Scrolling through Twitter recently, an eye-catching claim suggested that the placement of the keys on the Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottle can tell us how the grapes were acquired (e.g., estate or purchased). As this particular claim seemed somewhat dubious, it inspired me to take some time to research the issue.
So I posed this question myself, quoting the original tweet. At this point, fellow skeptic @SteveJankousky got involved, sending an email directly to M. Chapoutier — the winery in the original tweet— asking for clarification. What he received in response, was… somewhat confusing, to be honest.
Even though I was initially perplexed, once I started to do some additional research and clarify anything that may have been lost in translation, it actually began to make sense. It turns out, in fact, that there are three primary versions of the CdP crest, and that these can indeed be used to learn more about the wine’s origins!
The first and most iconic crest is the one shown above. Made to look like the Vatican City coat of arms, this traditional logo shows a papal three-crowned tiara (triregnum) above the keys of St. Peter with the words “Châteauneuf-du-Pape” around the top of the tiara and the word “Contrôlé” underneath.
The union of owners controlling CdP — the Syndicat des Propriétaires Viticulteurs de Châteauneuf-du-Pape — created this bottle in 1937 as part of an effort to standardize wines coming from the area (and, perhaps, to establish one of the first official appellations in France). Today, though now known as Syndicat des Vignerons de Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the organization still maintains control over the iconic bottle and crest.
