Definition: Pinard

Wine in popular language (from pinot). Popular name for wine (19th century), from military slang (1616), derived from pineau, the sweet wine of Charentes (wine + cognac). We know how important red wine was in the lives of the Poilus during the First World War. Often replacing drinking water (a rare commodity), it provided essential nutrients in an otherwise unbalanced diet. While it was indeed responsible for a number of excesses, we should be careful not to exaggerate its harmful role. In 1914, France was a very large consumer of wine, particularly everyday wines. This consumption was, of course, reflected in the trenches. Moreover, the French have always loved to glorify the divine bottle, without sinking into widespread alcoholism. Drinking songs and other odes to Bacchus are all part of a popular culture that finds fertile ground in the military environment.