Politics, Wine and Diplomacy

by Panos Kakaviatos 

In a YouTube post from 2018, renowned geopolitical strategist George Friedman criticises the inefficiency of the “NATO process” because “14 different committees” block worthy initiatives. Pre-dating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has since galvanized NATO, Friedman stressed the greater importance of bilateral relations while dismissing much of NATO as “dinners and fine wines”.

But gastro diplomacy is anything but frivolous, counters an American envoy in Paris. “The perception of diplomats with wine tends to be pejorative, but that’s not true,” says U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Counselor David Leishman. “Wine is not only a language of diplomacy, but also a vehicle for communication.” And because wine is becoming “more important than ever” for international relations, he recently completed a WSET 3 level certification.

Leishman echoes some diplomats I have encountered while working in media relations for the Council of Europe, when he emphasizes “consequential decisions are made not at scripted, formal negotiations with flags in front of representatives, but in behind-the-scenes – often with wine and food – off-the-record discussions.”

Working in political affairs and strategic planning for the Council of Europe – and later responsible for enlargement in the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall – now retired Jean-Louis Laurens recalls befriending Mikheil Saakashvili, then a young parliamentarian in the 1990s in Georgia, who later became mayor of Tbilisi and the country’s president from 2004-2013.

Georgia became a member of the Council of Europe close to 25 years ago, on 27 April 1999. “When I first met Saakashvili, it all started with debate and discussions over the respective value of wines in Georgia and France,” Laurens recalls. Laurens, a fan of Bordeaux, tried Georgian wine, too, and this common interest led to “friendly arguments about wine, which helped to develop a personal relationship, which, in a way, helped me to convey sensitive policy issues to him, such as how to curb corruption in the country,” Laurens explained.

Testing the Limits

In other cases, however, Laurens said, wine (and especially harder alcohol) is not always so welcome. If too much is served, especially vodka, “it becomes a challenge to cope with the number of drinks that you have”, he said, with the tacit understanding that hosts would view a refusal to imbibe as an affront.

Beyond the importance of wine-infused informal settings, governments also organise events to highlight their cultural identity through wine and food. For example, when Hungary held the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers last year, its representation organised an evening of wine history and culture in Kientzheim at the Confrérie Saint Etienne d’Alsace. Three “mystery wines” were served blind: Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. While not hard to guess which was which, Confrérie representatives donning traditional costumes sang local wine songs to create a festive ambiance. And they explained why a centuries’ old myth erroneously linking Tokay in Hungary with Pinot Gris in Alsace persisted well into the 20th century.

Ambassadors representing other Council of Europe member states digested this information along with food and wine for a pleasant evening. There are well known political tensions over rule of law issues between Hungary and both the European Union and the Council of Europe, but such informal events bring out common humanity and help to facilitate dialogue.

Wine can help illustrate societal problems more directly, linked to the role of international relations to tackle them. In 2014, for instance, I organized a meeting at the Council of Europe between media and women winemakers from Alsace, as we approached International Women’s Day that year. A correspondent for the Spanish news agency EFE reported on accounts of discrimination that these women had faced in the wine industry, with headlines in prominent dailies like La Vanguardia:

“El mundo del vino sigue siendo muy masculino, según vitivinicultoras galas” (The world of wine is still very masculine, according to French winemakers). Over wine sipping, Mélanie Pfister of the eponymous estate in Dahlenheim said that the role of women in the world of wine often had been relegated “to administrative issues” and acknowledged that “earlier in this century” some wineries in Burgundy, where she had done an internship, did not accept women as managers in viticulture work.

Wine also can provide a convivial ambiance to address climate change, said Leishman back in Paris. “Coming from agriculture, people can be skeptical of organic and biodynamic as marketing methods,” he explained. “From an economic standpoint, price and quality matter most to consumers, but this is where the WSET really helped me”. The seasoned 53-year-old agricultural envoy said that becoming educated about wine helped him to better appreciate for example the World Living Soils Forum in Arles-en-Provence in June this year, financed by Moët Hennessy.

“Representatives for Moët Hennessy talked not about luxury, but how preserving living soils helps sustainability, maintaining the right balance between business activities, the nature and communities”, Leishman remarked. “We welcome such industry-led initiatives that put sustainable agriculture back in focus, as agriculture affects every person and every country on this planet.”

And winemakers can encounter influential politicians to address climate change. Take for example Florence Cathiard of Château Smith Haut Lafitte who some 10 years ago drank her red wine with Prince Charles at a Polo match in Ashe Park. “We discussed horse manure and biodynamics, and I can assure you that he is a real specialist, authentic and knowledgeable,” she said.

Historic wine and diplomacy

I met Leishman in Paris close to the famous Hôtel de Talleyrand, which was the residence of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the wily French diplomat who convinced Tsar Alexander I of Russia to maintain France’s territorial integrity following the defeat of Napoleon.

