Cultivating the Symbolic Capital of Singularity: The Vineyard, From Space to Place

Abstract

This article considers how local conditions of any one place both impact and are impacted by the geo-political and economic conditions of the wider world. Using the microcosm of the French winegrape vineyard, I explore local-global dynamics in the production and dissemination of symbolic capital. Facing market instability during the 19th century, French producers re-invented familiar symbols to distinguish their cultural wealth of place, creating and recreating shifting hierarchies of insiders and outsiders. These conceptions of place were legitimatized and diffused through the help of global institutions. As these invented concepts of place, tradition, and singularity gained dominance and broad global adoption, French producers sought to re-invent a “historical” narrative and recast the vineyard as a site of singular nature and unique heritage.