The legend of Meslande

At the end of the first millennium, drought raged around Mesland. The earth is cracked. It’s famine. Charlatans announce the end of the world.

The Loire is dry. The peasants abandon their land but not the vine growers. They refuse to do it. One day, as if by magic, in Mesland, the Loire reflects even stronger than before. She created a big circle, revealing the bottom of the river. Curious, the vine growers approach this place. A strange phenomenon occurs. A nebulous form escapes from the circle and slowly turns into a thin silhouette. When she reaches the height of the vine growers, she has definitely finished her transformation. It is a superb naiad with sculptural forms, abundant hair, like a huge bunch of grapes.

She addresses the winemakers: “I am the favorite of Dionysos and I am reborn for you. I bring you this water with incomparable virtues to save you from hunger. If Dionysos sent me here, it is because your land is in harmony with the vine, that your soil is worthy of a great vintage and that it must be preserved and cherished. This vineyard is a bit like our child, to me and Dionysus. Child that you will raise every year. Since then, every year, it seems that the museum Meslande returns to see what it is.