Lavish wining and dining helped negotiate the return of the Bourbons, Leishman said. He also pointed out that this same hotel, purchased in 1950 by the United States (then called Hôtel de Saint-Florentin), became headquarters for the administration of the Marshall Plan for economic recovery of Europe after World War II. “You can be sure that wines were served over informal diplomatic meetings there, too,” he said.

Students of French-Canadian history know of French President Charles de Gaulle’s 24 July 1967 speech on the balcony of Montreal’s city hall with the famous line “Vivre le Québec libre!” [May Quebec live long and free!]. But what did de Gaulle and Quebec government representatives discuss the evening before his speech, over dinner with excellent wines served for the French President? De Gaulle feasted on seafood, puff pastries with chanterelles, pheasant and Veuve Clicquot sorbet – all washed down with Meursault, Vosne-Romanée, Mumm Cordon Rouge, Dom Pérignon and Fine de Champagne Cognac, reported Le Journal de Québec earlier this year when it highlighted examples of wine diplomacy. “Through a finely crafted menu and a series of heartfelt toasts, eating and drinking has often played an important social and diplomatic role,” according to the report.

First Growth Diplomacy

Bordeaux’s many great wines have been prominent in diplomatic and political settings. At Château Haut-Brion, for example, estate historian and records manager Alain Puginier shares stories linking diplomacy to the illustrious first growth. He brought up negotiations of the 1904 Entente Cordiale, which led to closer ties between England and France 10 years before the outbreak of the First World War.

“It is without a doubt a consequence of the seniority of the presence of Haut-Brion wine in England, which led to this same wine served at diplomatic meals, related to negotiations of the Franco-British Entente Cordiale, which settled many colonial disputes between the two countries,” Puginier said.

Negotiations began in 1898, but took a decisive turn in 1903 during a trip by King Edward VII to Paris, to “overcome Anglophobia”, which reigned in France at that time, Puginier wrote in an e-mail. On May 2, French President Emile Loubet and his wife received the King at the Elysée for a gala dinner. In a collection of menus kept in the library of the Clarence Dillon estate, a menu shows Château Haut-Brion 1877 following by Château d’Yquem 1874: “What effect did such sumptuous wines have on the English King when, at the end of the meal, he toasted French President Loubet?” wonders Puginier.

According to the May 4 1903 Le Figaro newspaper, the King recalled in “charming terms” the first impressions of his childhood and his previous stays in Paris “where one meets,” he said, “all that is intelligent and beautiful” and for which he never ceased to have the warmest sympathies. His Majesty ended by drinking “to the rapprochement of the two countries, in their common interest, as well as in the superior interest of peace and civilisation.”

The Entente Cordiale has been commemorated on many occasions with Château Haut-Brion served. For the Centenary in 2004, for example, President François Hollande offered Queen Elizabeth II a dinner including Château Haut-Brion 1990.

At the same time, wine is a business increasingly important in international commerce. In late Spring this year, the U.S. embassy in Paris organised a tasting of Oregon and California winemakers. In Strasbourg, the U.S. Consulate organised an event for French restaurateurs and wine distributors featuring the wines of New Mexico.

“Thomas Jefferson was doing agriculture diplomacy,” explains Leishman. “I feel the weight of what it means to the American taxpayer to send me to Paris, to be able to show results, and value is a daily struggle,” he said. “My job is to set the table for people and our tasting event led to connections with importers.”

Dipolomatic incidents

But wine can cause diplomatic scandals, too. Back in 1995, Australia led a campaign against French nuclear tests, an effort that not only culminated in both countries recalling their ambassadors, but also boycotts against French wines. Last year, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had to apologise after describing an Istrian white wine made from the Malvasia grape variety in neighbouring Croatia as “disgusting”, after having told the Bosnian private broadcaster “Face” in Sarajevo that Serbia produced “much better wines.”

Leishman, who had worked in Moscow from 2015-2020, the last USDA envoy to work in Russia, recalled having co-organised an event with Frédéric Drouhin. “Most Russians didn’t know where Oregon was on the map, and they were amazed to hear about French investment there, and this definitely raised awareness.”

He made many friends with Russians in the wine trade, including Anatoly Korneev, founder and vice president of the massive Russian wine group Simple Wine. Korneev is an author and editor of multiple books, articles and columns in magazines like Forbes and GQ and has received wine honours including Knight of the Order of Recioto and Amarone (Verona) and Knight of the Order of Chevalier du Bon Temps in Bordeaux. Somehow Leishman remains optimistic for the future, that good people he had met in Russia will prevail over Putin, but it is hard to fathom today.

Indeed, I will not easily forget Christoph Meininger hosting the Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI back in 2014, following the annexation of Crimea. He welcomed participating judges from around the world with the idea that wine should bring people together. “We should try harder to get along,” he said. Fast forward to February 2022, and just before a tasting, Meininger asked MUNDUS VINI participants to observe “five seconds of silence” for “this disgusting war” that Russia had then just unleashed on Ukraine. “A lot of young people have to leave their country now because of stupid people,” he said. “It is very sad what is going on.”

 

With thanks to Panos Kakaviatos. Images care of Haut-Brion.