Wines and vineyards of Paris

Bercy wines 2/2

In the 19th century, the wine depots were in full swing. The wine merchants still brought their wine by boat onto the quays of the Seine, but also by tank car from the train station Rapée which has today disappeared.

They had to reply to an increasing demand from the Parisians for wine. In 1854 the capital counted 4408 wine merchants and in 1872 Paris with its boundaries of today counted 11346 drinks. The consummation of Parisians has reached 4 million hl…..!

This is how the Bercy depots became important in those times. Bercy became incontestably the most important centre in the Paris region for commerce in bulk of wine and eau de vie. It was even the largest market in Europe because the depot included shops, cellars and quays necessary for wine commerce, including all the activities linked to wine (barrel-making, trucking…..)

It was a real town within a town. Numerous crafts could co-exist: negotiators, barrel makers, carters, firemen,….you could also meet the “yolk”. This was the nickname given to the man charged with reselling the yolks of eggs for which the whites had been used for the clarification of wine.

The depots’ activity remained flourishing until 1950.

At the end of the 20th century, the restructuring and renovation of the district announced the end of the depots. But the architects of the Bercy park who had arranged the gardens of the park in the same place as the old wine depots knew to conserve a few vestiges, witnesses of the past.

Thus, in the central part (the “Parterres”) are still visible the rails, a “chai” (ancient place of wine-bottling) and the depot guardian’s house.