Baron Philippe de Rothschild (13 April 1902 - 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix race-car driver, a scriptwriter, a theatrical producer, a poet, and the most successful wine grower in the world. 13 April is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rothschild is a German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname. ... Georges Boillot winning the 1912 French Grand Prix in Dieppe, France Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organized automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. ...

Born in Paris, Georges Philippe de Rothschild was the younger son of Baron Henri James de Rothschild (1872 - 1946) (who was a noted playwright under the name André Pascal) and Mathilde Sophie Henriette von Weissweiller (1872 - 1926). At the outbreak of World War I, 12-year-old Philippe was sent to the safety of the family's vineyard in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc. There, he developed a love of the country and the wine business, an enterprise in his family since 1853, but one his father and grandfather had shown little interest in. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) {{{notes}}} World War I... Pauillac is a small village and port on the Gironde estuary, famed for producing some of the finest and longest-lasting red wine in the world. ... The Médoc is one of the most famous of the French wine-growing regions, consisting of the region in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. ...

As a young man, in sharp contrast to the Rothschild family's staid aristocratic traditions, Philippe de Rothschild became a larger-than-life personality as a race-car driver, actor, film producer, artist, and the man who revolutionized winemaking in the 20th century. He was only twenty years old when he took over the operations of the Château Mouton Rothschild vineyards and two years later, in 1924, came up with the unheard of idea of bottling the entire vintage at the Château, an idea that other producers of Premier Cru wines soon copied. Previously, vineyards sold their wines in bulk, leaving the maturing, bottling, labeling and marketing to be handled by the wine merchants. Philippe de Rothschild's idea was to maintain control over the quality of his product and allow marketing of the brand name. Two years later, he developed a de facto price-fixing arrangement among other top Bordeaux producers. Château Mouton Rothschild, located 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France in an area known as the Médoc, specifically the village of Pauillac. ...

During the 1920s, Philippe lived the life of a wealthy playboy, often found in the company of a beautiful woman, usually an actress, at one of the popular night spots in Paris. Philippe's older brother had made friends with Robert Benoist when they served together in the Armée de l'Air during World War I and through this connection, for a short time young Philippe took up Grand Prix motor racing. From his father, he inherited the love of fast cars, but wishing to maintain a low profile Philippe used the pseudonym "Georges Philippe" in order to race anonymously. Robert Marcel Charles Benoist, (March 20, 1895 - September 9, 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) {{{notes}}} World War I... Georges Boillot winning the 1912 French Grand Prix in Dieppe, France Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organized automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. ...

In 1928, he first competed in the Paris to Nice race after which he purchased a new Bugatti and entered a Grand Prix event at Le Mans. In 1929 he competed in a number of races, including the first ever Grand Prix of Monaco where he finished a respectable fourth to winner William Grover-Williams. Three weeks later he went to Dijon where he scored his first victory in the Grand Prix de Bourgogne. However, with his increasing fame, the media began to question exactly who this "Georges Philippe" was, so Philippe de Rothschild dropped out of the racing scene, competing only one more time in the 1930 24 hours of Le Mans. The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... City motto: Nicæa civitas. ... Bugatti is one of the most celebrated marques of automobile and the one of the most exclusive Italian car producers of all time. ... Le Mans is a city in France, located at the Sarthe River. ... The principality of Monaco holds one of the oldest races on the Formula One automobile racing circuit. ... Charles Frederick William Grover-Williams, (January 16, 1903 – March 18, 1945), was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. ... Location within France Street in the centre of Dijon Arc de triomphe known as the Porte Guillaume, on Place Darcy in the centre of Dijon Dijon and suburbs Dijon ( (help· info)) is a city in eastern France, the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Côte-dOr département... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Despite the time spent racing automobiles and producing the 1932 film Lac aux Dames, the first French "talkie" to gain international recognition, the energetic Philippe de Rothschild still devoted his energies and innovation to Château Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac. Upon harvesting a crop he considered not up to the high standards of his vineyard, he chose not to sell that year's vintage under the Château label. In 1932 Philippe de Rothschild began to sell this second-string vintage as a good low-cost Bordeaux under the name "Mouton Cadet". The product became so successful that he eventually had to purchase grapes from vineyards throughout the Bordeaux region just to meet the demand. Today, Mouton Cadet is the number one selling red wine in the world. A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... A vineyard Vineyard with bird netting Wine grapes with netting as protection against birds A vineyard (vignoble in French, vigna or vigneto in Italian, vinha in Portuguese, viña or viñedo in Spanish, Weinberg in German) is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table...

As an offshoot of self-bottling, Philippe, also came up with the idea of having his labels designed by famous artists. In 1946, this became a prominent and traditional part of the vineyard's image with labels created by great painters and sculptors such as Jean Cocteau, Leonor Fini, Henry Moore, Marie Laurencin, Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí, Jacques Villon, Pierre Alechinsky, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, César, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Andy Warhol and other notables. Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (July 5, 1889 – October 11, 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker. ... Leonor Fini (1908-1996) was an Argentine surrealist painter. ... Reclining Figure (1951) outside the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, is characteristic of Moores sculptures, with an abstract female figure intercut with voids. ... Marie Laurencin photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1949 Marie Laurencin (October 31, 1883 — June 8, 1956), Parisian painter and engraver. ... Violin and Candlestick, Paris, spring 1910 (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) Georges Braque (May 13, 1882 – August 31, 1963) was a French painter and sculptor, and with Pablo Picasso one of the inventors of Cubism. ... Salvador Dalí as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten Salvador Felip Jacint Dalí Domènech (Catalan) Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech (Spanish), (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) was one of the most important painters of the 20th century, best known for his surrealist work identified by its... Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 - June 9, 1963) was a French Cubist painter and printmaker. ... Pierre Alechinsky (October 19, 1927) is a Belgian artist. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Marc Chagall as photographed in 1941 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Young Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Full name) (October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain – April 8, 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. ... César Baldaccini (January 1, 1921 in Marseille - December 6, 1998 in Paris) was a noted sculptor. ... La Joute, by Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle (7 October 1923 - 12 March 2002) was a painter and sculptor from Quebec. ... Andy Warhol, photographed by Helmut Newton. ...

In 1933 Philippe had expanded the Mouton Rothschild estates with the acquisition of the neighboring Chateau d'Armailhacq. By the late 1930s, the wines of Mouton Rothschild were recognized as among the world's greatest. Nonetheless, the Mouton vineyard was still rated as a "second growth" as a result of the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 and Philippe de Rothschild began a lifelong mission to rectify this. In 1973, Château Mouton Rothschild became the only French vineyard to ever achieve reclassification to first growth, thanks to decades of relentless lobbying. Subsequently, the owner of Château d'Yquem sued unsuccessfully to have the reclassification reversed. // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... For the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for Frances best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... A half bottle of Yquem Château dYquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur (French, Great First Growth or Great First Vintage) wine from the Sauternes region in the southern part of Bordeaux. ...

In 1935, Philippe de Rothschild married an aristocratic divorcée, Elisabeth Pelletier de Chambure (1902-1945), known as Lili. They had two children: Philippine Mathilde Camille de Rothschild (born 22 November 1935) and Charles Henri de Rothschild (born and died 1937). November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Rothschild's late-in-life memoirs ("Milady Vine," written in collaboration with his companion, the British director Joan Littlewood) describe a marriage of great passion but also enormous tempestuousness and despair. The couple's difficulties increased when their only son was born tragically deformed and died soon after birth. They eventually separated, and the baron's wife reverted to her maiden name. Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 - 20 September 2002) was a theatrical director, famous for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop. ...

The outbreak of World War II had serious consequences for the entire Rothschild family, who were Jewish. Philippe de Rothschild's parents fled to the safety of Lausanne, Switzerland and the Paris mansion where they lived became the headquarters for the German Naval Command. Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a large scale military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... Waterfront view of Ouchy, just south of Lausanne Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), across from Évian-les-Bains, France, and about 60 km northeast of Geneva. ...

