gaining traction. Some regard this as a kind of bobo fad that finds its roots in the growing appetite for natural wines, but the profiles of most of the growers, some very well advanced in years and stewards of their land for most of their lives, would suggest otherwise. There is something more profound and rooted in this passion for reviving forgotten vineyards. Though a certain degree of nostalgia is undoubtedly present, there is also a real conviction that the reputation for quality this area once held can be rediscovered and revived.
In addition to these private domains, there are a number of municipal vineyards managed by local parks and gardens staff. Composed of 39% of green spaces and forests, Grand Paris Seine Ouest forms a green belt in the Paris region that is rich in biodiversity, with vineyards forming a tie-in with the region’s viticultural past.
All of these events combined point to a potential transformation in the hierarchy of French wines. But will these new vineyards be able to compete with the ‘traditional’ regions of Champagne, Burgundy, the Loire and Bordeaux? All of the elements required to make great wines are present, as the region has been a quality wine producer for centuries. Meanwhile, there is another factor that is also playing into the hands of these new vineyards.
Climate change is seen as an advantage for vineyards planted further north, and the Île-de-France is the northernmost vineyard region of France apart from Champagne. It is suggested that this would make the Île-de-France the new Burgundy or the new Loire, and Burgundy, the new Côte du Rhone… Whatever truth there may be in this is disconcerting and myopic as it blithely ignores the more harrowing truth of the geopolitical impacts of climate change. The world is coming to an end? At least we’ll have wine to drink… like playing your fiddle while Rome burns.
Can we be optimistic? This is of course a matter of degree as it’s rather hard to imagine with the current political climate that we might be able to reign in this mounting disaster. The guilty pleasures of improved quality in wines or the possibility of vineyards being planted ever farther north because of climate change might therefore be enjoyed with legitimate satisfaction if at the same time, we are consciously striving to diminish our carbon footprints. To which wines produced organically and more locally would also contribute.
The future of the Île-de-France vineyards is thus a positive negative. On the one hand, climate change encouraging better maturity and hence quality and local production feeding into the virtuous cycle of production proximity in the supply chain, and on the other, the possibility of northern planted vineyards being an irrefutable indicator of climate change. Whatever your stand on this, the vine’s capacity to expand cultural riches, introduce a more civilised lifestyle and function as a communicator, might also help to increase awareness of this far-reaching issue.
Generally, it takes at least five years before anything of quality comes from a vine and so the Île-de-France still has a way to go. In the long run, it will be interesting to see how this story unfolds, and unfolding it is. In the meanwhile, vines need to be planted and wines need to be made, reaffirming the role the vine continues to play in and around Paris.
Thank you for letting me into your world and for reading the Paris Wine Walks Substack. Your support is invaluable as are your comments, suggestions, critiques, dreams, thoughts and remembrances. A little encouragement goes a long way, so please consider a paid subscription, which need cost no more than (a cheap) glass of wine per week. Or, book a wine walk!
My book, ‘The Hidden Vineyards of Paris’ (reviewed in Jancis Robinson’s wine blog, the Wine Economist, National Geographic Traveler UK, UK Telegraph) is available for purchase via our website and at anglophone bookshops and wine shops in Paris. You can also find it at the Musée de Montmartre and the Librairie Gourmande.
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