The World’s Oldest Obsession

In 1395, The Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, was so afraid of the Gamay grape that he banned it. That’s right: a Duke called “the Bold” feared a grape. But this was one of the best decisions in oenology history. He ordered Gamay vineyards to be torn out of Burgundy and banned from ever being planted there again so that it would not compete with Pinot Noir. Good decision.

 

Pinot Noir is one of my favorites but I feel like Gamay is the Rodney Dangerfield of the grape world, it gets no respect. For centuries, Gamay has struggled to be seen as a serious wine contender (except, in food-savvy Lyon). And I think it is surprising that a beverage so lightly regarded has become one of the world’s most popular wines, with more than 70 million bottles sold annually.

Philip the Bold was also Philip the Brilliant because over the last 600 years, it has become clear that while Gamay might not be suited to Burgundy, it is very much suited to the Beaujolais region. And while Gamay might not produce the world-class age-worthy wines that Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir are capable of, it still makes a juicy and tasty wine.

Gamay grows on the fast side – it is an early budding, flowering and ripening grape which means that although it can be sensitive to frost, it is also capable of ripening in cooler climates. This is one reason why you can find it grown in the Loire and also in Switzerland. Gamay tends to have a fairly crisp level of acid and aromas and flavors of fresh strawberries and raspberries. For drinkers looking for a red with fairly soft tannins, Gamay is a great red grape to try. In fact, if you are new to red wines, I recommend that you consider starting out with a red grape like Gamay.

Although Gamay is grown in several different regions, it is practically synonymous with the Beaujolais region. As the Oxford Companion to Wine points out, “no other wine region is so determinedly monocepagiste as Beaujolais…” meaning that no other wine region relies so heavily on just one single grape variety for all of the wines produced in that region. The wines of Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages and the 10 crus of Beaujolais are all made from the Gamay grape.

I don’t know what the Dukes of Burgundy had against the Gamay grape because it turns out that 60 years later, Philip the Good, issued another edict against Gamay in which he stated the reasoning for the ban is that “The Dukes of Burgundy are known as the lords of the best wines in Christendom. We will maintain our reputation”.

Oh and if you are wondering why Philip was called “the Bold”, it has nothing to do with wine. Philip was the founder of the second and last ducal house of Burgundy, the fourth son of John II, King of France and for all of his courageous and bold actions in the Battle of Poitiers (1356); he won the nickname “The Bold”. 

If you thought King Henry VIII lived a dramatic life, just wait till you read about his great grandmother, Katherine of Valois. Katherine’s life was filled with neglect, loss, insanity, love and secrecy. Typical of a Tudor. 

Katherine (or Catherine) of Valois was a French princess, born in 1401. She was the daughter of King Charles VI, aka Charles “The Mad” and Isabeau de Bavière. Her story is so fascinating and I am shocked that she is nothing more than a footnote in the pages of history. I am going to sum up her life in a few paragraphs but I recommend that you read about her because you will get hooked. 

Basically, her father was insane and thought he was made of glass. Her mother took advantage of this and had public affairs left and right; many people believe that her sons were from another man. In fact, her son’s legitimacy, the future King of France, was questioned his entire life. While her mother was out having fun, Katherine and her siblings lived in poverty and filth. She loved her father so much and couldn’t bear to see him so ill. She also yearned for her mother’s love and approval but her mother had NO interest in her children, OF COURSE until they became valuable. 

Meanwhile, England was at war with France, and the English were conquering more and more land everyday. When she was 19, Katherine was signed over to King Henry V of England as part of the Treaty of Troyes. So not only was she sent away to a country that was at war with her homeland, but she was now married to a man that took the crown away from her father and brother. The English never trusted her because she was French and the French hated her because she was a traitor. She was alone again. Eventually she got pregnant and gave King Henry V an heir. She adored her son and showered him with the love that she never received. Just a few months after her son was born, King Henry V got sick and died. 

