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IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2012 9 Ancient and recent construction of Terroirs 9 Vignobles sur les pentes en Bourgogne : l’aube d’un nouveau modèle de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge

Vignobles sur les pentes en Bourgogne : l’aube d’un nouveau modèle de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge

Résumé

La découverte d’une vigne gallo-romaine en plaine à Gevrey-Chambertin (Côte-d’Or) constitue un point important pour la compréhension de la construction des terroirs viticoles de Bourgogne. Sa situation en plaine constitue pour nous le point de départ d’une large réflexion sur la mise en place du modèle de viticulture de coteau qui prévaut en Bourgogne et sur les facteurs de ce changement de norme de qualité viticole. Les sources mobilisées pour cette approche interdisciplinaire et diachronique sont géomorphologiques, archéologiques et textuelles.
Par de nombreux points, la plantation de vignes de Gevrey-Chambertin est analogue, quant à sa situation, à de nombreux autres vignobles antiques fouillés (Midi de la France, région parisienne, Angleterre). Dans la même région, le célèbre panégyrique à Constantin daté de 312 ap. J.-C, déplore les dévastations d’origine naturelle et humaine qui ont chassé la vigne de la plaine insalubre et restreint sa culture en certains endroits. En même temps, l’évocation des vignes plantées sur les collines est un thème littéraire particulièrement joué par les auteurs de la fin de l’Antiquité qui évoquent les vignobles de Trèves sur la Moselle ou de Bordeaux sur la Garonne. Pour la Côte bourguignonne, on retrouve le même thème chez Grégoire de Tours au VIe siècle, décrivant Dijon « … du côté de l’occident sont des montagnes très fertiles, couvertes de vignes… ». Les premières mentions de dons de vignes (vers 630) et la datation des sols viticoles des versants placent à partir des années 800 et en général à partir du Moyen Âge, la grande mise en culture des coteaux. Ainsi, c’est dans la période charnière de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge, entre le IVe et le VIe siècle, que se situe ce changement important et qui est peut-être général en Gaule devenue chrétienne. Plusieurs facteurs (climatiques, socio-économiques, culturels et politiques) concomitants sont discutés pour interpréter ces changements.

Publication date: September 21, 2023

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Jean-Pierre GARCIA

Université de Bourgogne, UMR 6298 ARTeHIS “Archéologie-Terre-Histoire-Sociétés”, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000 DIJON
(France)

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IVES Conference Series | Terroir | Terroir 2012

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