Clos-Vougeot Meetings 2018 | Claudine Wolikow Jocelyne Pérard

The Rencontres du Clos-Vougeot were initiated by the UNESCO Chair "Culture and Traditions of Wine", the only UNESCO chair in the world focusing on vine and wine issues, established in 2007 at the University of Burgundy. These annual meetings "aim at understanding wine as a cultural product, a vector of civilization, whose enlightened consumption is part of a true art of living and a philosophy linked to conviviality and sharing, humanistic values if ever there were any".
The twelfth edition of these Meetings, entitled "Vineyards and Singular Wines, from the Unique to the Plural" will take place at the Château du Clos-Vougeot on October 4, 5, 6, 2018.
Drawing on research in various disciplines, around thirty international speakers will present rare, sometimes unusual, models of vineyards and wines from around the world. They will try to trace their origins and explain their reputation within the world of viticulture.
The inaugural conference by Pascal Reigniez, "At the Roots of Vitiviniculture: the Vineyard of Georgia", recalls that it is in this region of the Caucasus that men first produced wine. Archaeological remains at least 7000 years old discovered in Georgia and Armenia attest to this and show traditional winemaking techniques practiced in buried jars. These practices, which constitute a unique and exceptional heritage, have been passed down by winemakers to this day and have recently been adopted in other vineyards around the world. *

The first session is titled "Unique or Copied Models". With examples from Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and later periods, the roots and facets of particular wines will be presented.
Some of these highly reputed wines are produced using specific techniques, such as withering, "veil formation", or stopping fermentation, sometimes very ancient techniques that were initiated and perfected in several European vineyards, then spread to the rest of the world.

The second session, "Natural Constraints and Human Genius for Atypical Models", emphasizes the constant inventiveness and tenacious determination of vine and wine men to produce and valorize their production in extreme natural conditions. Also discussed will be singular wines born from historical and religious circumstances.
The debate at the closing roundtable will focus on "The Burgundian Model, Unique or Plural?", chaired by Christian Vanier, General Director of the BIVB.