The Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

area of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. These included four years of disastrous crop losses, the infestation of the phylloxera louse (which destroyed of

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s that year alone), low income and the belief that wine merchants were using grapes from outside the Champagne region. The precipitating event may have been the announcement in 1908 by the French government that it would delimit by decree the exact geographic area that would be granted economic advantage and protection by being awarded the

appellation. This early development of ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...

'' regulation benefitted the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

and Aisne districts to the significant exclusion of the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Troyes—the historic capital of the Champagne region.R. Phillips ''A Short History of Wine'' pg 292 Harper Collins 2000

Relationship between growers and Champagne houses

In the

region, the production of Champagne is largely in the hands of producers who purchase grapes from independent growers. While some growers today produce wines under their own labels (known collectively as "

grower Champagne Grower Champagnes or Artisan Champagnes are Champagnes produced by the estate that owns the vineyards where the grapes are grown. ''Récoltant-Manipulant'' is the term in French language, French, and Grower Champagnes can be identified by "RM" on t ...

"),T. Stevenson, ed. ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia (4th Edition)'' pg 170-172 Dorling Kindersley 2005 in the early 20th century the immense amount of capital needed to produce Champagne was beyond the reach of most growers. Champagne houses were able to bear the large risk of losing a considerable amount of product from exploding bottles as well as the cost of maintaining storage facilities for the long, labor-intensive process of making Champagne. This dynamic created a system that favored the Champagne houses as the only source of revenue for the vineyard owners. If the Champagne houses did not buy their grapes, a grower had little recourse or opportunity for another stream of income.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 338-341, 440 Simon and Schuster 1989

Early discontent

The discontent that eventually led to the riots began during the 19th century. The early

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

s of the 20th century were difficult, due to frost and rains severely reducing the crop yields. The

phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...

that ravaged vineyards across France began to affect Champagne. The harvests between 1902 and 1909 were further troubled by mold and mildew. The 1910 vintages was afflicted by hailstorms and flooding. Nearly 96% of the crop was lost. Champagne's growing popularity, as well as the lack of grape supply in Champagne, encouraged the Champagne houses to look outside the Champagne region for a cheaper supply of grapes.D. & P. Kladstrup ''Champagne'' pp 129-151 Harper Collins Publisher Some producers began using grapes from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The French railway system made it easy for large quantities of grapes from the Loire Valley or

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

to be transported to Champagne at prices nearly half of what the houses were paying Champenois vine growers for their grapes. Newspapers published rumors of some houses buying rhubarb from England to make wine from. With few laws in place to protect the vine grower or the consumer, Champagne houses held most of the power in the region to profit from these ''

faux Faux may refer to: People *Faux (surname) Places Places in Belgium * Faux, a village in the Belgian commune of Court-Saint-Étienne Places in France * Faux, Ardennes, French commune of the Ardennes department * Faux, Dordogne, French commune of t ...

'' Champagnes. The Champenois vine growers were incensed at these practices, believing that using "foreign" grapes to make sparkling wine was not producing true Champagne. They petitioned the government for assistance and a law was passed requiring that at least 51% of the grapes used to make Champagne needed to come from the Champagne region itself.

Collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

was practised among various Champagne houses in order to drive down the prices of grapes to as a low as they would go, with the ever-present threat that if the houses could not get their grapes cheaply enough they will continue to source grapes from outside the region. With vineyard owners vastly outnumbering the producers, the Champagne houses used this dynamic of excess supply vs limited demand to their advantage. They hired operatives, known as ''

commissionaire In mainland Europe, a commissionaire is an attendant, messenger or subordinate employed in hotels, whose chief duty is to attend at railway stations, secure customers, take charge of their luggage, carry out the necessary formalities with respect t ...

s'', to negotiate prices with vine growers. These commissionaires were paid according to how low a price they could negotiate, so many used tactics including violence and intimidation. Some commissionaires openly sought bribes, often in the form of extra grapes, from vine growers to which they would sell themselves for profit. The prices they were able to negotiate rarely covered the cost of farming and harvesting which left many Champenois vine growers in poverty. Champenois vineyard owners were being paid less for fewer grapes. Poverty was widespread.

Riots

Ay, champagne house burned. Soldiers in Épernay. In January 1911, frustrations reached boiling point as riots erupted along the towns of

Damery Damery may refer to: Places * Damery, Gloucestershire, England * Damery, Marne, France * Damery, Somme, France People with the surname * Walther Damery (1610 – after 1672), Flemish Baroque painter Other uses * Damery (grape), another name f ...

and Hautvilliers. Champenois vine growers intercepted trucks with grapes from the Loire Valley and pushed them into the Marne river. They then descended upon the warehouses of producers known to produce these ''faux'' Champagne, tossing more wine and barrels into the Marne. The owner of

Achille Perrier Achille is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * Ach ...

found his house surrounded by an angry mob chanting ''"A bas les fraudeurs"'' (Down with cheaters). He was able to escape harm by hiding in the home of his concierge. The height of the violence was experienced in the village of

Aÿ Aÿ (; also Ay) is a former commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. On 1 January 2016 it was merged into the new commune Aÿ-Champagne. Champagne Aÿ is most famous as a centre of the production of Champagne. Aÿ's vineyards a ...

