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A BRIDGE FOR THE CONFRERIE
Braving the threat of rain, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in full regalia gathered in Nuits-Saint-Georges on Saturday the 28th November 2009, to re-christen the bridge on the route de Chaux, which crosses the Meuzin and which in future will bear the name of this illustrious assembly.
At eleven o’clock precisely, in the presence of many of the order’s dignitaries and winegrowers from the town, Vincent Barbier, Grand Maître of the Confrérie, aided by Alain Cartron, Mayor of Nuits-Saint-Georges, unveiled a plaque with the inscription “Pont de la Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin”. He then brandished the traditional vinestock, the Confrérie’s appropriately viticultural equivalent of the sovereign’s sword, conferring the rank and dignity of Chevalier on the bridge, and so welcoming it for perpetuity into the heart of the order. The ceremony ended with a rousing Burgundy cheer.
The bridge is not the first material object or structure to have received this distinction – the statue of the grape picker or Bareuzai in Dijon’s Place François Rude, the French navy’s escort ship Le Bourguignon, and the English ferry Pride of Burgundy have each in their time been admitted to the order – the intention of the Confrérie being to honour these exceptional cases which in different ways have served to bring Burgundy to the attention of the world.
A Pilgrimage to the Nuits-Saint-Georges Cellar
Following the naming ceremony, there was a procession through the town to the cellar in Nuits-Saint-Georges where, seventy-five years ago, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin was born, the brainchild of two sons of the town, Georges Faiveley and Camille Rodier, both convinced that this order devoted to wine would be of incalculable benefit to Burgundy and the Côte de Nuits in particular. A spray of flowers was laid beneath the plaque outside the cellar to commemorate the emblematic importance of the site.
Among those present was retired Nuits-Saint-Georges locksmith and order member Roger Cornet, who took part in two of the original Chapitres held in the cellar.
The cortege then moved on to the town hall to be received by Alain Cartron in the reception room, where a glass was raised to the Confrérie’s continued existence and prosperity.
The Bien Public
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| RESULTS OF THE TASTEVINAGE D'AUTOMNE 2010 |
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Last Friday, more than 260 members of the jury took part in a tasting of 678 Burgundy wines; only 230 will be able to bear the Tastevinage label created 60 years ago.
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