We’re in Avignon, on a guided tour of the Palace of the Popes. We’ve just learned that the first pope to settle in Avignon arrived in 1309. He hadn’t planned on moving in permanently, but some invisible force kept him from leaving. Wanna know what it was? I think it had something to do with Chateauneuf du Pape.
The first pope to settle in Avignon was Pope Clement V. Before being elected pope, he’d been the Archbishop of Bordeaux, so it stands to reason that he knew a thing or two about wine.
Why Settle in Avignon?
Just north of Avignon, vintners in the Rhône Valley had been making some very tasty wine. My guess is that the new pope took a liking to it.
In the 14th century, wine didn’t travel well. The only way to keep it cool in the scorching-hot summers of southern France was to store it underground, in caves. So if the pope wanted to drink his favorite wine all year round, he’d have to stay near where it was produced.
One can almost read the Pope’s mind. Avignon, located just south of the fertile slopes of the Rhône Valley, was centrally located in the Christian world of the day. A stone’s throw from where this great wine is produced. Why not set up shop here?
But what about Rome? Rome was a mess in those days. And at the time, the Church and The Holy Roman Empire weren’t getting along. That’s putting it mildly. A pope excommunicated a king. Thugs broke into papal quarters and beat a pope to death. Rome was no longer a safe place to be, not even for a pope.
So the pope made Avignon his home. And the next pope, too. And the one after that and the next four after that. For the next 100 years, Avignon became a boom-town and grew like crazy.
The Wine of the Pope
Wine producers in the Rhône Valley knew a good thing when they saw one. When the pope moved to Avignon, they really upped their game. No expense was spared to make the best wine possible.
They started calling wine from the region, “Vin du Pape.” (Wine of the Pope). Not a bad marketing ploy, I’d say. Who wouldn’t want to drink the same wine that the Pope was drinking?
One of the Avignon popes took an interest in an old castle called Chateauneuf. (New Castle). It was located outside of Avignon in a small village surrounded by vineyards. The pope renovated and refurbished the aging castle, making it his own.
Now the Pope had his own place in the country, nestled in the midst of those wonderful vineyards. Nice!
The old Chateauneuf Castle became known as “Chateauneuf du Pape.” Eventually, the local wine called “Vin du Pape” became known as “Chateauneuf du Pape.” And the little village as well.
Chateauneuf du Pape became a first-rate wine. It was different than wine produced anywhere else. Unfortunately, due to it’s popularity and its hefty price, wine counterfeiters started slapping “Chateauneuf du Pape” labels on wine at will.
Appellation d’Origine Contrôllée
A wine counterfeiter in France is akin to a horse thief in the American Old West. Very bad. The worst of the worst. To fight back, Rhône Valley wine producers got organized. They created a long list of very specific rules defining exactly what is and what isn’t Chateauneuf du Pape wine.
The new rules dictated what types of grapes to use, and how to blend them. Certain types of grapes could only be grown in certain places. They set limits on yield, forcing growers to strive for quality, not quantity of grapes harvested.
The rules defined an “Appellation d’Origine Contrôllée, or “AOC.” Having the AOC would help insure that any bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape that has AOC on the label would meet a certain quality standard. Anyone caught putting “AOC” on a label without following the rules found themselves in serious trouble.
Producers of Chateauneuf du Pape created the concept of an AOC, but now it’s done everywhere. Having “AOC,” or its equivalent on the label allows producers to charge more for their wine, but it also insures that the stuff in the bottle is the real thing.
Okay Then, Let’s Go to Chateauneuf du Pape
The story of Chateau Neuf du Pape piqued our interest. The little town of Chateauneuf du Pape isn’t far from here. If we can find our way out of Avignon, we can jump on the highway and be in Chateauneuf du Pape in time for lunch. All that wine talk can generate a powerful thirst, eh? And an appetite, too!
To be continued…
