After the battle had ended, 14,000 Jacobite soldiers and supporters fled to Europe, joining armies in Spain, Italy, Austria and France. Others decided to leave the military lifestyle behind and experiment with other avenues of employment to recuperate some of their previous wealth they had forfeited through land, taxes and property that was confiscated with being on the vanquished side. There were opportunities a plenty for these adventurers. Flourishing as merchants, traders, and farmers that expanded into owners of estates, that developed into vineyards of notoriety, particularly in the Bordeaux region. These people were to become the Quintessential Irish ‘in exile’. “It had long come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen. They went out and happen to things”. 

In the late 17th century, Irish Catholics represented 75% of the population, an oppressed people by a combination of wars, religious persecution and loss of property. Meanwhile the English parliament passed a series of laws protecting English landowners and farmers against cheaper cattle and wool that hurt Irish Protestant landowners. As a result there was few opportunities in Ireland for ambitious second or third sons whether Catholic or Protestant, so for political, religious or economic reasons they were being pushed out of Ireland. They settled in Spain, France, Belgium and England, the largest colony of 280 families had settled in the Bordeaux region of France. One of the amazing facts about the families that settled in Europe, they were of different backgrounds religiously. While the communities in Bordeaux were both Protestant and Catholic the relationships were businesslike and friendly. Confessional differences played very little role, but along the marriage lines these were extremely rare, otherwise the communities were united. 

An island that’s 51.5° to 56.5° N latitude would not have a suitable temperature for growing grapes therefore the Irish would have no knowledge of cultivating or harvesting grapes. Necessity is the mother of invention and so these people learned very quickly the methods of distilling wine. What was in it for France to have the Irish buying land in their country, the answer was, Irish salted beef, they needed it for provision for the Navy, Marine ships, and to further export it to French colonies in the Caribbean and Polynesian islands. For the Irish, the opportunity to have something that’s not in Ireland was vineyards and the production of wine. As in any businesses that one starts, you have to have a market and there it was right next door, England. The British Empire was expanding, the manifest of the ships cargo always had a sizeable number of barrels of wine, provided by the Irish wine producers from France. Even though Britain and Ireland had the same monarchy, taxation and tariffs were much different, the importation tax on wine from France to England was prohibitive for the majority of people. The French winemakers remained steadfast in their policy of producing fine wines, especially as they had perfected the art of aging wines from 3 to 7 years, thereby eliminating the need to blend different varieties, some of poorer quality. This policy has seen the oldest winery in France still in the hands of the same family since 1722 when Thomas Barton the quintessential Irishman purchased the Chateau Leoville Barton in the Bordeaux region, generations afterwards the wines are exported to 130 countries.

Shortly after the American War of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was the American ambassador to France and he visited Bordeaux, remarking afterwards about the amount of Irish names that were prominent in the wine business, Barton, Foster, Lynch, Kirwan, Clarke, Dillon, Phelan, and others. Jefferson became president of the USA later.

If we are looking for another quintessential Irishman however we need to focus on the Cork born Richard Hennessy whose legacy is the most recognized today. A second son of the landed gentry, he wasn’t going to inherit the estate. He joined the French army and had a checkered career there, foregoing this livelihood he started in the drinks industry. His son joined him and together their company matured into the famous Hennessy Cognac brand that accounts for 40% of brandy sales globally. Today the company is partially owned by the drinks company Diageo.

Don’t let me hear you talking about ‘the good old days’ in Bordeaux. Did you know that in 1603 a werewolf was reported to roam the streets, and in 1609 a rumour was ‘ignited’ that a witch was seen by someone. When the witch wasn’t found the local constabulary came to the logical conclusion that in fact the woman who declared that she seen a witch, was herself possessed by a demon and she was the guilty party. Having been tortured until she confessed she was duly burned at the stake, and all this happened before the winemaking business became as popular as it is today. A parliament appointee de Lancre took the sightings of witches to heart and had as many as 80 women put to death. The stories got worse of course after the French Revolution with people going around with their heads under their arms after a visit to the guillotine. Then there’s the story of the dragon in tower, I could go on of course, but no. Join us on a trip to Bordeaux and let these legends be brought to life.