Grapes on Trial: Wine at the Paris World's Fairs of 1889 and 1900

Abstract

This article examines the wine exhibits at the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. It shows that these exhibits can be construed as political and economic apparatuses for the stabilization of the wine market in a context of profound uncertainty at the turn of the twentieth century, in a time of fraud, adulteration scandals, and a growing international competition. The fin-de-siècle Universal Exhibitions were the occasion for French winemakers to reassert the inalienable singularity of their products, restrict the use of brand names before the first legislations on the appelations d’origine, and showcase the natural and cultural specificities of wine producing regions. The exhibitions of 1889 and 1900 were thus engineered as a perfect market where production was made visible, commercial interactions were pacified, and consumers had the opportunity to quickly compare samples from the various products on display.

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