The Feast of Saint Vincent, patron saint of winegrowers

 

In Champagne, January sits in the middle of winter, between the harvest of last year’s vintage and the start of new growth (bud burst) for the coming year’s crop. The crucial and foundational step of pruning the vines started soon after harvest, around November, and will have been paused since mid-December while the Champenoise celebrate the holiday season with family and friends.

However, work needs to resume eventually, and this usually happens around 22 January, the feast day of Saint Vincent: but not without some festive fanfare.

Saint Vincent, the patron saint of winegrowers

Saint Vincent of Zaragoza (or Saragossa) was a Spanish deacon who was martyred in 304 CE, having been condemned to brutal torture during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

There is a rich and varied legend explaining his patronage of winegrowers. Some say that it is due to his torture on a wine press, his blood flowing instead of wine, and his name, a play on words: ‘vin sang’ or ‘wine blood’.

A story with perhaps more historical grounding explains that, following his death, his body and relics ended up at what is now the Saint-Germain-des-Prés abbey, whose monks called upon him to look after the vines growing there.

Another apocryphal story is that one day, while Vincent stopped in a vineyard to talk with the vintner, Vincent’s donkey ‘pruned’ (that is, ate) some vine shoots, and those vines later yielded a better harvest. It is either a coincidence or because of this that winegrowers traditionally resume pruning (even if only symbolically) on his feast day.

The confréries

Confréries de Saint-Vincent (confraternities, or brotherhoods, of Saint Vincent) have existed since at least the 15th century, and their purpose has been social, religious and also for mutual assistance. Most of the parishes (paroisse; similar to what are now communes in France) of Champagne had their own confraternities, and some spanned multiple parishes. But these, like all such associations, were banished during the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century.

By the end of the 19th century, these confraternities had begun to re-emerge, albeit slowly. It wasn’t until the 1930s that their membership exploded such that, by the 1970s, there were confraternities across all of Champagne’s wine-producing regions. This was undoubtedly spurred, in part, by the formation of the Archiconfrérie Saint-Vincent des Vignerons de la Champagne, an archconfraternity that brought together all the confraternities of Saint Vincent in Champagne, chaired by two co-presidents: one representing the Houses, one representing the growers.

Fête de la Saint Vincent (the Feast of Saint Vincent)

Each year, on 22 January, winegrowers gather to thank their patron saint for the past year and to pray for protection for the coming year’s harvest. This has been celebrated since the Middle Ages—not only in France but also in Spain, Italy and other wine regions in Europe.

Local village celebrations take place on this day (though sometimes on a weekend immediately before or after). A larger festival is hosted by the Archiconfrérie Saint-Vincent des Vignerons de la Champagne (since 1991) for all villages the previous weekend in one of the major cities of Champagne: Épernay hosts for two consecutive years before it goes to either Château-Thierry, Reims or Troyes. In 2023, the festival was held in Château-Thierry, so it was back in Épernay for 2024 (where it will be again for the 2025 edition). (In Burgundy, the grand festival, called the tournante, is held after the feast day, in the last weekend of January; Chablis has its own tournante the week after that. In both regions, different villages rotate hosting duties so as to spotlight that village’s wines.)

The format of these celebrations is rooted in tradition and has changed little over the years. For the village celebrations, a winegrower member of the confraternity offers a barrel of wine for the day, and the village gathers at their house in the morning. They will also have held on to the bâton of Saint Vincent (a staff topped by an ornate, carved statue of the saint) handed to them following last year’s celebration. From here, the procession through the village to the church begins, announced with fanfare. The holder of the bâton is followed by other statues and banners of Saint Vincent; members of the confraternity and other dignitaries; children and other villagers dressed in traditional clothing; and wine-making tools, the barrel of wine and small towers of brioches carried on stretchers.

Arriving at the church, the congregation thanks the saint and prays for blessings for the year’s crop. It’s more of a party than a mass, with lively music and singing throughout. The wine and brioches are blessed and shared, then celebrations move to the village hall.

At the hall, the head of the confraternity addresses its members and their families, taking stock of the past year and the champagne market before handing out various viticultural awards. Traditionally, after the speeches, the attendees would drink from the blessed barrel, though nowadays this has been replaced by bottles of champagne. The rest of the brioches are distributed, and sometimes there are auctions for the benefit of the confraternity. Banquets, balls and other festivities follow, running all through the night.

This is much the same format in the bigger celebration uniting all villages the week before, though there, representatives of each village (some 300+ of them) and House march under their own banners in the parade.

 

These are significant celebrations throughout the Champagne region, since just about everyone is in some way connected to its wine industry. The sense of pride and unity reinforced by these traditions, and the mutual assistance offered within the confraternities that maintain them, is what has ensured, and will ensure for years to come, the quality and longevity of champagne.

So, it’s no surprise that champagne continues to delight and astound, and it’s why we will continue to sing its praises and share insights and stories like this to help our passionate grower champagne community gain a fuller understanding and appreciation of champagne’s traditions, complexities and mysteries. Come and find your next grower champagne adventure with us at Sally Hillman.

 

Feature image: @epernaytourisme