tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/wine-1319/articles
Wine – The Conversation
2024-03-26T16:34:29Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226556
2024-03-26T16:34:29Z
2024-03-26T16:34:29Z
Chinese acquisitions in the Bordeaux vineyards: have their new owners really been neglecting them?
<p>Since 2012, more than 200 acquisitions have been made by Chinese investors in Bordeaux’s prestigious <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/french-wine-73590">vineyards</a>, mainly from the country’s economic, political and artistic elite. A leading example is Alibaba founder <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/jack-ma-10294">Jack Ma</a>, who bought several châteaux, including <a href="https://www.terredevins.com/actualites/le-chateau-de-sours-revoit-les-choses-en-grand">Château de Sours</a> in the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation. Actress <a href="https://www.vitisphere.com/actualite-94717-les-chateaux-de-zhao-wei-fonctionnent-normalement-malgre-sa-disgrace-en-chine.html">Zhao Wei</a> has set her sights on several châteaux in the Saint-Émilion appellation.</p>
<p>These transactions, involving members of China’s elite and prestigious assets in Europe, stand out in the world of mergers and acquisitions. Regarded indiscriminately as “ego deals”, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conspicuous-consumption.asp">“conspicuous consumption”</a> or “self-interest transactions”, such atypical acquisitions are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tie.21967">widely decried in the academic financial literature</a> because they can produce few or no synergies, and are therefore doomed to failure. There have been instances of Bordeaux châteaux acquired by Chinese investors, which have been <a href="https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/13265418-dans-le-vignoble-bordelais-des-rachats-chinois-au-gout-de-bouchon.html">left to rot</a> by their new owners. Reportedly, <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/gironde/bordeaux/vignoble-bordelais-sur-200-domaines-achetes-par-les-chinois-une-cinquantaine-est-a-vendre_5532906.html">around 50 of them</a> have been also put up for sale by their once-enthusiastic owners.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.rts.ch/play/embed?urn=urn:rts:video:13265284&subdivisions=false" allowfullscreen="" allow="geolocation *; autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe>
<p><em>RTS report, November 2023.</em></p>
<p>However, a closer look shows that Chinese acquisitions in the Bordeaux vineyards are far from uniformly ending up in failures and selloffs. This is reflected by our <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362930206_In_vino_vanitas_Social_dynamics_and_performance_of_Chinese_chateau_acquisitions_in_the_Bordeaux_vineyards">recent research paper</a> which analyses the post-acquisition performance of 123 Bordeaux châteaux acquired by Chinese investors between 2008 and 2015.</p>
<h2>What motives for such acquisitions?</h2>
<p>Applying a sociological approach to these acquisitions has allowed us to show that some of them did create value, not only economically but also symbolically. With the opportunity to gain social distinction, these properties were acquired for the prestige they confer to their owners.</p>
<p>The new owners perceive their prestigious possessions as an extension of themselves and so take particular care of them. They strongly commit to renovating the property, maintaining the cellars and, above all, enhancing the wine quality. We have many accounts of Chinese-owned châteaux investing in new winemaking techniques, hiring top oenologists such as Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt, and replanting part of the vineyards. These acquisitions have often prevented these châteaux from getting bankrupt while improving their wine ranking in the major wine guides. For instance, the <a href="https://www.hachette-vins.com/">Hachette Wine Guide</a>, which covers all French AOC vineyards, shows significant progress for the wines produced by some of these Chinese-owned châteaux.</p>
<p>A case in point is the Andrew and Melody Kuk couple, who in 2013 acquired <a href="https://www.sudouest.fr/vin/investisseurs-chinois-a-pomerol-les-epoux-kuk-reaffirment-leur-attachement-au-terroir-17148857.php">La Commanderie in Pomerol</a>. Having made their fortune in finance and communication in Hong Kong, they renovated the vineyard’s winemaking facilities and refurbished the property’s building. After just a few years, the wine from this château, once described as a “sleeping beauty”, is regularly featured in the rankings of the best Bordeaux wines.</p>
<p>These acquisitions, integrated in a clear strategy aiming to climb up the social ladder, are distinct from the few Bordeaux château acquisitions conducted by Chinese billionaires, which attract most of the media covering. Standing already at the top of the social hierarchy, these distinctive acquirers have little commitment to their wineries and frequently change their conspicuous hobbies as their social position does not depend on the success of their acquired assets. For this specific category of elite acquirers, the post-acquisition outcome is often a deterioration in performance.</p>
<p>Statistically, we reported a significant correlation between upward social mobility strategies and improved wine quality in the rankings.</p>
<h2>In the wine industry and beyond</h2>
<p>More generally, our sociological approach provides keys to understanding the motives behind these “conspicuous acquisitions” that were conducted on an international scale by the economic, sporting and artistic elites. This concept, dating back to the end of the 19th century, has been coined by the American economist and sociologist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thorstein-Veblen">Thorstein Veblen</a>, who analysed the lifestyle and purchasing behaviour of the elite class at that time. While some of the purchasing behaviour of this elite class does not seem rational from the point of view of economic science, Veblen provided an alternative rationale, mostly based on strategies of social affirmation.</p>
<p>Concentrated in industries such as sport, luxury hotels, resorts and real estate, these prestigious acquisitions are made by “high net-worth individuals”, whose number is estimated to 22 million worldwide, with combined wealth hovering around <a href="https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report/">83 trillion dollars</a>. Their continuously growing number results from the macroeconomic implementation of neoliberal policies since the late 1970s, the collapse of the USSR and the rise of emerging economies.</p>
<p>Part of this fortune is spent on <a href="https://www.enograf.com/media/pdf/Profit%20ili%20zadovoljstvo%20-%20kompletan%20izvestaj.pdf">socially motivated acquisitions</a>. Two of the major European football clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, are owned by sovereign wealth funds linked to the ruling Qatari and Emirati families, and until recently Chelsea FC was owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovitch. In the hotel industry, French palace hotels such as the Bristol, the George V and the Meurice are owned by wealthy foreigners (respectively, the German family group Oetker, Saudi Prince Al-Walid Ben Talal Al Saoud and the Sultan of Brunei).</p>
<p>These are all personalities whose wealth does not originate from the target industry and who made the acquisitions to gain access to, or reaffirm their affiliation with, the international elite.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pierre-Xavier Meschi is Chairman of Atlas-AFMI (Association Francophone de Management International).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandre Bohas ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>
Contrary to popular belief, only a minority of Bordeaux vineyards bought by Chinese investors have had a negative outcome.
