How Beaujolais and Cognac embodied the art of french trade

Beaujolais: wine on the move

The Saône, “the Walking Road”

For the vignerons of Beaujolais, geography was destiny.
Their vineyards, perched on gentle slopes north of Lyon, overlooked the Saône — a river the Romans once called "le chemin qui marche" - “the road that walks”.

From the 17th century onward, barrels of young, lively Gamay were rolled, dragged, or carted down to the riverbanks before being loaded onto flat-bottomed gabares that floated south toward Lyon.
There, an insatiable market awaited: silk workers, artisans, and merchants who drank Beaujolais not out of prestige, but out of joy.

By the mid-18th century, the wine of the Beaujolais had become “the wine of the Canuts,” fueling the daily life of Lyon’s booming working class. In the city’s narrow bouchons, it was poured into short pots and shared with laughter.
The link between Beaujolais and Lyon was so intimate that vintners began tailoring their wines to the city’s palate — bright, fruity, and ready to drink.

Beyond Lyon: trade and expansion

The Saône and Rhône rivers did more than serve Lyon; they opened a route to the Mediterranean world.
From there, Beaujolais reached Marseille, Italy, Spain, and even North Africa.

Meanwhile, another innovation changed everything: construction of the Canal de Briare began around 1604–1605 and was completed in 1642 after nearly four decades of work. The first boat passed through that same year, connecting the Loire and the Seine — a revolution for wine transport. This made it possible for Beaujolais wines to reach Paris, where they found a new bourgeois clientele eager for “country wines” with charm and authenticity.

By the 19th century, railways replaced barges. Beaujolais travelled faster and farther, pouring into Parisian cafés and London wine bars. Yet the river remained a symbol — of mobility, trade, and renewal.

Merchants and the birth of wine commerce

If the Saône carried the barrels, the merchants carried the story.
In Lyon and Beaune, négociants organized the wine trade with precision. They bought grapes and wine from hundreds of small growers, blended, matured, and sold them under recognizable names — a precursor to modern branding.

This merchant system linked Beaujolais to Burgundy, its northern neighbour.
For centuries, the two regions collaborated: Beaujolais supplied volume and vivacity; Burgundy provided prestige and structure.
Some Beaujolais wines were even sold under the Burgundy label — an early example of commercial synergy in the wine world.

By the end of the 19th century, Beaujolais had carved out its own reputation: the wine of conviviality, freshness, and "joie de vivre". Its trade routes, once local, had become national and even international.

Cognac: when wine learned to travel further

While Beaujolais flowed down the Saône, another kind of wine — distilled, aged, and destined for the world — was taking shape further west.

In 1724, in the small town of Cognac, a young vintner named Rémy Martin began selling eaux-de-vie under his own name.
His decision marked the birth of one of France’s most enduring dynasties in fine spirits.

The Charente River, like the Saône, was a commercial artery.
Barges loaded with oak casks glided toward the port of La Rochelle, where ships carried French brandy to England, Holland, and beyond.

A few years later, recognition came from the highest level.
In 1738, King Louis XV granted Rémy Martin a rare royal privilege — the right to plant new vines — at a time when vineyard expansion was strictly controlled. This royal seal of excellence recognized the extraordinary quality of his Cognacs and set the House on its path to global renown.

This spirit of excellence still defines the House today. Discover its heritage on the Rémy Martin – official site.

From the hills to the seas: a shared french ambition

Though Beaujolais and Cognac belonged to different worlds — one a cheerful red, the other a meditative amber — they were bound by the same commercial genius.
Both relied on rivers, merchants, and craftsmanship to carry their identity across France and beyond.

Paul-Émile Rémy Martin took over management of the House in 1841, but truly structured global exports only took shape around 1870, with the first documented advertising in the United States appearing during the 1880s. At the same time, trains carried Beaujolais to new European markets.
The merchant networks that once linked Lyon to Bordeaux or La Rochelle had become part of a global web of trade, bringing with them a new image of France: elegant, artisanal, and modern.

Time, taste, and transformation

The story of Beaujolais and Cognac is not only one of commerce — it is one of adaptation.
The Beaujolais winemaker learned to capture youth and freshness in every harvest; the Cognac master learned to tame time through aging and blending.
One celebrated the moment; the other eternity. Together, they defined the rhythm of French taste — a harmony between immediacy and patience.

Even today, their legacies intertwine.
The joyful simplicity of Beaujolais Nouveau and the timeless elegance of Rémy Martin Cognac both express a uniquely French philosophy: that pleasure, when born of craft and authenticity, deserves to travel the world.