Soon she was exiled from court and her son was taken away from her to be raised by his uncles. She was sent to live in the English countryside. She was alone again but soon found comfort and friendship with a Welsh man that managed her wardrobe. That’s right, her wardrobe. That man’s name was Owen Tudor and that is how the Tudor dynasty started. 

Oh wait, there is more. They fell madly in love, married in secrecy (she was forbidden to marry again) and had 6 children. Eventually people found out about their marriage and she was sent away to live in Bermondsey Abbey, where she died from an illness. After her death, Owen and Katherine’s enemies decided to proceed against Owen for violating the law of the remarriage of the Queen. Owen appeared before the Council, acquitting himself of all charges and was released. On his way back to Wales, he was arrested and his possessions seized. Meanwhile, Owen and Katherine’s two older sons, Edmund and Jasper, were sent to live with Catherine de la Pole, who was abbess of Barking and sister to the Earl of Suffolk. 

Sometime after 1442, King Henry VI (Katherine’s first son with King Henry V) stepped in and took a role in their upbringing and made them both Earls. Edmund would live on to become the father of the future King Henry VII and the grandfather of King Henry VIII. Can you believe that Showtime left this out of The Tudors?

(excerpt from) The Boston Herald

All Eyes Will be on Michelle Obama and her Choice of Inaugural Gown

By Maria Recio / McClatchy Newspapers-Wednesday, January 7, 2009

WASHINGTON - Inauguration Day will belong to President Barack Obama, but that night will be wife Michelle’s turn in the spotlight, as all eyes will be on her - and her choice of ball gown. Throughout U.S. history, and especially in the post-World War II era, first ladies have made statements about themselves and the times they live in with their inaugural wardrobes.

Michelle Obama is creating a fashion frenzy. And even though we think that fashion and politics is a modern phenomenon, it isn’t. The first woman to use fashion for political reasons was the influential and beautiful Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire.

 In the late 1700s, Georgiana created a stir over everything that she wore. She blended her fashion panache with her desire to support politicians and their political ideas. Plus, Georgiana understood and mastered the power of art and symbolism. To support her candidate, Charles Fox, and “The Foxite Whigs”, Georgiana often dressed in fox fur. Soon enough, everyone started to wear fox fur. To boost morale for a war where women had no place as soldiers, Georgiana organized a group of aristocratic women to dress in soldier-like uniforms.  

She also used color to rally support for the Whigs, whose hues were blue and buff.  Not only did she wear blue and buff during the election but she also created a scene with a giant blue and buff hot air balloon. At a time when women had no place in politics, she rallied women to join her and London’s finest would show up at the rallies with blue and buff uniforms and large foxtails in their hair. The newspapers would always cover it and the Whig party’s message was spread exponentially.  Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess, explains how the Duchess of Devonshire was an innovator in using fashion and message to support the cause: “Georgiana should be credited with being one of the first to refine political messages for mass communication. She was an image-maker who understood the necessity for public relations, and she became adept at the manipulation of political symbols and the dissemination of party propaganda.” 

I don’t really get star struck, but I had to upload this picture of me and Dominic Cooper. He played Charles Grey in The Duchess. He also played Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility.

I have always believed that you should dress for success at work. I think appearance is important and that is why I spend hours blowdrying, making up and dressing the best that I can for my line of work. Plus, I work in the beauty industry so it is even more important that I represent my brand the best way that I can. Many people disagree with me. A lot of people spend the entire day at their desk and rarely see the sun, so does it really matter what they are wearing?

If they want to be successful, then I think it does. In a new CareerBuilder.com survey, 41 percent of employers said that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted more often than others in their organization. According to the survey, dressing professionally is more important in some industries than it is in others. Financial services is one industry that places the most emphasis on professional work attire. Fifty-five percent of workers in this sector say well-dressed employees are more likely to be promoted than others. An additional 51 percent of sales representatives say the same thing about the likelihood of promotions in their industry.