Alexandre Bohas, Professeur d'Affaires internationales, ESSCA School of Management
Pierre-Xavier Meschi, Professeur des Universités en sciences de gestion, Affillié à Skema Business School, IAE Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management – Aix-Marseille Université
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222267
2024-03-18T18:24:24Z
2024-03-18T18:24:24Z
Cheers to health? Uncovering myths around the health benefits of moderate drinking
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582572/original/file-20240318-22-wdfo1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C31%2C3270%2C2206&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many studies exaggerated the benefits of moderate drinking due to methodological flaws known as selection biases.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The notion that enjoying a casual beer or sipping on your favourite wine could not only be harmless but actually beneficial to one’s health is a tantalizing proposition for many. This belief, often backed by claims of research findings, has seeped into social conversations and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/moderate-drinking-may-be-heart-healthy-says-new-research-1.293437">media headlines</a>, painting moderate alcohol consumption in a positive light. </p>
<p>As researchers at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, we find ourselves frequently revisiting this topic, delving deep into the evidence to separate fact from wishful thinking. Can we confidently say, “Cheers to health?”</p>
<h2>Unpacking beliefs about moderate drinking</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.96464113.x">commonplace belief</a> that moderate drinking can be beneficial to health can be traced back to the 1980s when researchers found an association suggesting that French people were less likely to suffer from heart disease, despite eating a diet high in saturated fat. </p>
<p>This contradiction was thought to be explained by the assumption that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5344/ajev.2011.11013">antioxidants and alcohol found in wine</a> might offer health benefits, leading to the term “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(94)92883-5">French paradox</a>.”</p>
<p>This concept reached a broader audience in the 1990s, following a segment on the American news show <em>60 Minutes</em> which had a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/07363769410058894">profound impact on wine sales</a>. Later <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03780.x">research expanded on this idea</a>, suggesting that frequently drinking small amounts of any type of alcoholic beverage might be good for health.</p>
<p>This idea was formalized into what is now known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.07.710">J-shaped curve hypothesis</a>. Put simply, the J-shaped curve is a graphical representation of the apparent relationship between alcohol consumption and death or disease. According to this model, abstainers and heavy drinkers are at higher risk of certain conditions, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03780.x">such as heart disease</a>, compared to moderate drinkers, whose risk is lower.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration of the J-shaped Curve." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580343/original/file-20240307-20-h2zkss.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The J-shape curve is a graphical representation of the apparent relationship between alcohol consumption and death or disease. According to this model, abstainers and heavy drinkers are at higher risk compared to moderate drinkers, whose risk is lower.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Current perspectives on moderate drinking</h2>
<p>People used to think that tobacco use was good for health, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025727300012333">historically describing it as a remedy for all disease</a>. As scientific understanding has advanced, however, tobacco use has been increasingly recognized as a <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/372043/9789240077164-eng.pdf?sequence=1">leading cause of preventable disease and death</a>.</p>
<p>Like tobacco, alcohol was once used in medicine and has since become recognized as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02123-7">major cause of preventable mortality and illness</a>. For instance, recent global estimates suggest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30231-2">alcohol is responsible for 5.3 per cent of all deaths</a>. </p>
<p>Furthermore, in Canada, the revenue generated from selling alcohol does not come close to covering the damage it causes, leaving the government <a href="https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/cape/cape3/fed-results-en.pdf">$6.20 billion short every year</a>. However, much of these costs can be attributed to heavy drinking. </p>
<p>So where does this leave moderate drinkers? We recently set out to answer this question by analyzing data from over 4.8 million people from more than 100 studies, covering more than 40 years. </p>
<p>We found that many studies exaggerate the benefits of moderate drinking due to methodological flaws known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13451">selection biases</a>. No matter if we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6185">analyzed the studies as one big group</a>, using statistical methods to try and lessen these mistakes, or if we <a href="https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.23-00283">separated the good studies from the not-so-good ones</a>, one thing was clear: moderate alcohol consumption does not appear to offer the health benefits once believed.</p>
<h2>Explaining the contradiction</h2>
<p>Selection biases represent data distortions caused by how research participants are selected. Such biases lead to unfair comparisons between groups, which skews analyses towards finding a J-shape curve. Essentially, it is like comparing two runners in a race, where one wears heavy boots and the other wears lightweight running shoes. Concluding that the second runner is more talented misses the point; it is not a fair comparison.</p>
<p>Here are five examples of selection bias in the context of the alcohol J-shaped curve which can accumulate as people age:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(88)92890-5">Poor health, less alcohol</a>. As health declines, especially in older age, people often reduce their alcohol consumption. Not distinguishing between those who cut back or quit for health reasons can falsely indicate that moderate drinking is healthier.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-202576">Unhealthy lifetime abstainers</a>. Comparing moderate drinkers with individuals who have never consumed alcohol due to chronic health issues may falsely attribute health advantages to alcohol consumption.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.01.011">Moderate in other ways.</a> Moderate drinkers often lead balanced lifestyles in other areas, too, which may contribute to their perceived better health. It is not just moderate drinking, but also their healthier overall opportunities and choices, such as better health-care access and self-care, that make them seem healthier.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/009145090403100304">Measurement error.</a> Assessing alcohol consumption over a short period of time, like a week or less, can lead to a misclassification of drinkers. Heavy drinkers who happened to not consume alcohol during the week of assessment would be incorrectly classified as abstainers, for example.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13709">Early alcohol-attributable deaths.</a> The inevitable exclusion of individuals who may have died from alcohol-related causes before a study of older people starts can result in a “healthy survivor” bias, overlooking the earlier detrimental effects of alcohol.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Continuing the conversation</h2>
<p>We should be skeptical of results suggesting that moderate drinking is healthy because selection biases can muddy the waters. For instance, multiple implausible J-shape curve relationships have been published, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.510230513">including between moderate drinking and liver disease</a>.</p>
<p>We are well aware that this news might not be what you were hoping to hear. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2024.2316681">It might even stir up feelings of unease or skepticism</a>. For many people, limited alcohol consumption <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-016-0058-4">is enjoyable</a>. However, it is not without risk and it is important for people to understand these risks to make informed decisions about their health.</p>
<p>The risks are reflected in the 2023 <a href="https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2023-05/CGAH-Drinking-Less-is-Better-en.pdf">Canadian Drinking Guidance</a>. The guidance attempts to “meet people where they are at,” suggesting that one to two drinks per week represent a low risk of harm, three to six drinks a week represent a moderate risk, and seven or more drinks a week represent an increasingly high risk. Ultimately, they enable people to make informed decisions that best suit their health and well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It’s time to revisit the evidence for the health benefits of moderate drinking, and separate fact from wishful thinking. Can we confidently say, ‘Cheers to good health?’
