What do you think?
Rate this book
Monks and wine
Dust jacket worn, bookseller's pencil marks.
- GenresHistoryFood and Drink
208 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1979
12 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Desmond Seward
56 books61 followersDesmond Seward was an Anglo-Irish popular historian and the author of over two dozen books. He was educated at Ampleforth and St, Catherine's College, Cambridge. He was a specialist in England and France in the Middle Ages and the author of some thirty books, including biographies of Eleanor of Aquitane, Henry V, Richard III, Marie Antoinette and Metternich.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2025
If I could time travel think I would like to have been a bibulous monk, ideally in medieval France. After a flagon or two I could have belted out a psalm with the best of them and then staggered to my cell to console myself over my sinful behaviour, wondering whether to have the red or the white next time.
The author probes monastic viticulture throughout the world both in the past and in the present. He centres on France and Germany, but brings in the rest of Europe including England and then expands to the United States with brief mentions of Australia, Lebanon, Israel, Algeria and Tanzania (the Holy Ghost Fathers at Dodoma). The book was published in 1979 so I don't know if the monks in Algeria and Tanzania remain as functional viticulturists. An interesting book and one to dip into at regular intervals if only to find the name of an intriguing wine and see if it's available on the internet.
The author probes monastic viticulture throughout the world both in the past and in the present. He centres on France and Germany, but brings in the rest of Europe including England and then expands to the United States with brief mentions of Australia, Lebanon, Israel, Algeria and Tanzania (the Holy Ghost Fathers at Dodoma). The book was published in 1979 so I don't know if the monks in Algeria and Tanzania remain as functional viticulturists. An interesting book and one to dip into at regular intervals if only to find the name of an intriguing wine and see if it's available on the internet.
July 26, 2015
I really liked this book.
While published in 1979, and currently out of print, Desmond Seward's fine book covers how the various monastic orders saved the European - and hence global - wine industry from disappearing in the Dark Ages. They did so up until the French Revolution, when the orders were largely broken up and lands confiscated, all across Europe.
The book traces the rise of the Benedictans, starting with Benedict of Nursia in Umbria (480-547) through the 500 years they kept the wine industry growing. Being dedicated to Prayer, Study and Manual Labour, the Benedictans attracted labour as the cities and towns of Europe were depopulated.
As these monks were one of the key sources of learning at the time, they nurtured grapes and wines for their own monastic needs and table consumption, and for commercial purposes to finance their schools, hospitals, hotels, hospices and charities. They also became significant landowners as rulers and wealthy donors found their influence to be beneficial in keeping the peace and bringing order to society.
The book next covers the Cistercians who left big marks on the wine industry and most notably Clos de Vougeot, whose walled 125 acre vineyard in Burgundy is now broken up into some 60 vinyards.
Also covered were the Catchusians and the Military Religious Orders including the Templars, Hospitalliers and Teutonic Knights.
A chapter was also dedicated the extraordinary Dom Perignon and his influence on Champagne.
Finally reference was given to the Jesuits and Franciscans who helped pioneer the California wine industry.
All in all, this is a very important book for those wanting to understand the history of wine. I recommend it.
While published in 1979, and currently out of print, Desmond Seward's fine book covers how the various monastic orders saved the European - and hence global - wine industry from disappearing in the Dark Ages. They did so up until the French Revolution, when the orders were largely broken up and lands confiscated, all across Europe.
The book traces the rise of the Benedictans, starting with Benedict of Nursia in Umbria (480-547) through the 500 years they kept the wine industry growing. Being dedicated to Prayer, Study and Manual Labour, the Benedictans attracted labour as the cities and towns of Europe were depopulated.
As these monks were one of the key sources of learning at the time, they nurtured grapes and wines for their own monastic needs and table consumption, and for commercial purposes to finance their schools, hospitals, hotels, hospices and charities. They also became significant landowners as rulers and wealthy donors found their influence to be beneficial in keeping the peace and bringing order to society.
The book next covers the Cistercians who left big marks on the wine industry and most notably Clos de Vougeot, whose walled 125 acre vineyard in Burgundy is now broken up into some 60 vinyards.
Also covered were the Catchusians and the Military Religious Orders including the Templars, Hospitalliers and Teutonic Knights.
A chapter was also dedicated the extraordinary Dom Perignon and his influence on Champagne.
Finally reference was given to the Jesuits and Franciscans who helped pioneer the California wine industry.
All in all, this is a very important book for those wanting to understand the history of wine. I recommend it.
July 7, 2015
An interesting take on the history of Christian monasticism, following the various orders from place to place and how each group grew the wine they would use to drink the blood of Christ - and maybe make some money and get a little tipsy on the side. :-)
December 8, 2023
More of a 3.5 read, but I gave it four stars for being published at a very specific point during the turn in attitude towards medieval academia.
"Monks and Wine" can best be summed up as two parts travelogue, one part philosophy, and three parts wine menu, all served on a foundation of history for the sake of history. A work made for sipping rather than binging (sorry, I couldn't resist!), I can see this being fun to pull out with friends in order to find a new wine or a 101 on a new travel destination, and as a means to prompt conversation on history and society.
"Monks and Wine" can best be summed up as two parts travelogue, one part philosophy, and three parts wine menu, all served on a foundation of history for the sake of history. A work made for sipping rather than binging (sorry, I couldn't resist!), I can see this being fun to pull out with friends in order to find a new wine or a 101 on a new travel destination, and as a means to prompt conversation on history and society.
November 17, 2024
Not my normal fare for reading material, but the topic sounded interesting so I gave it a go... It was a bit of a marathon to read as there is a melange of information relating to holy orders of monks / grapes / wines / bits of history with one or two mildly interesting snippets and anecdotes thrown in. Ultimately I will soon recall very little of this as there was soooo much detail to retain and sometimes it just read like a soporific list ion things and places I'd never heard of, or am likely to hear of again. Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews