Andrew W. M. Smith - Terror and terroir: The winegrowers of the Languedoc and modern France

Terror and terroir

Edited by
David Hopkin and Mire Cross

This series is published in collaboration with the UK Society for the Study of French History. It aims to showcase innovative short monographs relating to the history of the French, in France and in the world since c.1750. Each volume speaks to a theme in the history of France with broader resonances to other discourses about the past. Authors demonstrate how the sources and interpretations of modern French history are being opened to historical investigation in new and interesting ways, and how unfamiliar subjects have the capacity to tell us more about the role of France within the European continent. The series is particularly open to interdisciplinary studies that break down the traditional boundaries and conventional disciplinary divisions.

Titles already published in this series

Emile and Isaac Pereire: Bankers, Socialists and Sephardic Jews in nineteenthcentury France Helen Davies

Catholicism and childrens literature in France: The comtesse de Sgur (17991874) Sophie Heywood

Aristocratic families in republican France, 18701940 Elizabeth C. Macknight

The republican line: Caricature and French republican identity, 183052 Laura OBrien

The routes to exile: France and the Spanish Civil War refugees, 19392009 Scott Soo

Terror and terroir

The winegrowers of the Languedoc and modern France

ANDREW W. M. SMITH

Manchester University Press

Copyright Andrew W. M. Smith 2016

The right of Andrew W. M. Smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA

www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for

ISBN 978 1 7849 9435 8

First published 2016

The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Typeset by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire

This work is the product of a lot of research, a lot of collaboration and a lot of wine. Ive enjoyed all three, and regretted the third only in excess. Many friends and colleagues have helped to proof-read and critique sections of my work, stemming from time in a number of institutions, firstly St Andrews, then Queen Mary and now UCL. Andrew Dodd willingly discussed many of this projects minutiae, providing an excellent sounding board and partner for debate. Stephen Tyre and Jerry DeGroot encouraged my interest and enthusiasm for this topic when I was still an undergraduate. Julian Jackson was a generous and engaging supervisor of the thesis on which this work was based. His tireless engagement with the project was crucial to its completion, and development thereafter. Colin Jones was also extremely kind to take the time to provide comments and guidance on my thesis. My examiners, Robert Gildea and Richard Vinen, encouraged me to explore key points in my argument and provided many suggestions that helped to improve this work. Eleanor Davey and Ed Naylor provided useful insight and constructive criticism of various chapters when this work was in its infancy. Alison Carrol and Noelle Plack provided important insight on early chapter drafts, and the overall direction of the book. Chris Jeppesen has provided useful comments on drafts and encouraged me to address new topics within the study. In putting together the outline and proposal, both Ludivine Broch and Margot Finn were generous with advice and suggestions from their own experiences. I am extraordinarily thankful for the input and thoughts of these scholars, and the positive influence they have had on my work. There are many others, in addition, who have helped shape the content of this book, and for that I am grateful. Mention need also be made of my rugby team, the Clapham Strokers, a social foil to a scholarly life.

Researching the history of wine was an enjoyable experience, and the Languedoc is a wonderful place to visit and to study. This project relied on the support of a number of Departmental Archives across the region. In particular, the archivists at the Archives Dpartementales de lAude must constitute some of the finest in France. They flagged up many relevant works, not to mention that of Lawrence McFalls, when they assumed that the name McFalls must mean he was Scottish and wondered if we were acquainted. Lawrence McFalls (Universit de Montral) subsequently provided advice by correspondence, and was helpful in delineating the boundaries of this study. Michelle Zancarini-Fournel (Universit de Lyon) was also very generous in her advice relating to Montredons relationship with 1968. I must likewise express gratitude to those that responded to interviews, whether that contact was by email, telephone or simply my knocking unexpectedly upon their door. Some of those approached offered advice and guidance in longer correspondences. Amongst these was Jean Clavel, a prolific commentator with many publications and an active blog. His book Mondialisation des vins was kindly donated to the author by Mme Batrice de Chabert of the Syndicat AOC Coteaux de Languedoc. The Editor of Paysan du Midi, Philippe Cazal, was also generous with his time and knowledge and even kind enough to forward me articles of interest. These researchers and professionals were kind enough to support me, even as I contacted them out of the blue.

The Society for the Study of French History has also been a great help, both through its financial support and its efforts to foster the discussion of French history more broadly. I have been extraordinarily lucky to be involved with the Society and its committee. I have learned a lot and made good friends along the way.

I am grateful to my family, who have remained convinced that I would complete this project and succeed thereafter, specifically my mother, Christine. Finally, my wife, Holly, has provided constant support. She has proof-read copious drafts and listened patiently to plans, ideas and arguments as the book took shape. Both her encouragement and her belief were as essential to the completion of this piece as she is to me.