[Pour aller plus loin] History of the Saint-Vincent Tournante festival.

Saint-Vincent Tournante has its origins in the Middle Ages. In those days, winegrowers formed mutual aid societies to help each other in times of need, and to help those in distress. These societies organized feasts and processions in honor of Saint Vincent.

For many years, every family living in the wine-growing villages would gather to attend mass dedicated to their patron saint. They took part in the procession of societies, accompanying the statue of the saint on its annual wanderings.
Each year, one of the village families had the honor of welcoming the statue into their home, preserving it for a whole year until it was passed on to another family at the next ceremony.

This all changed in 1934, when two Burgundian winegrowers, Georges Faiveley and Camille Rodier, created the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. The aim of the Confrérie was to restore corporate solidarity, promote Burgundy wines and defend the region's winegrowing heritage.

In 1938, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin launched the first edition of the Saint-Vincent Tournante, with 6 companies taking part! They called it "tournante" because every year, a different village hosted the event.

What's the situation today?

Today, on the last weekend of January (since the date of Saint-Vincent is January 22), the festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors!

The parade of the Sociétés de Saint-Vincent, the ceremony to induct the country's most senior winegrowers into the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin - this is what awaits visitors from the 4 corners of France during this truly popular celebration after the harvest season.

It's a long journey, and one that has won over more and more people: today, between 80 and 100 mutual aid societies take part in the parade!