James M. Clay, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria
Tim Stockwell, Scientist, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and Professor of Psychology, University of Victoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/217509
2024-01-22T13:28:26Z
2024-01-22T13:28:26Z
Think wine is a virtue, not a vice? Nutrition label information surprised many US consumers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569115/original/file-20240112-21-1bz0bp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=56%2C85%2C9247%2C5164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Decisions, decisions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-of-young-asian-woman-grocery-shopping-for-royalty-free-image/1366189228?phrase=wine+store&adppopup=true">d3sign/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you reach for that bottle of wine this Valentine’s Day, do you know how healthy it is? Many people have a too-rosy view of the beverage and are surprised when confronted with the facts about it on a nutrition label, according to a study my co-author <a href="https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/hrm/velikova.php">Natalia Velikova</a> <a href="https://www.depts.ttu.edu/rawlsbusiness/people/faculty/marketing/deidre-popovich/index.php">and I</a> recently published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2020-4101">Journal of Consumer Marketing</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings could have big implications for the wine industry, particularly as <a href="https://www.fooddive.com/news/alcohol-labeling-lawsuit/633347/">some groups in the U.S. are pushing</a> for wine to have mandatory nutrition labels.</p>
<p>Right now, people usually think of wine as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.17.4.317">a “virtue” rather than a “vice,”</a> thanks to popular beliefs about its <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-red-wine-good-actually-for-your-heart-2018021913285#">health benefits</a> and news coverage of its antioxidant effects. But requiring nutrition labels, which are currently voluntary, could change those views. </p>
<p>In our experimental research, which included nearly 800 participants, we found that American consumers aren’t used to seeing nutrition information on wine labels, and most are surprised by what they read since they don’t associate wine with calories, carbohydrates and sugar. People who were prompted to read labels viewed wine as less healthy than they did beforehand, and they were less likely to buy it. </p>
<p>We also found that people are more surprised by the sugar content of sweeter wines, such as Moscato, than by the number of calories. Sweet wines, in particular, may contain more sugar than consumers realize.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The European Union recently <a href="https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/industry-news/new-eu-wine-label-regulations/">mandated nutrition labeling on wine</a>, sometimes in the form of <a href="https://www.decanter.com/learn/eu-wine-labelling-the-changes-explained-507553/">QR codes</a>, and industry analysts expect <a href="https://wineindustryadvisor.com/2023/02/24/ingredient-labels-are-coming-you-need-to-know">the U.S. will eventually follow suit</a>. The Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which regulates wine production, has already <a href="https://www.cspinet.org/press-release/consumer-groups-obtain-ttb-commitment-issue-rulemakings-mandatory-alcohol-labeling">agreed to issue some preliminary rules</a> for mandatory ingredient labeling.</p>
<p>Nutrition labels don’t need to be bad news for the wine industry. Wine sales have <a href="https://www.svb.com/globalassets/trendsandinsights/reports/wine/svb-state-of-the-wine-industry-report-2023.pdf">recently declined</a> among those 60 and younger, and greater transparency in labeling could help rekindle young consumers’ interest. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2018.11.001">Millennial and Gen Z consumers</a> may especially appreciate clearer labels, since it could help them view wine as less mysterious and more accessible. It may also allow them to fit an occasional glass of wine into their personal health goals. Younger consumers might also be more interested in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2019.02.001">eliminating as many highly processed ingredients as possible</a> from their diets. </p>
<p>What’s more, there’s been a recent trend toward wine packaging including labels like “organic,” “biodynamic” and “sustainable,” which may appeal to consumers’ preferences for sustainability. These labels have less to do with nutrition than with manufacturers trying to appear eco-friendly — but makers of natural wine would likely benefit most from offering nutrition information to support their front-of-label claims.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C12%2C8120%2C5438&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="In an over-the-shoulder photograph, a woman chooses between two bottles of wine at a liquor store." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C12%2C8120%2C5438&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568090/original/file-20240106-28-sl6le5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Americans generally view red wines as healthier than whites, research shows.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/over-the-shoulder-view-of-woman-walking-through-royalty-free-image/1308615779">D3sign/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>German researchers have found that most consumers often overestimate calories in wine before viewing nutritional labels, and they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2019.02.001">don’t think the information is useful</a>. The researchers found that consumers often feel insecure and confused after reading wine ingredient information. Reviewing ingredient lists also made consumers less likely to view wine as a natural product. </p>
<p>On the manufacturer side, research shows that mandatory nutrition labeling would affect the wine industry in several ways — notably by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2019.05.002">increasing overhead costs</a> related to compliance, laboratory analyses and more challenging labeling processes. This could disproportionately hurt smaller wineries with fewer resources. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We still don’t know who is most likely to read and use nutrition labels on wine, but younger customers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010003290">seem to be more interested</a> in food labels generally. Millennials report they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980016002871">eating healthier</a> and <a href="https://www.physicalactivitycouncil.org/_files/ugd/286de6_292481f0e76443d4b0921fbb879f8cfc.pdf">exercising more</a> than previous generations.</p>
<p>And there’s still more to learn about how nutrition labels affect behavior. Studies have shown mixed results, but on the whole, labeling appears to make people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.09.024">cut their calorie consumption</a> somewhat. Still, the U.S. put nutrition labels on foods in the 1990s, and that hasn’t stopped the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">obesity rate from rising</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deidre Popovich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
People may be surprised when they read a nutrition label on a bottle of wine. The industry should take note.
