Jane Anson
Series 1 Episode 6
Vintage Cartography: Mapping the World of Wine
Series 1 Episode 6
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Welcome! In this episode, Jerry is joined by self-confessed map geek and wine expert Jane Anson, to talk about the remarkable maps that she created about the Bordeaux wine region in France.
Jane travelled the world as a journalist before moving to Bordeaux over twenty years ago. A passionate connoisseur of French wines, she is a writer, critic, and tutor.
In this episode, Jane unfurls a beautiful map of the Central Médoc region. Uniquely, it shows both what lies beneath and above the ground. She explains to Jerry the fascinating creative process behind the map, along with the secrets that it unlocks about the taste, history, and prices, of local wines.
©EJA Publishing & Seagrave Foulkes Publishers 2024, based on maps by Jane Anson from 'Inside Bordeaux'.
Bordeaux classifications from Die Gartenlaube (1869)
Image courtesy of English Heritage.
Jane explains that the city of Bordeaux has always been very international and dynamic, largely because of its highly strategic location as a port on the eastern coast of France.
The local wine industry has a fascinating, long history featuring a colourful cast of characters - including Emperor Napolean III, who ordered the classification of Bordeaux wines in 1855, and the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to the English King Henry II in 1154 had unforeseen consequences for the wine trade.
Panzer Division “Invasion of France” (Bordeaux) Combat Road Map #29 (1940). ©Premier Relics LLC.
Maps of Bordeaux and the region have existed for hundreds of years; but Jane's maps are the first to display the geological terroir beneath the vines, as well as the chateaux and topography. The sources of the data on these maps are diverse and fascinating. They include venerated wine maps from experts such as Pierre Bechelet and Michael Broadbent, and survey maps created by the German army in World War II - such as the one shown above.
About Jane Anson
Jane Anson has lived in Bordeaux since 2003 and is founder of janeanson.com, which she launched after working as a long-time Bordeaux correspondent to Decanter magazine.
She is the author of Inside Bordeaux and Bordeaux Legends. Jane has also co-authored or translated over a dozen wine and travel books, most recently Jean-Michel Cazes’ work From Bordeaux to the Stars.
She has won several awards for her writing, including Louis Roederer Wine Online Communicator of the Year 2020, and Born Digital Best Editorial 2020. She is the recipient of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s 2023 Wine Communicator Trophy.
Jane is a graduate of the DUAD tasting diploma of the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology, an accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux Ecole du Vin, and co-founder of Bordeaux Mentor Week - aimed at opening up diversity and access in the world of wine.
In 2021, she was the only journalist to taste a bottle of Petrus that had spent 14 months circumnavigating the earth on the International Space Station. Jane was the first woman to deliver the André Simon lecture for the International Wine and Food Society since the series began in 1971.
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