By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate   When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to look back on the semiquincentennial anniversary of certain events — and perchance to celebrate said events in order to pursue happiness — mayhaps we will do what the author of the Declaratio n of Independence himself did, and did quite frequently: we shall raise a glass of wine. If Thomas Jefferson could use such long run-on sentences, so can I. Samuel Adams. JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY – MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON / Contributed   When we think about the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, and the alcoholic beverages that led us to where we are as a nation today, we may first think of Sam Adams. Turns out, Sam Adams is not just a beer; he was an actual historical figure. This “Son of Liberty” was also the son of a brewer. Histories tell us that the revolutionary Sam Adams may or may not have tried his hand at brewing. It was really his father. Deacon Samuel Adams, who owned a malt house that his son later inherited. And while our modern beer movement would not be nearly as successful as it is if it weren’t for Samuel Adams Beer, it appears Sam Adams, the Son of Liberty, poured his dad’s malting company and brewing business down the drain — like so much tea into the belly of Boston Harbor. The real alcoholic beverage we should look to historically when it comes to the 250th anniversary of this nation is not beer. It’s wine. And the ultimate wine patriot was the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson.   Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale in 1800. WHITE HOUSE COLLECTION/WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION   While there is little historical record about Jefferson’s early wine snobbery, there is some evidence that he experimented with growing vines for wine at Monticello. Or, probably more accurately, he made the enslaved people he owned try to grow them for him. Still, there is no evidence I’ve seen that Jefferson ever bottled any wine. There is one reference to his purchasing a “claret” in 1768 when he was a student at William Mary in Virginia. Claret, in this instance, is not the name of a human being (mercifully). It is a term the British still use to describe certain wines. The wines are often clearer or light-colored reds, but sometimes “claret” is used as a generic term for French wine. Interestingly, in much the same way that the Colonial Army threw off the mantle of British oppression, when Jefferson became president, he threw off the mantle of the word “claret” to describe imported wines. According to research done through an excellent wine blog with a comprehensive history of Jefferson’s love of wine, Frank Morgon’s DrinkWhatYouLike.Wordpress.com, President Jefferson declared, “The term claret should be abolished, because unknown in the country where it is made, and because indefinite here.” This early example of Jefferson’s consuming claret sets the tone for the Francophile Jefferson would become, in both wine and political philosophy. After penning the document which America celebrates this summer, but before our current tattered Constitution was created, Jefferson was an ambassador to France. While there, he continued to indulge his French wine fascination. And it turns out he had quite an astute palate. Have you ever heard of “First Growth Bordeaux”? It’s a ranking system created in 1855 that still holds tremendous sway over sought-after Bordeaux wines today. These First Growths are considered the “crème de la crème” — or I guess, “vin de la vin” — and are assigned the rank of Premier Cru. In the 1855 ranking, only four Bordeaux wines were listed as Premier Cru: Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Latour. One-hundred years later, Château Mouton Rothschild was added as a fifth First Growth after intense lobbying by its owner, Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Have a field day with that one, conspiracy theorists! But guess who made his own list of his favorite wines from Bordeaux? Thomas Jefferson. In a whirlwind five-day trip to Bordeaux in 1787 — almost 70 years before the official Premier Cru classification — Jefferson made these notes on his favorite wines from Bordeaux (again, with huge thanks to Frank Morgan and the Library of Congress): Of RED WINES, there are four. vineyards of first quality, viz. Hautbrion, belonging 2/3 to M. le comte de Fumelle, who has engaged to Barton a merchant, the other third to the Comte de Toulouse. The whole is 75. tonneaux. Chateau Margau, below to the Marquis d’Argicourt, who makes about 150. tonneaux of 1000 bottles each.  He has engaged to Jernon a merchant. [Chateau] La Tour de Segur, en Saint Lambert, belonging to Monsieur Mirosmenil, who makes 125. tonneaux. Chateau de la Fite, belonging to the President Pichard at Bordeaux, who makes 175 tonneaux.  The wines of the three first are not in perfection till 4 years old. Those (of) de la Fite being somewhat lighter, are good at 3 years, that is the crop of 1786 is good in the spring of 1789.  Thomas Jefferson came to the exact same conclusions about the best wines of Bordeaux in 1787 that the Exposition Universelle de Paris did 68 years later in 1855. All of these First Growth wines (as well as the Illuminati newcomer added one-hundred years later) are still available today. If by “available,” I mean sacrifice your first-born child to afford them. But I probably shouldn’t use that analogy. Again: conspiracy theorists. Jefferson must have thought money was no object when it came to his wine consumption. During his first term as president, he spent $7,500 on wine, which is about $186,000 in today’s money. Depending on which source you cite, he spent between 9% and 13% of his entire salary on wine over his eight years as president. Hardly fiscally conservative. But if you’re looking for some Jeffersonian wine that is more affordable, given the situation our current president has put our pocketbooks in, I will draw your attention to the name written at the end of Jefferson’s first line above: Barton. Thomas Barton was an Irishman who started a wine company in Bordeaux in 1725. That same winery is the oldest still in operation in Bordeaux today. In a letter from August 1787, Jefferson listed Barton as one of his preferred wine suppliers. The grandson of Thomas Barton later teamed up with Frenchman Daniel Guestier to form a wine exporting company in 1802: Barton Guestier. In 1805, Jefferson wrote another letter in which he asked for BG wines. One way you can pursue happiness during our Semiquincentennial is by asking for the same wines that the author of the Declaration of Independence sought after. BG wines are available up and down the Valley, from Liquors 44 to River Valley Co-op to Shelburne Falls Cork. BG is no longer small and family-owned, but the last vintage I tried was still of solid quality at a very affordable price — usually under $20. I quite like BG sparkling wines. Maybe instead of illegally lighting off fireworks and scaring dogs, we could loudly pop the cork on their Blanc de Blancs or sparkling Rosé. And we can ponder if it was the wine talking when Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” or whether it was the influence of too much wine that kept him from living up to those ideals. Sigh. Happy 250th, America. Vive la France! ...read more read less