ABSTRACT
On 4 July 2015, during a session of the 39th World Heritage committee held in Bonn (Germany), the climats de Bourgogne was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as cultural landscape. This recognition was the result of a long campaign to consolidate Burgundy’s position within the changing global wine market. Over the last decade, the region has witnessed the orchestration of a new cultural visual imaginary focused on climats, landscape and labour. As a result of this heritagisation process, Burgundy wines and vineyards have acquired a new economic value which has exacerbated some of the paradoxes attached to globalisation and, in particular, the dialectics of enduring histories of craft production, privileged consumption and increased corporate ownership. Abandoning the language of terroir and tradition, a new aesthetic and visual discourse centred on climats has developed around those highly valued places. By examining the wide range of strategies deployed by local wine elites, producers and wine cultural mediators, this chapter seeks to analyse how these new values are crafted globally through the telling and retelling of the climats’ stories. Vineyards and hospitality will be discussed in the context of capitalism and theory of value.