, located northeast of

Épernay Épernay () is a commune in the Marne department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne at the extremity of the Cubry valley which crosses it. Ép ...

. The history of Aÿ has been intimately connected with the pride and prestige of the Champagne region. In the 16th century, King

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

was fond of calling himself the ''"Roi d' Aÿ et de

Gonesse Gonesse () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport, and it is six kilometres (four miles) south- ...

"''—King of the lands where the country's greatest wines and flour were produced. Such was the reputation of the wines of Aÿ that they were known as the ''vins de France'', their quality representing the whole of the country rather than just a region. Eventually the name of Aÿ became a shorthand term to refer to all the wines of the Champagne region. (Much like

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

Beaune Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...

is used today to refer to the wines of the Gironde and Burgundy regions, respectively).H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 210-219 Simon and Schuster 1989 As the mob descended upon the city little was spared. Homes of private citizens as well as Champagne house producers were pillaged and ransacked. Somewhere a fire was started that spread throughout the city. The regional governor sent an urgent

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

requesting assistance stating ''"We are in a state of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

!"'' By sunrise the entire village of Aÿ was burning. To quell the violence, the French government sent over 40,000 troops to the region—setting up a

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

in every village.

Establishing the Champagne zone

The relationship between the growers and Champagne producers was not the only source of tension. Within the Champagne region itself there was civil discontent among neighbors as to what truly represented "Champagne". The

French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

tried to answer the vine growers concerns by passing legislation defining where Champagne wine was to come from. This early legislation dictated that the

department and a few villages from the Aisne department were the only areas approved to grow grapes for Champagne production. The glaring exclusion of the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Troyes, the historic capital of Champagne, is located, promoted further discontent as the Aubois protested the decision. The Aube, located south of the Marne, was closer to the Burgundy region in terms of soil and location. The growers of the Marne viewed the region as "foreign" and not capable of producing true Champagne but the Aubois viewed themselves as Champenois and clung to their historical roots. Protest erupted from growers in the Aube district as they sought to be reinstated as part of the Champagne region. The government, trying to avoid any further violence and disruption, sought a "compromise solution" by designating the department as a ''second zone'' within the Champagne appellation. This provoked the growers in the Marne region to react violently to their loss of privilege and they lashed out again against merchants and producers who they accused of making wine from "foreign grapes"—including those from the Aube. Thousands of wine growers burned vineyards, destroyed the cellars of wine merchants, and ransacked houses as hundreds of liters of wine were lost.R. Phillips ''A Short History of Wine'' pg 293 Harper Collins 2000 The government was once again going back to the drawing-board in search of a solution to end the violence and appease all parties. Negotiations among vine growers, producers and government officials was ongoing when

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out and the region saw all parties united in defense of country and the Champagne region.

Aftermath

Following the riots, the French government worked with a collaboration of vineyard owners and Champagne houses to delineate an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' for the Champagne region. Only wines produced from grapes grown within the geographical boundaries (that included the Marne, Aube and parts of the Aisne departments) could be entitled to the name Champagne. Eventually these principles were enshrined by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. To deal with the problem of collusion among Champagne houses and fairness in pricing, a

classification system Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

of Champagne's villages set up a price structure for the grapes.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 152-153 Oxford University Press 2006 Villages were rated on a numerical 80-100 scale based on the potential quality (and value) of their grapes. The price for a kilogram of grapes was set and vineyards owners would receive a fraction of that price depending on the village rating where they were located. Vineyards in ''Grand crus'' villages would receive 100% of the price while ''Premier crus'' village with a 95 rating would receive 95% of the price and so forth down the line. Today the business dynamic between Champagne houses and vineyards owners is not so strictly regulated but the classification system still serves as an aid in determining prices with Grand and Premier crus vineyards receiving considerably more for their grapes than vineyards in villages with ratings below 90%.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 175 Workman Publishing 2001

References

External links

* {{Commons-inline, Revolt of the winegrovers of Champagne in 1911, Revolt of the winegrovers of Champagne in 1911 *''The New York Times'' archives
MORE CHAMPAGNE RIOTS.; Mob Sacks Wine Merchants' Houses In Disturbed District.
(April 16, 1911) Labor disputes in France Riots and civil disorder in France History of Grand Est History of Aube History of Marne (department) Champagne (wine) History of wine 1910 in France 1910 riots 1911 in France 1911 riots Agriculture and forestry strikes