Deidre Popovich, Associate Professor of Marketing, Texas Tech University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214518
2024-01-04T07:28:11Z
2024-01-04T07:28:11Z
Ancient Roman wine production may hold clues for battling climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567467/original/file-20231229-29-a7hgqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5149%2C2574&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remnants of a mixed ‘alberata’ vineyard in Marche (Italy).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dimitri Van Limbergen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is no secret that the Romans were heavy wine drinkers. <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2018_num_96_3_9188">Estimates</a> put the average Roman male’s consumption at a litre or more of diluted wine per day. The drink was also a symbol of civilised behaviour, and widely used as a drug, medicine and ritual beverage. Winemaking was therefore a widespread and very profitable activity, and vine growing dominated much of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6888">agricultural landscape</a>.</p>
<p>Though the Romans consumed even more wine than we do today, ancient vineyards in Italy looked radically different from the typical landscape of rolling hillsides covered by rows of tightly spaced vines.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A landscape of rolling hillsides covered by rows of tightly spaced vines." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567261/original/file-20231222-23-v9rcbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Typical vines in Tuscany, Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pxhere.com/es/photo/1189417">Pxhere</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can learn a great deal from the methods Romans used to produce wine about adapting our own agricultural systems to a warming planet. </p>
<p>My research has explored the role of <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/ge/2020/00000013/00000002/art00008">vine agroforestry</a> systems in Roman viticulture by looking at <a href="https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/dv13zw278">archaeology</a>, <a href="https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8755970">ancient literature</a> and more <a href="https://agromixproject.eu/in-the-field/trial-sites/restinclieres-agroforestry/">modern sources</a>.</p>
<h2>Forest agriculture</h2>
<p>A very common technique for growing grape vines in Roman times was to attach them to rows of trees in fields that were also used for cereals and vegetables, in a system called <em>arbustum</em>. </p>
<p>In contrast to the low plants that blanket hillsides in modern vineyards, these vines grew high into the trees. Numerous scenes on Roman sarcophagi and mosaics depict harvesters picking grapes using high ladders, and collecting them in small, distinctive cone-shaped baskets.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2986%2C1500&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sarcophagus representing a Dionysiac Vintage Festival. A.D. 290–300. On the left erotes are picking grapes with the aid of ladders from vines on trees." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2986%2C1500&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554216/original/file-20231017-28-qqvxjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sarcophagus representing a Dionysiac Vintage Festival, A.D. 290–300. On the left, erotes are picking grapes with the aid of ladders from vines on trees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109CTJ">Getty Museum Collection</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pre industrial wine production</h2>
<p>The popularity of <em>Arbustum</em> was mainly due to peasants’ need for subsistence. They would combine several crops on one small area of land in order to survive, though more <a href="https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/projects/back-roots-agroforestry-and-rediscovery-roman-viticulture">commercial farms have also been recorded</a>. The practice was so common that even great thinkers weighed in on the matter. Both <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D17%3Achapter%3D35">Pliny</a> and <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0505%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D5">Columella</a> recommended the use of fast growing trees with lots of foliage to protect vines from snooping animals.</p>
<p>Location also played a big role. Almost all ancient texts place the use of vine agroforestry in the low lying, flat, and damp lands of the Italian peninsula. This observation may baffle modern wine growers, as grapevines do not like too much water. However, these lands were often close to rivers and coasts, which were major economic corridors and therefore attractive areas for settlement and agriculture. </p>
<p>Such flat, expansive lands were also ideal for applying <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centuriation">centuriation</a>, the Roman method of subdividing farmland into grids. The system was perfect for inserting and expanding lines of vine covered trees.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Visible remnants of Roman and later land divisions in the lower Po plain around Padova (Italy)." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567468/original/file-20231229-19-fp08qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remnants of Roman and later land divisions in the lower Po plain around Padova (Italy).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To modern wine makers, growing vines in damp soil and humid air is unthinkable. It presents a huge risk of fungal diseases that could weaken and kill the vine. Nevertheless, the Romans made it work.</p>
<h2>An enduring, ancient technique</h2>
<p>Luckily for researchers, versions of <em>arbustum</em> remained in use in Italy until the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/27934145/La_rappresentazione_della_vite_maritata_alcune_recenti_identificazioni">early 20th century</a>. This relatively recent documentation, in combination with ancient source material, reveals the ingenuity of the system.</p>
<p>The main tree species used were poplars, elms, elders, willows, maples, and ashes, which grow well in moist areas because they need lots of water to sustain their rapid growth and high transpiration rates. This means that they soak up excess water from the soil, acting as a water pump and contributing to the natural drainage of an area. Their roots meant vines could stay healthy and perform well in humid environments for centuries on end.</p>
<p>But the sophistication of the system goes much further. By training vines to climb high – up to 15 or even 20 meters – the damage done by rising soil dampness was further reduced, while the heating impact of the sun was increased. This made grapes develop and mature better, as long as the right balance between shade (from foliage) and sun exposure was obtained. High climbing vines also have deeper and more developed roots, which makes them more resistant to rot caused by parasites. </p>
<p>Examples in pre industrial <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/700109?typeAccessWorkflow=login">Portugal</a> also show that the trees themselves even contribute to the microclimate of the vineyard: they mitigate the impact of winter frosts, offer protection against strong and damaging winds, and reduce the distribution of unwanted seeds.</p>
<h2>An example for a warming world</h2>
<p>Records show that vine agroforestery expanded massively between the years 200 BC and 200 AD, during what is known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Warm_Period">Roman Climate Optimum</a>, a period of several centuries of markedly warmer temperatures that coincided with the expansion of the Roman Empire. This means that Roman winemakers in Italy often operated under <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-81103-7_15">warmer</a> and more <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-67281-2">humid</a> conditions than those experienced in much of the 20th century.</p>
<p>The resilience of vine agroforestry under rising temperatures – which bring with them <a href="https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-vineyards-changing/#:%7E:text=Climate%20change%20has%20led%20to,can%20become%20prohibitive%20over%20time">new pests and diseases</a> – becomes most evident when looking at pioneering modern initiatives in the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/better-wines-among-the-pines-agroforestry-can-climate-proof-grapes-french-researchers-show/">south of France</a>. Experiments at the farm of <a href="https://agromixproject.eu/in-the-field/trial-sites/restinclieres-agroforestry/">Restinclières</a> have confirmed the microclimatic benefits of vine agroforestry, including protection against frosts and the presence of beneficial insects. </p>
<p>Most importantly, however, the shade provided by trees seems to delay the ripening of grapes by weeks without problematically decreasing yields. This is a blessing for winemakers who are increasingly faced with grapes that <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-get-a-headache-after-a-good-red-wine-this-might-be-why-219649">mature too quickly</a>, have too many sugars, and give lower quality wines with too much alcohol as a result of higher annual temperatures.</p>
<h2>Roman agriculture on the world stage</h2>
<p>The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has recently <a href="https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/agroforestry-is-a-key-climate-solution--director-general-says-at-fao-council-side-event/en#:%7E:text=Rome%20%2D%20Agroforestry%20is%20a%20key,of%20the%20Food%20and%20Agriculture">stressed the benefits</a> of agroforestry in a warming world. It has emphasised in particular the need for scaling up agroforestry and its numerous environmental and socioeconomic benefits, especially in helping millions of smallholder farmers survive in an increasingly hostile climate.</p>
<p>Insights into Roman and pre-industrial practices suggest that this approach may also help winemakers to adapt to an ever-warming planet. It also begs the much wider question of what else we can learn by looking to the past as we confront an uncertain future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dimitri Van Limbergen no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>
Roman agricultural techniques may help wine producers to tackle the impacts of climate change, and even the UN is getting on board.
Dimitri Van Limbergen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220195
2024-01-03T22:22:45Z
2024-01-03T22:22:45Z
How drinking sustainable wine can help vineyards and the planet
<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-drinking-sustainable-wine-can-help-vineyards-and-the-planet" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The current global food and beverage system is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaq0216">unsustainable</a>. </p>
<p>In 2023, world leaders issued a <a href="https://www.cop28.com/food-and-agriculture">declaration at the UN climate change conference COP28</a> acknowledging the role that more sustainable and resilient agri-food systems can and must play in responding to the climate crisis. </p>
<p>The wine industry is both one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12665">sectors of our agri-food system</a> most affected by climate change and is also a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.04.036">small (if not insignificant) contributor</a> to system-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.</p>
<p>The wine industry has faced criticism over its <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/what-can-the-wine-industry-teach-us-about-sustainability/">environmental, economic and social sustainability</a> more generally. However, it is consumer purchase decisions (which wine do I buy?) which have the greatest potential to drive much needed systemic change to improve sustainability across the wine industry.</p>
<h2>Bottling grapes</h2>
<p>Conventional wine production is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages7010015">not inherently sustainable</a>, degrading land, water and air while reinforcing social injustices and inequity. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.124">Wine grape production</a> is responsible for over 17 per cent of the sector’s GHG emissions, mainly through fossil fuel-powered machinery, while the application of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers <a href="https://theconversation.com/europe-has-lost-over-half-a-billion-birds-in-40-years-the-single-biggest-cause-pesticides-and-fertilisers-206826">can reduce biodiversity</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2017.00043">cause soil infertility</a> and pollute local rivers and lakes. </p>
<p>Less visible are the social injustices experienced by many of the critical migrant workers employed during the grape harvest. In the 2023 harvest, two <a href="https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/human-trafficking-investigations-launched-in-the-champagne-region-512548/">human trafficking</a> investigations were launched in Champagne. Investigators discovered numerous undocumented workers living in squalid conditions describing their ordeal as being “treated like slaves.”</p>
<p>Wine-making accounts for up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.206">81 per cent of sector-wide GHG emissions</a> through electricity, chemical and water use. However, <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.822798874769665">the emissions from glass bottle production and transport can also be a signifficant factor</a>. Bottles can weigh from around <a href="https://www.15bodegas.com/es_en/blog/how-much-a-bottle-of-wine-weigh#:%7E:text=Currently%2C%20the%20average%20weight%20of,place%20in%20the%20bottle%20itself.">350 grams</a> to almost <a href="https://wineeconomist.com/2021/06/29/wine-bottle/">1,220 grams</a>. </p>
