vinetarius

Latin vinum meant wine — one of the oldest words in the language, cognate with Greek oinos and sharing a root with vine and vineyard. Vinetarius described the person associated with the vineyard or the wine trade. Old French transformed this to vinetier, and English adapted it to vintner — a dealer in wine. The vintner's trade was distinct from the brewer's (who made ale and beer from grain) and the tavernier's (who ran a tavern).

The Worshipful Company of Vintners received its charter from Edward III in 1363. The Vintners were major importers of Gascon wine — the claret trade from Bordeaux was enormously important to medieval England, particularly after the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, which made Bordeaux an English possession for three centuries. The vintners regulated the wine trade and maintained quality standards.

The annual Swan Upping ceremony on the Thames — where the mute swans are counted and marked — is shared between the Crown and two livery companies: the Vintners and the Dyers. The Vintners' right to own swans dates to 1472. The ceremony, held in July, involves the Queen's Swan Warden and teams from both companies rowing upriver to mark cygnets. The mute swan populations are now counted for conservation purposes.

Today vintner describes both a wine merchant and, especially in American usage, a winemaker — a vineyard owner or winemaker in the Napa Valley tradition. The word has acquired the prestige of artisanal production. Latin vinum, the Roman word for the drink that was daily bread for the legions, now names small-batch producers of premium California wine.