Wine in the Middle Ages
Although the Middle Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire, we can be thankful that the drink of Bacchus (Roman God of wine) didn’t fall with it! But it is interesting to note how much the political and religious environment of the Middle Ages has shaped the wine industry of today.
In the 5th century AD, wine was forever altered by the influence of church and state, even though there were relatively few advances in how wine was actually made over the next thousand years.
As Roman ruled Empires crumbled, so did its dominance as a wine producer. Over the course of the Middle Ages, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain – a country whose wine-related fortunes rose and fell depending on the religion of its rulers – would all become increasingly important winemaking countries. Other important wine nations, such as Greece and Hungary, which produced a legendary dessert wine known as Tokaji, would also emerge during this era. And it was during this time that a new nation, England, became one of the most influential countries in the wine world; not because it made great wine but because it bought more wine than anyone else, a standing it has yet to relinquish.
The English thirst for wine during the Middle Ages and their insatiable hunger for French wine (their favourite was Claret – a light red wine from Bordeaux) would see France rise to the ranks of the most important wine producing nation. Of course, during the Middle Ages, Britain and France were often at war and new nations, such as Portugal, would rise to become the preferred trading partner of England, which led to new wine powers and styles of wine, such as Port.
It was also during the Middle Ages that the church became increasingly important, particularly in many areas of France, such as Champagne, Burgundy and the Rhone Valley. While countries like Spain periodically ran a little dry during occupations of the country by the Moors, in France where the influence of the Roman Catholic Church remained strong, the church increasingly became involved in winemaking. It was for this reason that monks would become the winemaking geniuses of the day, a title that would extend into this century as well.