13/10/2009
Baudelaire banished !
Chinese Translation : 被扔进废纸篓的诗词
LABELS : Their contents is very strictly controlled as Bordeaux-born Guillaume de Tastes learnt to his cost in the USA, where his labels featuring verses by Baudelaire were forbidden.More than 150 years later, History repeats itself. In 1857, the poet, Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867) came face to face with censorship over some of the poems in his cult collection "Les Fleurs du Mal".
At the time, sensuality and eroticism were condemned by law by the Seine tribunal.Today, the right-thinking blade of justice is coming down via the wine business. In the same collection, Baudelaire included poems such as "L'Ame du Vin" (the spirit of wine), "Le Vin des Chiffonniers" (the wine of vagabonds), "Le Vin des Assasins" (wine of murders), "Le Vin du Solitaire" (the solitary man's wine) and "Le Vin des Amants" (lovers' wine) - all dedicated to the charms and virtues of the beverage, which is quoted hundreds of times in the Bible.
However, it seems that even in 2009, these verses are not seen fit for general public consumption - on some wine bottle labels at least. Guillaume de Tastes, who is a wine grower and merchant from Bordeaux, learnt this fact the hard way.
"On my bottle of Château Haut Gay (AOC Bordeaux Supérieur) is a label featuring verses by Baudelaire which has just been refused for the US market by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF)", explains Guillaume, who also owns Château Beaulieu (10 hectares) and two châteaux in the Haute-Gironde region.On the other side of the Atlantic, the BATF is the all powerful government bureau which gives the green (or red) light concerning the suitability of labels.
Some weeks ago, Guillaume de Tastes' New York importer, who had made the administrative arrangements for importing Château Haut Gay, received a stark reply, leaving no room for negociation : label refused for "being an incentive to debauchery".
Eight Incriminating Verses : The blame is laid on eight of Baudelaire's verses from "L'Ame du Vin" (spirit of wine), which Guillaume wanted to print his 2007 vintage label :
"Un soir, l'âme du vin chantait dans les bouteilles/Homme, vers toi je pousse, ô cher déshérité/Sous ma prison de verre et mes cires vermeilles/Un chant plein de lumière et de fraternité./Puis, en toi je tomberai, végétale ambroisie/Grain précieux jété par l'éternel Semeur/Pour que de notre amour naisse la poesie/Qui jaillira vers Dieu comme une rare fleur."
(please pardon my humble translation) "
One evening, the spirit of wine sang in the bottles/Man, towards you I cry, o my dear deprived/Beneathmy prison of glass and my ruby red wax/A song full of light and brotherhood./Then, inside you I will fall, as fruity ambrosia/Precious seed thrown by the eternal Sower/So that our loving union will bear poetry/Which will shine forth towards God, like a rare flower."
"Through these magnificent lines, I hoped to differenciate myself from other producers, so that my wine - which already has an orange label - would attract consumers' attention. Obviously, it's a wasted effort where the American market is concerned," relativizes Guillaume de Tastes.
"What could be more profound and more emblematic than the words of Baudelaire, one of the greatest poets of all time, to show that wine is an intergral part of our culture and our civilization?" asks de Tastes, who also runs a small merchant business called Letapis & Cie, which is specialized in fine wines.However, the interpretation of these verses in less romantic on the other side of the Atlantic, and Baudelaire has been sent to Coventry, even though the text is printed in french on the labels.
Château Mouton Rothschild suffered similar censorship not so long ago, with their 1993 vintage label representing a young adolescent posing naked ; this label was also banned in the US."When I think about it, this US decision doesn't surprise me, the country is like that. The only other market capable of similar sanctions is France," claims Guillaume.
If that were the case, we would surely be stooping very low. PHOTO : Guillaume de tastes :
"The only another country capable of such censorship is France."
Author:Cesar.Compadre
Photo:Fabien Cottereau
- Translated by : Maxine.Colas TripAdvisor
Copyrigth 2009 - © -Bordeaux Wine News-All Rights Reserved.
21:35 Ecrit par Maxine Colas dans Maxine Wine News | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : wine, beaudelaire, chateau, maxine, label, bordeaux, france, french, bergerac
Les commentaires sont fermés.