Wine Tasting Portraits and Le Beaujolais Nouveau

Well, there he is a connoisseur of some sort eyeing a lovely little glass of wine. Now I won’t claim that he is tasting the Beaujolais Nouveau, though the wine color is not far off. However, I do think that the cheery expression on his face is in keeping with celebrating this special harvest time wine holiday, now celebrated around the world as a nice little pick-me-up in the dreary days of November. The comedic joy on his face fits perfectly with the satirical art of Britain’s 19th century in which such depictions were used to poke fun of the foibles of the wealthy, of politicians, and other notables. This fellow seems settled in for an evening of enjoyable drink, his comfortable chair and his lap robe sporting the same warm color of the wine. Having decanted a full bottle of wine, he appreciates that color, his mouth already watering in anticipation of the first sip. He seems to be alone, so this may be a sort of guilty pleasure. His focus is so clearly on the wine and his eye so full of glee over the drink he is about to have that surely no one else is present to see him revel in this moment.

Caricatures go back to the 16th and 17th centuries in Britain, when it became popular to create a portrait that exaggerated some significant feature of a person’s face, say a long nose, or an oddly shaped mouth. When combined with a moral message, they became satires. Such images developed as a way to criticize without having to use words. The beginning of the 18th century saw this form of expression growing particularly popular with the work of William Hogarth (1697-1764). By the 19th century it hit its heyday with the creation of Punch Magazine (1820) which specialized in these caricature pieces which it dubbed “cartoons.” All before this, cartoons were designs, painted pictures, used for the making of tapestries. Such famous artists as Francisco Goya got started as a painter of tapestry cartoons. Suddenly after Punch, the word took on a whole new meaning, one close to what we think of today. Print shops had windows filled with the latest satirical cartoons that allowed people to stop, wander from one printed scene to another and gain a laugh or two in the process. George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was another British master of these satirical pieces, and the French were not to be left out as Honoré Daumier (1808-1879) mastered the art and was particularly well seen during the Second Empire of Napoleon III.

FROM THE DIVINE TO THE EARTHY: CARAVAGGIO

Of course, the pleasures of wine have been around for thousands of years. In fact, the Romans first cultivated the Beaujolais region along the Saone River in what was then Gaul. The production of wine spread throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire as it followed the trade routes that supplied the Roman world. Understanding from experience the folly that wine can produce, the Romans put it in the domain of the Roman god Bacchus, a half man, half goat creature who ruled madness, ecstasy, and wine, and had a fondness for playing the flute. Bacchus has been the subject of many sculptures from ancient times right down to Michelangelo. However, the piece that captures the essence best is this painting by Caravaggio from 1596.

Here the God, himself, offers the viewer drink. How divine, or is it? We see the perfect youth, with a headdress of grape leaves (how celebratory), his perfect young body, pale against the sheets, which in fact are a rather dingy gray. He temptingly lifts a huge glass of wine out to the viewer in a hand with dirty fingernails. The fruit in front of us is not entirely fresh, and the “god’s” ruddy face and hands indicate that he probably works outside for a living. Some of the contradictions were certainly intentional. The fruit on its way to rot was a typical Baroque image of vanitas, those symbols of earthly delights that were fleeting in nature like human existence itself. The model, probably Mario Minniti, who appears in several Caravaggio pieces from this period, was a beautiful youth from a hardscrabble background, and while the setting that Caravaggio arranged for this scene makes for a beautiful painting, it also creates the rather earthy, grubby quality that appears upon closer inspection. Cardinal Del Monte, Caravaggio’s patron and the man who commissioned this painting was certainly well pleased with the work., and perhaps Caravaggio was amused that his grungy little setting had created such a vision of classical divinity.

THE SORROWS OF WINE

Of course, there are dangers in all of this revelry. Whether the English gentleman indulging in an evening of wine tasting/drinking in privacy, or someone imbibing a huge glass as offered by a latter day Bacchus, there comes a reckoning and that is as old as wine itself. For that, here is a scene from the 14th century, Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medical book showing common ailments and other problems, like what happens when you drink too much.

So with the idea of keeping all things in moderation, we can turn to the one day per year when now all the world celebrates wine. It is the third Thursday in November, the day, as originally announced by winemaker, George DuBoeuf, when:

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé!

It officially starts at 12:01 a.m. on that third Thursday in November, this year the 21st. Originally, it was not quite so well organized as there were breakneck races among vintners to be the first to get the Beaujolais Nouveau to Paris, as soon as their wine was ready. The whole thing began to be organized in about 1951 when it was decided to name a special day for celebration, then the 15th of November. This did not always work well with harvest times (Nature is funny that way), so a slightly later date was chosen, and slyly it was placed on Thursday. Why? Well, Thursday is just before Friday, and if you take off Friday to “faire le pont” or make the bridge to the weekend, you can have a really good time over a four-day weekend. Tout est permis! (Everything is allowed!)

Beaujolais is a region north of Lyon and just south of Burgundy in eastern France. The grapes grown there are Gamay grapes, a dark red grape that produces several varieties of Beaujolais. Beaujolais Superieur is made from high quality grapes that are sweet producers of alcohol, 10.5%, which is a half percent higher than the Beaujolais Villages. Those wines are made from grapes grown in the fields of the many villages in the region. It is also of a higher quality than Beaujolais Nouveau, and both Villages and the Superieur can be kept for more than two years. These are the ones to get to go with your Thanksgiving turkey, or perhaps a Beaujolais Villages Blanc, which is a white wine from the same region made with Chardonnay grapes.

The one that is celebrated every year is the Beaujolais Nouveau, and it is a primeur wine, meaning that it must be drunk young. Normally in France it is drunk between the end of November and Christmas. It is a light red wine that has a fruity taste of berries, and is easy to drink as it is light-bodied, low in tannins, and high in acidity. It is best served chilled and consumed right away, as it loses its charm rather quickly with age. It pairs easily with most foods from roast turkey and smoked chicken to salmon to quiche and vegetables like mashed potatoes, as well it is inexpensive, which can add to the enjoyment.

As I said before, tout est permis! I was quite surprised during my first long stay in Paris to go wandering down to the Montorgueil market to do my daily food shopping only to find the street festooned with banners announcing the arrival of the new Beaujolais. The mood was particularly festive, and of course, the French do love a good party. I stopped by a favorite café of mine, Le Café du Centre, where the first lunchtime arrivals were seating themselves in anticipation of the first taste of the new wine. Waiters were all wearing plastic pins made like huge clusters of deep purple grapes as the zipped from one table to another pouring wine furiously. The room was filled with the clinking of glasses, comments and laughter and various expressions indicating that the wine was “pas mal” (not bad – which in the usual, understated, Parisian “we’ve seen it all” attitude, means pretty good!).

So if you live where you can enjoy a Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, by all means attend and profitez bien (take good advantage of it). You’ll be glad you did!

For your other wine interests, you might think of joining a wine club. Click on Cellars Wine Club under Of Art and Wine Pages on your left to see the various ways to get into some very good wine from the U.S. and from around the world, including wines in the 90+ category. As well you can indicate which of a number of vetted charities you want Cellars to donate to. cellarswineclub.com

Paintings are in public domain.

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

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©marjorie vernelle 2019

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Let It Snow! Snow Paintings and Mulled Wine

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