<p>It’s estimated that <a href="https://wineindustryadvisor.com/2022/05/16/beyond-the-standard-bottle-wineries-are-embracing-greener-packaging#:%7E:text=Between%2050%20and%2068%20percent,also%20the%20issue%20of%20recycling.">more than half of the bottles</a> used in the United States are shipped from China, crossing the Pacific Ocean before being filled and then distributed across the globe. The heavier the bottle, the more fossil fuels are required to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09571264.2010.530111">transport them</a>. Then once consumed, managing the waste creates further <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2023.100649">emissions</a>.</p>
<h2>Growing actions</h2>
<p>The wine industry is responding to these challenges. In fact, Canada has been pioneering some of the important initiatives. For instance, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is one of the world’s largest alcohol purchasers and requires that standard wine bottles (750 ml) sold through their stores <a href="https://www.doingbusinesswithlcbo.com/content/dbwl/en/basepage/home/quality-assurance/quality-assurance-policies---guidelines/lcbo-lightweight-glass-bottle-program.html#:%7E:text=Glass%20Weight%20Requirements,the%20weight%20tolerance%20is%2020g.">weigh no more than 420 grams</a>. </p>
<p>Both small and large producers in the <a href="https://napavalley.wine/articles/napa-valley-loses-weight-wineries-embrace-lighter-glass--276">U.S.</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizthach/2023/05/31/burgundy-wine-powerhouse-albert-bichot-goes-100-organic-and-reduces-bottle-weight/?sh=4882204d6a59">France</a>, and <a href="https://feltonroad.com/?cache=659053540d2a3">New Zealand</a> are using lighter bottles to reduce their environmental impact and save money. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-may-make-bordeaux-red-wines-stronger-and-tastier-215503">Climate change may make Bordeaux red wines stronger and tastier</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/bottle-weight-goodies-and-baddies">Wine writers</a> are also playing their part, by beginning to add the bottle weight in their reviews. Reusing empty bottles can also significantly reduce emissions — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.206">more so than lowering bottle weight</a> — and <a href="https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/good-practices/rewine-reusing-wine-bottles">some countries</a> are making significant progress in this regard. </p>
<p><a href="https://wineindustryadvisor.com/2022/05/16/beyond-the-standard-bottle-wineries-are-embracing-greener-packaging#:%7E:text=Between%2050%20and%2068%20percent,also%20the%20issue%20of%20recycling.">Alternatives to glass bottles</a> with lower carbon footprints do exist, including bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paper bottles, boxed wine, wine on tap and aluminium cans. Unfortunately, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Ffoods11081106">customers can be hesitant</a> to buy wine in these alternative formats, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139502">perceiving it to be of lower quality</a>. Thus, consumer education is important. </p>
<p>While winegrowing using <a href="https://organiccouncil.ca/a-snapshot-of-the-organic-wine-industry-and-viticulture-in-canada/">organic</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWR.S69126">biodynamic</a> principles may in some cases promote greater sustainability, these account for only six per cent of vineyards.</p>
<p>Most wine producers employ more conventional grape growing methods, which in many cases are being adapted to create more sustainable practices. In the vineyard, these include using more disease and drought resistant grapes and <a href="https://www.decanter.com/learn/vine-rootstocks-getting-to-the-root-of-the-matter-445696/">rootstock</a>, which require fewer chemical sprays and less water.</p>
<p>On the wine production side, many wineries — including <a href="https://vineroutes.com/spotlight-on-sustainability-stratus-vineyards/">here</a> in <a href="https://www.flatrockcellars.com/about-us/sustainability/">Canada</a> — are investing in geothermal systems for heating and cooling needs in the winery, significantly reducing electricity use. These initiatives are supported by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) — whose 50 member states produce <a href="https://www.oiv.int/who-we-are/presentation">87 per cent of global wine</a> — which recently <a href="https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/5766/oiv-cst-518-2016-en.pdf">adopted a policy</a> promoting general principles of sustainability across all production phases. </p>
<p>Other industry organizations such as <a href="https://www.iwcawine.org/about">International Wineries for Climate Action</a> are focused on ways to reduce GHG emissions to net zero by 2050, while the <a href="https://swroundtable.org/about-us/">Sustainable Wine Roundtable</a> is an independent group seeking to advance sustainability across the wine value chain and transfer that information to the consumer.</p>
<h2>Encouraging sustainability</h2>
<p>However, these efforts to improve sustainability have been uneven and inconsistent, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100681">confusing consumers</a> wanting to make an informed decision when purchasing wine. </p>
<p>Recent research from our lab has shown relatively <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09571264.2023.2254249">limited consumer knowledge about sustainably produced wine</a>, but equally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113555">a willingness to engage in many behaviors</a> around the product, including buying more environmentally friendly wine, and paying more for both environmentally and socially responsible wines. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/come-pests-frost-or-fire-how-the-swiss-are-arming-their-wines-against-climate-change-202663">Come pests, frost or fire: How the Swiss are arming their wines against climate change</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Interestingly, this is especially the case with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113555">younger wine consumers</a>, who value sustainability considerations more than older generations when <a href="https://openurl.ebsco.com/EPDB%3Agcd%3A13%3A2391661/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A136924269&crl=c">making purchase decisions generally</a>.</p>
<p>Consumers seek easy ways to identify sustainable wine, such as clear visual cues on labels and trustworthy sustainability certifications. These considerations need to be priorities for the global wine industry as it seeks to respond to consumer demand, and address existential challenges to its long-term viability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The wine industry has a major sustainability problem. Informed consumer choice can help drive real change.
