Decorative Wines of France Menu, French Work, Circa 1970

This charming decorative menu is dedicated to the wines of France — that most august and beloved subject in the canon of French gastronomy — presented as a visual celebration of the vineyards, appellations, and wine culture of the French terroir. Whether illustrated with maps of wine-producing regions, vignettes of vineyard life, elegant typographic compositions of grape varieties and appellations, or colourful images of bottles and labels, the piece reflects the exuberant pride that France has always taken in its viticultural heritage.

The wine menu as a decorative object has a distinguished history in French gastronomic culture. The great restaurants of Paris — Maxim's, the Tour d'Argent, Lucas-Carton — commissioned menus of extraordinary elaboration, printed on fine paper, illustrated by prominent artists, and bound in leather or card of the finest quality. By the 1960s and 1970s, the decorative wine map and illustrated wine menu had become popular domestic objects as well, produced in editions destined for framing and display in dining rooms, wine cellars, and kitchens that wished to pay homage to the glories of the French table.

This decorative menu brings a note of Gallic conviviality and gastronomic culture to any room. Framed and hung in a dining room, a kitchen, or a wine cellar, it celebrates the great tradition of French viticulture with wit and charm. It is also a document of its era — of a moment when the wine culture of France was at its most confident and most celebrated. A delightful piece of French decorative ephemera, and a gift for any lover of French gastronomy.