An exhibition to see at the Museums of Grand Cognac until December 31, 2022 to look back on the history of the vineyard through the devastating passage of a formidable insect called “phylloxera”.
“Phylloxera, a human and scientific epic”, is the new exhibition which took place in the Art and History Museum and the Museum of cognac know-how. From now on, we invite you to discover this route in the museums of Cognac, which proposes to return to the history of the vineyard at the end of the 19th century and until the beginning of the Great War, through the devastating passage of a fearsome insect called “phylloxera”.
In the 19th century, French viticulture experienced a period of great upheaval. It is seeing its modes of production and consumption evolve, taking advantage of unprecedented growth. Faced with this strong growth, the wine world must meet new challenges but also face many complications, including the phylloxera crisis.
This dark period comes to put a sudden stop to the flourishing economy of cognac but also, of all the other French wine regions. This is how phylloxera, a small aphid from the eastern United States, decimated a very large part of the world’s vineyards in a few years.
This crisis permanently modifies the landscapes and viticultural practices imposing on scientists a long research work, multiplying tests and observations, technical and scientific experiments. The grafting of the vines then becomes the solution. Between crazy beliefs and absurd ideas, between ruin and exile, between replanting and rebirth, this immersion in the “phylloxera years” also offers a human approach.
The wine world emerges from this difficult ordeal and manages to find a second wind. New challenges are being defined; The revival of viticulture then took shape, giving birth to a major act in its history: the creation of Appellations d’Origines Contrôlées.
– @digital vision
A HUMAN AND SCIENTIFIC EPIC
While this exhibition highlights one of the worst episodes in the history of Charente vineyards, it above all highlights the collective resilience shown by the wine world.
The immersive scenography invites the visitor to follow a fictional scientific assistant. Together, they will travel through the MAH and discover the context of the phylloxera crisis. After passing through the doors of the Museum of Cognac know-how, they put themselves in the shoes of a scientist and set up an experiment notebook…
For this major exhibition, the MAH and the Museum of cognac know-how are working with several museums in France such as the Epernay museum, the Anjou vine and wine museum, the Nantes vineyard museum, but also the Museum of Fine Arts in Bordeaux, the Bernard d’Agesci Museum in Niort, or the Ernest Cognacq Museum (Île de Ré). Some pieces are lent by trading houses (Martell, Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Courvoisier, Delamain, Maison Villevert).
– @shaith
Museum of Art and History / MAH 48 boulevard Denfert-Rochereau 16 100 Cognac 05 45 32 07 25
Museum of cognac know-how / M’CO Place de la salle verte 16 100 Cognac 05 45 36 03 65
To learn even more about the history of cognac and phylloxera, also listen France Blue La Rochelle!