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Hi – I’m Liz – I write the blog “elizabethsvines” and today I’m in Sigoules which is in south west France in the Perigord Pourpre which is heavy-duty wine country and as you know I write about
wine, culture, food and all associated things of great interest and today we had the meeting of the Confrerie – as you can see I’m in my regalia – I’m wearing the colours of the Confrerie du Raison d’Or de Sigoules and this is a Confrerie that I’ve been a member of for
about three years and every year there is a special event in Sigoules which is the founding village of our Confrerie and today we are celebrating the annual event and introducing new people into
the Confrerie.
So what are these confreries?
Confreries are like old guilds or associations of workers that go back
to the Middle Ages in medieval times; the conferies have the roots in that period of history. Today in a modern context, they’re more used as as an adjunct to tourism to economic development and to
really working in the tourism culture. And talking about culture. Confreries are also about culture and they’ve been
recognised by UNESCO as having an intangible asset and they are part of la Gastronomie which, of course, is so
valuable in France; this is a cornerstone of French culture, its food and wine and the Confreries are regarded as part and
parcel of that recognition throughUNESCO. So why am I a member of a confrerie? Here I am a Canadian spending part of the time in south west France? I was invited to join the Confrerie
because I write a wine blog and I write about wine and associated activities so I was asked if I would join the Confrerie
and actually act as an ambassador in Canada – so talk about the Confrerie in a more of a Canadian context. So that’s one of the reasons. I enjoy writing and I enjoy writing about wine. This is actually a hobby for me – it’s not something that I’m compensated for – I love it! And the other aspect of of being a Confrerie member is that it really is an opportunity to socialise with French people who are
very engaged in their community and I really find that very interesting,
enjoyable – and it’s fun! And one of the core values of the Confrerie is, in fact, conviviality and friendship so this fits right into the idea of socialising with French people who are very active and
supportive of their community. And it’s all about promoting regional products and the culture and our Confrerie here not only
promotes the regional products but also arranges walks (randonnées) through the countryside so that people can discover the Perigord which is wonderful. And another aspect of the
Confrerie which I have found particularly
enjoyable is that it’s given me the opportunity to go with some of my Confrerie colleagues to other parts of France.
So, for example, I have been to the Pays Basque.
This morning – at the end of that one of our celebrations
– we had the opportunity to hear the members of
the Confrerie from the Pays Basque sing and they have the most wonderful voices – deep, very wonderful singing voices and this is one of the aspects that I’ve really enjoyed is this opportunity to go to
other parts of France and become aware of their culture. So being a member of a confrerie is really about celebrating the culture of that environment – and I love it!
So, if you found this interesting, you can follow me on my blog at and you can find out more about
my background and why I’m interested in wine and what I’ve done to further my education in this area and I enjoy looking forward to you following my blog. Thank you.
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elizabethsvines video blog – wine fair Sigoules – Confrerie de Raison d’Or Sigoules – Foire aux vins Sigoules – Confreries – UNESCO – food and wine – French wine – Dordogne – South West France – elizabethsvines – wine tourism – Sigoules – Pays de Bergerac