‘Inventing Traditional’ @ DEAR ANNIE

A class held on Sunday, March 24, 2024 at Dear Annie, a wine bar in Cambridge, MA, as part of Lauren Friel’s tasting series UNRULY.

What does ‘traditional’ wine mean to you? Does ‘tradition’ have associations with certain places, kinds of people, aesthetics? What kinds of wines get to be traditional? How far back do those traditions go?

Using a communal table with a series of years connected by a rainbow-colored thread, we collectively assembled a timeline of wine’s histories, linked to what was in our glasses, by gradually matching cards to their corresponding years.

We poured bottles from 200+ year-old pais vines in Bío Bío, where the Mapuche ended the era of conquista in 1598; skin-contact, 150 year-old merwah in northern Lebanon; Appalachian lees-aged hybrids fermented 15 minutes from where catawba, once the most-planted wine grape in the United States, was born; a co-ferment in Georgian qvevri; pinot noir rosé from Sancerre.

By the end, the table was full — and we’d had a chance to see how deep the roots went of what feels surprising, esoteric, and new in wine right now.

Below, a written-out version of the timeline we built, with the wine each date was associated with:

~ 6,000 BCE

CLAY VESSELS DECORATED WITH GRAPE CLUSTERS,
POLLEN ON THE HILLSIDES (GADACHRILI GORA,
PRESENT-DAY REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA)
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

~ 4,000 BCE

STONE PRESS IN A CAVE WINERY, MEN AND
WOMEN BURIED WITH DRINKING HORNS
(ARENI, PRESENT-DAY ARMENIA)
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

~ 1,550 BCE

PHOENICIANS SPREAD WINE THROUGH
THE MEDITERRANEAN FROM PORTS ON
THE COASTLINE OF PRESENT-DAY LEBANON
mersel, merwah, “phoenix”, northern lebanon

~ 550 BCE

FIRST EVIDENCE OF WINE IN PRESENT-
DAY FRANCE (A GREEK MIXING BOWL
IN MARSEILLES)
dauny, pinot noir rosé, “pynoz”, sancerre, loire

~ 100

OAK BARRELS USED FOR WINE STORAGE
FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOLLOWING THE
ROMAN CONQUEST OF GAUL
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

~ 1300

PINOT NOIR FIRST MENTIONED IN WRITING
dauny, pinot noir rosé, “pynoz”, sancerre, loire

1490s

THE CANARY ISLANDS FALL TO THE
CASTILIAN CROWN AFTER A CENTURY
OF WAR; VINES ARE PLANTED,
AMONG THEM PAIS AKA LISTAN PRIETO
roberto henríquez, pais, “santa cruz de coya”, bío bío

1559

‘UVA NEGRA’ AKA PAIS LANDS IN
CONCEPCION (SOUTHERN CHILE)
roberto henríquez, pais, “santa cruz de coya”, bío bío

1599

MAPUCHE VICTORIES AROUND SANTA CRUZ
DE COYA IN BÍO BÍO END THE ERA OF
CONQUISTA
roberto henríquez, pais, “santa cruz de coya”, bío bío

1800ish

CATAWBA, A WILD HYBRID OF V. LABRUSCA
AND SÉMILLON, IS FOUND GROWING IN THE
WOODS 15 MINUTES OUTSIDE OF ASHEVILLE,
NORTH CAROLINA
pleb, traminette / seyval / vidal, “a kind reminder”, appalachia

THE PAIS VINES IN YOUR GLASS ARE PLANTED
IN THE LUSH RED GRANITE HILLS OF BÍO BÍO
roberto henríquez, pais, “santa cruz de coya”, bío bío

1860s

SANCERRE IS A VILLAGE THAT MAKES PALE
RED WINE, MOSTLY FROM PINOT NOIR
dauny, pinot noir rosé, “pynoz”, sancerre, loire

THE MERWAH VINES IN YOUR GLASS ARE PLANTED
IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN LEBANON
mersel, merwah, “phoenix”, northern lebanon

PHYLLOXERA, A SMALL YELLOW APHID,
ARRIVES IN SOUTHERN FRANCE. WITHIN 30
YEARS, ALMOST EVERY VINIFERA VINE IN
EUROPE IS DEAD
pleb, traminette / seyval / vidal, “a kind reminder”, appalachia

1880s — 1900s

FRENCH GRAPE BREEDER ALBERT SEIBEL
PRODUCES OVER 16,000 HYBRIDS OF VINIFERA
+ AMERICAN VINE SPECIES, INCLUDING SEYVAL
BLANC, IN RESPONSE TO THE DEVASTATION OF
PHYLLOXERA
pleb, traminette / seyval / vidal, “a kind reminder”, appalachia

1930s

FRENCH GRAPE BREEDER JEAN LOUIS VIDAL
PRODUCES A DISEASE RESISTANT HYBRID
BASED ON UGNI BLANC, ATTEMPTING TO BOOST
COGNAC PRODUCTION
pleb, traminette / seyval / vidal, “a kind reminder”, appalachia

FRANCE STANDARDIZES GRAPE VARIETIES AND
GROWING PRACTICES IN A NUMBER OF
“APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN”
SANCERRE DEFINED AS WHITE WINE MADE
FROM SAUVIGNON BLANC
dauny, pinot noir rosé, “pynoz”, sancerre, loire

SOVIETS INDUSTRIALIZE GEORGIAN WINE
PRODUCTION AND STANDARDIZE GRAPE
VARIETIES
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

1961

TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED STAINLESS STEEL
TANKS USED FOR FERMENTATION FOR THE
FIRST TIME
dauny, pinot noir rosé, “pynoz”, sancerre, loire

2006

RUSSIA BANS IMPORTS FROM GEORGIA,
TWO YEARS BEFORE INVADING. RUSSIA HAD
ACCOUNTED FOR 90% OF GEORGIAN WINE
EXPORTS
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

2010s

TAMUNA BIDZINASHVILI PLANTS VINES
AND MAKES HER FIRST QVEVRI WINE
kortavebis, saperavi – kisi – khikhvi co-ferment, kakheti

ROBERTO MAKES HIS FIRST COMMERCIAL
VINTAGE
roberto henríquez, pais, “santa cruz de coya”, bío bío

EDDIE AT MERSEL MAKES HIS FIRST
SKIN-CONTACT WINE
mersel, merwah, “phoenix”, northern lebanon

CHRIS DENESHA AND LAUREN TURPIN FOUND
PLEB
pleb, traminette / seyval / vidal, “a kind reminder”, appalachia