The Winemaking World and ... Representations of the Female Body

In the 19th century, France rediscovered its medieval past. The weekly magazine, L’illustré Soleil du Dimanche published a conservative vision of the Middle Ages in 1898. A woman tending to her child as she also tends to harvests, facing a man at his post.

This contemporary projection of an idealistic Middle Age partially reflects the truth: up until the 1970s, women had to handle both jobs and childcare.

For figures across the international winemaking scene, Greek mythology is a source of inspiration.

Simultaneously symbols of seduction, beauty, and fertility, these Charities (Greek goddesses) combine grace and bewitchment.

This isn't an antique piece, but rather an advertisement from the 1950s for cases of wine made in the Jura region.

Reminiscent of the painting by William Bouguereau La jeunesse de Bacchus, this poster from 1928 was inspired by Greek and Roman mythology.

The orange hues in the women's complexions is reminiscent of the sirens painted on stamnos, antique vases used to serve wine.

Also inspired by Art Deco, the artist uses floral decorations and geometric shapes.

Antique vases used to serve wine, this type of stamnos inspires Angers illustrators.

In this scene, the child Bacchus is surrounded by Bacchantes, who adore him. They call to consumers, one of the objectives of these wine fairs.

Created in 1978, the Layon Villages club is a society in charge of promoting and classifying the wineproducing estates Layon Villages hills. Its logo depicts an allegory of the vine and wine. With its acidic colors and slogans, typical of the 1970s, it was also inspired by Art Nouveau styles.

Allegories often use feminine figures. Women make whatever they're symbolizing more attractive and more desirable.

From July 3 to July 6, 1937, Anjou hosted a grandiose, fifth edition of the French Wine Fair, with the President of the French Republic, Albert Lebrun, in attendance. During the fair, there were shows in Angers and trails across the hills, including Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay. On this prospectus, we see the symbol of the township and of the vineyards, a woman in an Angers headdress.

Queen of Coteaux du Layon, Queen of Aubance, Queen of Anjou-Saumur, Queen of Coteaux de Saumur. The list goes on. Tasked with promoting vines and vineyards from the Angers region, these women reflect Angers folklore.

In 1927, the Clos de la Raimbaudière Angers estate marketed a Premier Grand Cru d’Anjou. To sell this wine to consumers, the estate used sensuality as a marketing point and used this image of a woman draped around a bottle.

The most notable aspect of this is also found on the bottle, which includes the phrase "Grand Cru" and indicates a classification of vineyards in Anjou, before the AOC were created in 1936.

Since the 2000s, the Angers BD festival brings together illustrators and winemakers from Anjou. This collaboration leads to exclusive and original wine labels.

Whether fairy-like, iconic, sensual or seductive, often undressed, the labels often feature these female figures. On this 2006 model, Marilyn Monroe bathes in a Coteaux-du-Layon 1er Cru Chaume.

Despite their decorative appearance, these plates are full of messages in ill taste. This phenomenon became rare in the 21st century, as moral sensibilities evolved.

Women and wine make for forgotten sorrows

A decorative cup with inscription: A woman and wine will make you rise later in the morning.

I’ll drink five or six bottles, a woman on my lap.

A means of correspondence that has been popular for a long time, postcards are full of varied themes. This 1970s copy is part of a series that represents young women and older men in a wine cellar environment. The consumption of wine is often associated with seducing women.

This type of humorous post card is responsible for reducing women to little more than their bodies, and making them passive, sexual objects.

The words of a Angers wineproducer taken from an interview held at the end of 2020 by the Vine and Wine Museum of Anjou. Whether these gestures are intentional or subconscious, stereotypes are resisting.

Increased freedom of speech, evolving moral sensibilities, these past examples of female representation in the winemaking world are entirely out of place today.

This female winemaker confirmed it during an interview held in 2020, by Vine and Wine Museum of Anjou: the winemaking world is ready for equality between men and women. Wine is influenced by personality, not gender.

There are many aspects to the universe of wine: winemaker, oenologist, cooper, sommelier, sales representative, wine merchant, critic. For over 20 years, women have been progressively increasing their representation in these jobs and in the media. These articles from local newspapers show good examples.

Often, the image of women is used as a promotional object. You'll discover that it's not accurate at all when they represent them at work!