Prior to attending the 2002 Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference in Dublin, Netta Blanchard, the Dallas Regional Director, in conjunction with Dr. Elisabet Bordt and Professor Michael Scott, organized a five-day tour of some of the celebrated Winegeese Châteaux of the Medoc, the most famous red wine district in France.

The 'Winegeese' is the name given to the emigrant Irish families and their descendants, who from the eighteenth century onwards engaged in the wine trade in the various countries of their adoption. Today the international wine scene resounds with the rich history of those Irish families, whose names and labels have become synonymous with quality wine. Many of these pioneering families have played significant roles in the viticulture development of some of the finest wine-growing regions in both the old and new world.

The story of these Winegeese families reflects one of the most remarkable and triumphant sagas in the misty romanticism of the Irish Diaspora. For a variety of reasons - rebellion, violated treaties, suppression of religion - the flower of Irish youth and nobility emigrated to France in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of these young military men and merchants gravitated towards Bordeaux, which had a long-established trading connection with Ireland.

Bordeaux, capital of the wine world, is the spiritual home of the Winegeese. The splendid châteaux of Bordeaux and the wines they produce comprise one of the great cultural treasures of France, inextricably interwoven into the tapestry of Irish history. In Bordeaux there are 14 chateaux, 10 streets, 2 wine communes and 1 public monument, all bearing Irish names. The city's most famous secular monument 'Le Grosse-Cloche' commemorates Patrice McMahon, Marshal of France and President of the Republic.

By the middle of the eighteenth century the Irish Merchant Community on the Quai des Chartrons had become the most powerful of the expatriate minorities. Abraham Lawton from Cork had become the most important winebroker of the time. Thomas Barton from Fermanagh soon became the leading wine shipper in Bordeaux and Nathaniel Johnston from Armagh had cellars that held the equivalent of six million bottles.

The American Ireland Fund Texan Group visited seven Wine Estates: Château Lynch-Bages, Château Kirwan, Château Phelan-Segur, Château Siran, Château Pichon-Longueville de Lalande, Château Mouton-Rothschild (although not because of any Irish associations but because it is the showpiece of the Medoc), Château de La Ligne and Château Langoa-Barton, (home of Anthony Barton who was born at Straffan House, County Kildare, which is now the present location of the 'K Club').

The group also attended three dinners - one hosted by Belfast man, Terry Cross at his Château de La Ligne, one of the three Winegeese Families to have recently acquired Bordeaux wine properties, the others being Tony Ryan, Château Lascombes and Lochlainn Quinn, Château de Fieuzal. Daniel Lawton, a member of one of Bordeaux's most distinguished wine families hosted a dinner at 'La Villa Primrose'. On the last evening the party attended a dinner hosted by Thierry Gardinier at Château-Phelan-Segur. The highlight of this memorable night was the induction of sixteen members of the group into the Order of the Winegeese.

Bordeaux is an evocative name. And for this group of Texans, it will always evoke fond memories of enchanting evenings at elegant Châteaux and wines of distinction bearing the names of their noble origins that perpetuate a unique tradition - the tradition of the Winegeese.

- Ted Murphy, Desmond Castle International
Museum of Wine, Kinsale

Last June 22 members of The AIF Texan chapter traveled to the Hotel Relais de Margaux, in the charming southern Médocan village of Margaux, in France. This was to be their home for the next five days as they explored the celebrated Winegeese Châteaux of the Medoc before arriving at the Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference.

After a fascinating tour of Château Siran with Madame Miailhe de Burgh, a direct descendant of Sir Patrick Sarsfield, the Texans ended the evening with Professor Michael Scott, recently retired from the University of Bordeaux, who gave a remarkable presentation on 'An Irishman's Bordeaux.' Their trip was made all the more memorable because Mr. Ted Murphy, the noted wine historian, and his wife Mrs. Garry Murphy, both from Cork, were able to join them for the entire trip.

They visited Château Mouton Rothschild to visit the superb museum before a reception at the Mairie in Bordeaux. Descendants of the great Irish wine families including the Lynch, Lawton and Clark, were there to meet them. After the Mayors reception the group had a private tour of the world-renowned Bordeaux Opera house arranged by Mme Micheline Lawton and learned the nuances of wine tasting at Château Langoa under the guidance of owner Mr. Anthony Barton.

Following a day of golf Monsieur and Madame Daniel Lawton graciously hosted a dinner at the Primrose Club in Bordeaux. They also toured the great Château Lynch-Bages later in the week. For three-quarters of a century the 'Domaine de Bages' was the property of the Lynch family, sons and grandsons of John Lynch of Galway. John Tillotson presented Jean-Michel Cazes, who now manages the property, with a Stetson to replace one given to him by the famous Texan Maurice Acers in 1959, when he was a Rotary Scholar at the University of Texas.

Irish businessman Mr. Terry Cross and his partner Adele provided one of the most memorable evenings at Château La Ligne. Special guests included the Irish Winter Olympian Lord Clifton Wrottesley and Belfast-born opera singer Ms. Angela Phelan. They also had the opportunity to meet the staff and the board members of the Department of Integrated Education of Northern Ireland.

Monsieur Jean-Henri Schÿler gave us a tour of his Château Kirwan and Monsieur Thierry Gardinier hosted the farewell dinner at Château Phélan-Ségur. Plans are now afoot to formally launch the Winegeese Society of The American Ireland Fund at an event in January in Dallas, to be hosted by Cliff and Barbara Miercort.

Photo Index 1 Texas Wine Geese at Chateau Phelan Segur 2 Château Clarke, Bordeaux 3 Château Dillon, Bordeaux 4 One of the Irish Wine Geese, Abraham Lawton from Cork 5 Ted & Garry Murphy at Château Lynch Bages 6 Jane Hanratty & Gretchen Lahourcade 7 Descendents of the original Wine Geese at Château Clarke 8 Château Lynch Bages 9 Château Dillon, Bordeaux 10 John & Sylvia Tillotson at Château Pichon Longueville 11 Kevin Curley acts as wine master 12 Texan Wine Geese at Château Kirwan 13 Brinda Curley, Deanna McHugh, Gretchen Lahourcade, Netta Blanchard & Jane Hanratty 14 Cliff & Barbara Miercort with Mike Corboy 15 Mike & Lou Ann Corboy with Thierry Gardinier & Ted Murphy 16 John Hurt with Bobbie Sue Williams at the Conference 17 Dr. Martin & President Mary McAleese with Barbara & Cliff Miercort & Lou Ann and Mike Corboy 18 Gretchen Lahourcade with "Bono" and Waverly Buford 19 Netta Blanchard shares a joke with Mary Davis of Special Olympic World Games 2003 20 Jerome Tillotson, Sylvia Tillotson, Netta Blanchard, Lou Ann Corboy & Joseph Tillotson 21 Back row: Barbara Morgan, Don & Jane Hanratty, Ed Schaffler Front row: Kristin Lyons, Herbert Ellis, Peggy Hayden, Jane Schaffler, Marc & Georgia Lyons