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The Ban des Vendanges de la Jurade de St Emilion is a festival to formally announce the beginning of the harvest of the wines of St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine), one of the great wines of Bordeaux.
The “Jurade” is one of those French inventions to recreate a usually fictitious ancient brotherhood of men (and sometimes women) who guard the reputation of the wine - and gives them the opportunity to dress up in funny clothes, hold induction ceremonies, parade through the town, announce the beginning of the harvest from the top of an ancient tower - and imbibe serious quantities of fine wine.
The village is in festive mood for the day - and in all of Bordeaux, St Emilion is the most attractive and interesting village.