Many Royals believed this as well and dressed in the finest fabrics that money could buy. Kings and Queens used clothing to define their status, their maginificance and their wealth.The textiles provided for the pattern of royal coronations, marriages and funerals. In addition the cut, construction of garments, materials and colors expressed a person’s hierarchy at court. King Henry VIII spent lavishly on his wardrobe and never appeared without wearing the finest silks, furs, wool, jewels and leather.

His grandfather, King Henry VI was a different story. King Henry VI was the only heir to the great King Henry V and great things were expected of him. He ruled from 1422 till 1461 and went on to marry the very beautiful and very French Margaret of Anjou. During his reign, he lost most of the English territories in France that his father won in battle.

Henry was a good man and very spiritual, but he just wasn’t “King Material”. And by the way he dressed, it showed. He was kind, generous and didn’t want to make war with his fellow Christians. He was “really nice” but that wasn’t good enough to rule the most powerful country in the land. He didn’t dress the part either. He avoided dressing like a King. Most of the time, he appeared in public unshaven and in ripped gowns. His shoes had holes in them and many times, his council was embarrassed to attend formal events with him. He never washed his clothing and looked like a homeless person. He was also one of the worst rulers in British history…

I have spent the past two days resting and recovering after one of the best New Years Eve’s that I have ever had.  I had so much fun, but I am exhausted. I could have never survived a night with Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire. Last year, when I read The Duchess by Amanda Foreman, I learned about the fabulous and tumultuous life of Georgina Cavendish, but I also learned about her non-stop partying and destructive lifestyle.  

The Duke and Duchess entertained at the Devonshire House in London almost every day and night. During the day, the Devonshire House was THE center of Whig politics, a place for the most important politicians to meet socially and professionally. During one of the Duchess’s lying-in periods at the end of a pregnancy one ambassador complained that he was unable to conduct his business as he could not meet those politicians that he wanted to because he could not casually come across them as he was used to at The Devonshire House parties. In the evenings, Georgiana was known to turn her enormous home into a casino, complete with professional dealers and banks more than willing to lend money to London’s elite. 

According to author of The Duchess, “These were very serious gamblers”, says Foreman. “People threw up from the stress. You imagine ladies playing cards like in a Jane Austen novel, very sedate, but in fact, they were doing very heavy gambling. ” Georgiana’s game of choice was called faro. “Faro is a game of chance, essentially, with no skill involved,” explains Foreman. “You bet against the bank, and the bank almost always wins. Georgiana became addicted to the game, and it was very tragic in the end. She would let the bankers set up in her drawing room in exchange for a percentage of the profits. But of course Georgiana was so addicted that she would gamble too, and end up basically getting a percentage of her own losses back”.

A typical night for Georgiana, Foreman explained began with: “They would begin the evening with a great feast, and then they would go to the opera, watch perhaps the first three acts, and then go back to someone’s house and feast again. They would eat lots of game: venison, sides of beef. They drank enormous amounts, wine mostly, this claret that British love, red wine. They would eat at seven, and then again at midnight.

On waking they assemble in one of their rooms, and between eleven and twelve retire to the Music Room and crowd around the Pianoforte that each in her turn may have the pleasure of refusing to sing or play. . . . the moment that [supper] is brought in, everybody hastens to begin the day’s amusements and repairs to whist, chess, backgammon, billiards, according to their fancies’ direction. In the course of a few hours, the supper being sufficiently cooled, the Duke invites his friends to partake of the genial Board; every one presses eagerly for a place, especially those who do not sup. The Ladies sip by turns cowslip wine, punch, or cherry syrup, take their leave, and spend the remainder of the night in confidential discourse, dividing into small parties of two and three for this purpose, and then leaving the supper room, and separating for the night, as the Housemaids begin to twirl their mops and open the shutters to the sunshine.

[Except taken from Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman]