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Based on the history of wine harvests, it is possible to develop a more general history of climate, particularly in Europe. This history — the alternating of warm and cool seasons — can also be related to the economic, and thus political, history of our countries, from the 14th century to the global warming of the 20th. The role of the meteorologist in understanding these structures is therefore crucial.Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Doctor Honoris Causa from 18 universities, has been Professor at the École pratique des hautes études, at the Sorbonne, and at the Collège de France. Former Generali Administrator of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, he is Memeber of the French Institut. He has recently published Histoire du climat depuis l’an mil (Paris, Flammarion, 1983) and an Histoire humaine et comparée du climat en Occident in two volumes(Paris, Fayard, 2004-2006).