Although he was called up to serve in the French air force, the quick fall of France resulted in Philippe being arrested by the Vichy government and the vineyard property seized. Escaping, Philippe de Rothschild made his way to England where he joined the Free French Forces of General Charles de Gaulle, earning a Croix de Guerre medal. Presidential flag of Vichy France Vichy France, or the Vichy regime was the de facto French government of 1940-1944 during the Nazi Germany occupation of World War II. Now known in French as the Régime de Vichy or Vichy, during its existence it referred to itself as L... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres in French) were French fighters in World War II, who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces after the surrender of France and German occupation, following the call of General De Gaulle, and the de jure government (Free French Government) of France... Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( (help· info)) (22 November 1890 - 9 November 1970), in France commonly referred to as général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. ... The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ...

On his return to France following the Allies liberation, Philippe de Rothschild learned that although his daughter was safe, the Gestapo had deported his estranged wife, Lili, to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where on 23 March 1945, she was executed. When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries supporting the Triple Entente who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... View of the barracks at Ravensbrück Ravensbrück was a German concentration camp located 90 km north of Berlin. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

Devastated, Rothschild had to deal with problems at his vineyard as well. The departing German army had done considerable damage to Chateau Mouton Rothschild and the property was in need of considerable repair. Together with dedicated employees, he put his energy into restoring the vineyard and by the early 1950s was once again producing some of the world's best wines.

At the same time, the multi-talented Rothschild returned to participation in the theatrical world, teaming up with Gaston Bonheur to write in both English and French the play Lady Chatterley's Lover. Based on the D.H. Lawrence novel, their play was later made into a motion picture starring Danielle Darrieux. In 1952 Rothschild and Bonheur wrote the script for the film La Demoiselle et son revenant. Rothschild also translated Elizabethan poetry and the plays of Christopher Fry. Lady Chatterleys Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence written in 1928. ... D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 - 2 March 1930) was one of the most important, certainly one of the most controversial, English writers of the 20th century, who wrote novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, and letters. ... Danielle Darrieux Danielle Darrieux (b. ... Christopher Fry (born December 12, 1907; died June 30, 2005) was an English playwright. ...

In 1954, Rothschild married a longtime mistress, Pauline Fairfax Potter (1908 - 1976), a Paris-born American who had been the head fashion designer at Hattie Carnegie. After their marriage, she used her aesthetic talents to help restore an old storage building on the estate, converting it into a magnificent home, and became known as a tastemaker in the worlds of fashion and interior design. Hattie Carnegie (1889-1956) was a clothing and jewelry designer based in the United States during the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. ...

In 1962 at Mouton the Rothschilds created the Museum of Wine in Art; here a priceless collection of art works covering three millennia of wine are on display, including original art by Pablo Picasso and rare glassware. In 1970, Rothschild purchased Château Clerc Milon, a fifth-growth classified vineyard strategically located next to his own property. After achieving his lifelong goal with the 1973 upgrading of Chateau Mouton Rothschild to Premiere Cru status, and after the historic results of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, he began looking beyond France for wine growing opportunities and in 1980 announced a joint venture with the respected American wine grower, Robert Mondavi, to form the "Opus One Winery" in Oakville, California. Robert Gerald Mondavi (born June 18, 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, United States) is a leading vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. ...

In 1997, under the direction of Philippine Rothschild, Château Mouton-Rothschild teamed up with Concha y Toro of Chile to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon-based, Bordeaux-style red wine in a new winery built in Chile's Maipo Valley.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild remained active in the wine business until he died in 1988 at the age of 85, whereupon its reins were taken up by his daughter, who has also achieved acclaim as a stage actress under the name Philippine Pascal.

See also

• French wine

France is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe, and also is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious, if not the best. ...

Source

• Echikson, Tom. Noble Rot. NY: Norton, 2004.