Gary Pickering, Professor, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Brock University
Kerrie Pickering, Research Associate, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208491
2023-12-21T08:55:07Z
2023-12-21T08:55:07Z
Nigeria’s plantain wine: a traditional drink with huge economic potential
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542808/original/file-20230815-25-o1drw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plantain waste can be reduced in Nigeria and used in the production of wine. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/green-and-yellow-plantains-royalty-free-image/1167085854?phrase=Plantain&adppopup=true">Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Agadagidi, a wine made from plantain, is a popular drink at festive occasions in Nigeria. But it’s not always of a high quality. </p>
<p>It is usually produced in the <a href="https://library.faraafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Guidebook-Plantain-production-in-Nigeria-rev.pdf#page=9">southern part of the country</a> in limited quantities because it is difficult to store. Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Imo, Enugu, Rivers, Edo, Delta,
Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo states are known for plantain cultivation.</p>
<p><a href="https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/8258">Our study</a> examined ways to improve the production of agadagidi and ultimately create more jobs. </p>
<p>Agadagidi is traditionally produced from overripe plantain by fermenting the juice, known as must, for three days and filtering it thereafter. The juice has a cloudy appearance, is effervescent and has a sweet-sour taste.</p>
<p>Given that plantain is readily available in the country, and imported wines are expensive, we conducted <a href="https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/8258">research</a> to establish if it was possible to make better quality agadagidi. </p>
<p>In Nigeria the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227618302357">agricultural sector</a> employs about 70% of the labour force and contributes about 30% of the national GDP. Smallholder farmers account for almost 90% of the total food production. </p>
<p>But losses due to poor post-harvest practices can reach up to 50% for some fresh food produce. Half of the food that is produced for humans never gets consumed. The country grapples with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227618302357">food insecurity</a> partly due to bottlenecks such as high food losses along its food supply chains. Farmers also lose out on income.</p>
<p>Plantain production <a href="https://knoema.com/data/agriculture-indicators-production+plantains+nigeria">increased</a> from 994,000 tonnes in 1972 to 3.12 million tonnes in 2021. The average production increase is 2.75% which could be a boon to the economy if well managed. </p>
<p><a href="https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/8258">Our study</a> was carried out to optimise the production process to make it safe and of consistent quality. This would be beneficial in a number of ways: it would reduce reliance on imported wine, reduce waste and encourage the production of indigenous wineries, thereby creating jobs and boosting Nigeria’s economy. </p>
<h2>How we conducted our research</h2>
<p>One batch of agadagidi was produced using the traditional method. We also produced agadagidi using controlled fermentation and divided the liquid separated into six batches testing various scenarios using sodium metabisulphite and wine yeast. Some of the samples were pasteurised and some not. </p>
<p>All samples were fermented for three days and dispensed into sterile bottles. </p>
<p>Microbial count, pH and acidity were determined at a weekly intervals for a period of three weeks. </p>
<p>Microorganisms were identified to determine the safety of the products and the consumer acceptability test was also assessed.</p>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>All the unpasteurised samples treated with sodium metabisulphite with or without the addition of wine yeast were acceptable in terms of microbial count, physicochemical properties and consumer acceptability.</p>
<p>Our method could be replicated on a large scale using the same materials we did. It’s also made easier with the abundant plantain in Nigeria. The country can generate more jobs for its teeming young population. Nigeria’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to <a href="https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2023/03/kpmg-global-economic-outlook-h1-2023-report.pdf#page=47">40.6% in 2023 as compared to 2022’s 37.7%</a>, and as high as 43.9% in 2024.</p>
<p>Our findings show that plantain waste can be reduced and used in production of wine. The quantity of imported wine consumed in Nigeria <a href="https://businessday.ng/business-economy/article/nigerias-wine-consumption-hits-record-high-in-2021/">increased</a> from 26.7 to 33.1 million litres from 2015 to 2021. In 2021, Nigeria <a href="https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/wine/reporter/nga#:%7E:text=Imports%20In%202021%2C%20Nigeria%20imported,and%20Italy%20(%246.14M).">spent US$116 million on wine imports</a>, becoming the 36th largest importer of wine in the world. </p>
<p>Optimisation of locally produced wine will reduce reliance on imported wine and boost the country’s economy, especially in these days of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/nigeria-central-bank-make-moves-impacting-fx-markets-days-2023-08-14/">scarce foreign exchange</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208491/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malomo Adekunbi Adetola receives funding from Carnegie and Dutch Government.</span></em></p>
Increasing the quality of a traditional wine sourced from plantain in Nigeria offers a viable way of reducing waste and boosting food security.
Malomo Adekunbi Adetola, Lecturer in Food Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219649
2023-12-13T13:07:58Z
2023-12-13T13:07:58Z
Do you get a headache after a good red wine? This might be why
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564858/original/file-20231204-16-cef1p6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6313%2C4338&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/red-wine-pouring-bottle-into-glass-1707012739">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Headaches affect 16% of the world’s population <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs10194-022-01402-2">on a daily basis</a>, and alcohol consumption is one of the main causes. </p>
<p>Although excessive consumption of any alcohol can cause headaches, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11916-017-0642-8">red wine is the biggest culprit</a>: the headaches it causes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10194-008-0006-1">come on more quickly</a> than those caused by white wine, beer or spirits. Another important difference is that red wine headaches can be caused by only a glass or two, while other drinks only cause problems once a large amount has been ingested. </p>
<p>When our livers metabolise ethanol (the chemical name for alcohol), it turns into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetate">acetate</a> via a two step process. The first stage is the reaction that converts it into the to the highly toxic substance acetaldehyde. When we consume large amounts of alcohol, our bodies accumulate this chemical, which is twenty times more toxic than alcohol itself and <a href="http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol71/mono71.pdf">highly carcinogenic</a>. This molecule is the main cause of the characteristic hangover symptoms: nausea, sweating, facial flushing and headaches.</p>
<p>The second step is the subsequent conversion of acetaldehyde to acetate by an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). One particular type of this enzyme, <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALDH2_(aldeh%C3%ADdo_dehydrogenase),%20is%20essential%20for%20removing%20poisonous%20acetaldehyde%20from%20the%20blood:%20it%20reduces%20its%20concentration%20by%20%5Bone%20thousand%20times%5D(https://doi.org/10.1111%2Facer.13904">ALDH2</a> from the levels it reaches in the liver.</p>
<p>An accumulation of acetaldehyde is responsible for the strong facial flushing effect which is seen in approximately 40% of people of Asian descent. This is because of a genetic predisposition to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673694916292">producing a dysfunctional</a> variant of ALDH.</p>
