STAT 20
The History, Geography and Economics of the Wines of France Winter 2020

This is not the current course catalog

The history of wine making in France is long, dating back to the Greeks and later the Romans. Of course, geography and climate play an essential and important role in grape growing The first areas to be planted were the areas around present day Marseille, (Massalia in Ancient Greece) in Provence, and the areas just north farther up the Rhône river valley. We will briefly survey the history of wine in France from the Romans through the middle ages, the influence of monasteries on wine production, the impact of the French revolution and the evolution of the modern classification system in the 19th century, which is still in place today. We will look at temperature data and study the relationship between temperature change and quality. We will discuss the impact of wine “scorers” such as Robert Parker as his influence on the economics of the French wine market. Finally, we will discuss the role of wine in French cuisine and the importance of wine to French culture. SELECTED REFERENCES [1] Climate, hydrology, land use, and environmental degradation in the lower Rhone Valley during the Roman period, SE Van der Leeuw – Comptes Rendu, Geosciences, 2005, Elsevier [2] The red and the white : a history of wine in France and Italy in the nineteenth century / by Leo A. Loubère ; drawings by Mark Blanton and Philip Loubère Albany : State University of New York Press, 1978 [3] Climate Change and Global Wine Quality, Jones, G. V. White, M. A. Cooper, O. R. Storchmann, K.,Climatic Change, 2005, VOL 73; NUMBER 3, pages 319-343. [4] Wine Growers’ Syndicalism in the Languedoc: Continuity and Change, Jean Phillpe Martin, Sociologia Ruralis, 36,3,1996. [5] The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, Adam Gopnik, Knopf, 2011 (Possible required book). [6] Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure, D. Kladstrup and P. Kaldstrup , Broadway Books, 2002.