A devastating fire swept through the 800-year-old cathedral in April 2019, destroying the roof, the steeple and some of the vaulting. Workers have spent the past five years painstakingly rebuilding Notre-Dame Cathedral at a cost of €700m (£585m). The restoration is now complete, and the grand reopening will take place on Sunday 8 December.
The Archbishop of Paris has selected a natural wine made by Régis and Anne-Reine Anouil in the Loire Valley to serve as the sacramental wine during the ceremony.
Their wines were previously poured for Pope Francis when he visited Marseille in October 2023, and he enjoyed the red over dinner with Bishop Jean-Marc Aveline, the Archbishop of Marseille.
Régis Anouil contacted Bishop Laurent Ulrich, the Archbishop of Paris, a few weeks ago to suggest that their white blend could serve as the mass wine for the ceremony.
He said: ‘I explained to Bishop Ulrich that our natural wines correspond to what the (Roman) Congregation for Divine Worship requires for the consecrated species: the wine must be fermented grape juice and nothing else.’
He noted that billionaires such as LVMH founder Bernard Arnault and Kering founder François Pinault played a major role in funding the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
‘These two personalities are owners of some of the most renowned wines of our country: Yquem, Cheval Blanc, Clos des Lambrays, Château Latour, Clos de Tart and many others,’ said Régis Anouil. ‘Why then choose our wine, from the Domaine de La Bénisson-Dieu, rather than the wines of
