Wine in history: <em>Vin et </em>Lumières

Wine in history: <em>Vin et </em>Lumières

Examples of early cinema, such as the Lumière brothers’ Partie de Cartes, remind us of the central significance of wine in French culture, says  Stuart Walton.  A trio of genial old buffers sits at a cafe table. Two of them who are positioned in profile to us are playing cards—écarté, to be precise. While the one on the right deals the next hand, the third, centrally seated figure facing us calls to a waiter, who promptly appears from the right …