<p>Certain drugs, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfiram">disulfiram</a>, can even be used to discourage alcohol consumption by inhibiting ALDH production, causing an accumulation of acetaldehyde. This leads directly to unpleasant hangover-like effects when alcohol is consumed, including headaches, without the prior intoxication.</p>
<h2>Headaches and wine</h2>
<p>Red wine headaches are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159%2F000237304">attributed to certain components in the drink</a>, such as amines, sulphites, or tannins, but so far no convincing evidence has been found to support these hypotheses, nor has an alternative explanation been proposed. However, the higher concentration of flavonoids in red wine – which is ten times higher than in white wine – makes them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fhead.12365">the main suspects</a> for causing headaches.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46203-y#:%7E:text=With%20the%20concurrent%20consumption%20of,needed%20to%20verify%20this%20hypothesis.">research paper</a> published on 20 November may well have identified the culprit: a flavonoid called quercetin, one of the <a href="https://www.sobreestoyaquello.com/2020/07/flavonoides-una-botica-en-la-nevera.html">9,000 recorded flavonoids</a> found in many foods such as cabbage, onions, capers, coriander, cranberries, green tea, apples and grapes.</p>
<p>When several flavonoids in wine known to block ALDH2 were tested, the most potent was <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Querciturone">quercetin-3-glucuronide</a>. This compound inhibited ALDH2 almost three times more than any other. This suggests that when we drink red wine, the liver converts quercetin into quercetin-3-glucuronide, which causes us to accumulate acetaldehyde.</p>
<p>It is important to note that quercetin alone does not cause headaches. Onions, for example, contain much more quercetin than wine, but few people complain of headaches after eating them: alcohol and quercetin act together to cause a buildup of poisonous acetaldehyde.</p>
<h2>The better the wine, the stronger the headache</h2>
<p>If the combination of quercetin and ethanol causes headaches, why is it that some people can drink red wine without any effect, while others experience headaches when they drink it? There are several potential factors that may explain this.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/cas-redirect/1:CAS:528:DC%2BD1cXhsVyltLjL">red wine has a significantly higher quercetin content</a> than white, concentrations can vary considerably between red wines of different types and origins. This has been found in, among others, <a href="https://www.ajevonline.org/content/56/2/139">Spanish wines</a>.</p>
<p>Different <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fjf9909757">winemaking processes</a>, such as fermentation and ageing, also affect the chemical content that ends up in a bottle. One well-known factor is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5344%2Fajev.2002.53.3.171">amount of sun exposure</a> that grapes receive. In vineyards that produce high quality wines, practices such as trellising, vine thinning and defoliation (removing leaves) cause the grapes to receive more sunlight and accumulate more quercetin than conventional vineyards that produce cheaper wines.</p>
<p>A study showed that the total flavonoid content was four times higher in <a href="https://www.ajevonline.org/content/50/1/91">“ultra-premium”</a> wines than in lower quality ones. This suggests that one way to avoid headaches might be, unexpectedly, to buy cheaper wine.</p>
<p>Lastly, it is possible that the enzymes that digest quercetin differ from one person to another. Acetaldehyde may also trigger headaches only in genetically predisposed individuals, as is the case in a higher proportion of Asian people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Manuel Peinado Lorca is a member of the PSOE Federal Biodiversity Group.</span></em></p>
Researchers have linked red wine headaches to the chemical compound quercetin, which is much more present in high quality wines.
Manuel Peinado Lorca, Catedrático emérito. Director del Real Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Alcalá, Universidad de Alcalá
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212940
2023-12-11T10:16:12Z
2023-12-11T10:16:12Z
How 1930s American scientists came to think about the impact of climate on wine
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553527/original/file-20231012-21-jbnzzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C29%2C4912%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Depending on the region, rising temperatures can have negative or positive effects on wine quality. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Kohler/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Europe and beyond, the notion of <a href="https://www.brgm.fr/en/news/article/good-land-wine-how-geology-can-influence-quality-wine"><em>terroir</em></a> dominates ideas about the origins of the taste and quality of wine. While there’s intense debate over the term, generally it refers to the specific place where grapes are grown. The concept is largely focused on soil, but also includes the layout of the land and the elements to which it is regularly exposed – sun, rain, wind, seasons, and more. And although climate is seen as being part of the equation, the land upon which grapes are grown is its foundation. As such thinking took root over centuries, it was eventually codified into Europe’s <a href="https://www.inao.gouv.fr/Les-signes-officiels-de-la-qualite-et-de-l-origine-SIQO/Appellation-d-origine-protegee-controlee-AOP-AOC"><em>appellation d’origine contrôlée</em></a> (AOC) system, meaning “registered designation of origin”.</p>
<p>While European immigrants have long grown grapes and made wine around the world, the traditional regions were an ocean away, literally. So what could be done to improve wine quality in these new vineyards and wineries? The situation was particularly dire in the United States after the Prohibition forced many of its winemakers out of business.</p>
<h2>A world away</h2>
<p>After the Prohibition repealed in 1933, two scientists, Albert “Wink” Winkler and Maynard Amerine, launched an effort to revitalise California’s wine industry. Winkler was more of the viticulturalist and Amerine the oenologist, but both shared a passion for grapes, wine, and believed that the state could produce wines that rivalled the best of Europe. Their journey led them to collect vine samples from Fresno in the south to Ukiah in the north and westward to the coast. They planted many of these vines in test vineyards to see how they fared in different climatic regions, in order to advise growers on the best grapes for their plot of land. But vines were not the only bounty they sought.</p>
<p>Winkler and Amerine also collected grapes from willing viticulturalists turning them into a library of more than 500 site-specific wines over a decade. By 1943, they had observed enough seasonal variation in the hundreds of small batches of wines that Winkler and Amerine made and tasted every year to recommend specific grape varieties for specific regions. By expanding the vineyards where they collected grapes, they could both measure and taste the difference between vineyards in regions across California.</p>
<p>Winkler came to an epiphany from their sojourns in California’s vineyards and by analysing the wines these fields produce. The research let him to conclude that climate and regional differences were the most important factors in selecting varietals to produce high-quality wines. He came to this conclusion counter-intuitively.</p>
<p>By thinking about Europe and the idea of a “vintage” versus a “non-vintage” year, he realised the only thing that changed in the vineyard (not the vines, not soil type, not soil quality, not soil drainage) was the weather and, in particular, a vintage year was warmer in places like Bordeaux and Burgundy. He applied this same logic to California as he tasted the same grape in different regions and found some varieties like Zinfandel produced better wines in cooler climates in northern and coastal California while others like Alicante bouchés, which produced sweet wines, fared better in warmer, arguably hot, climates inland and in southern California. This observation had global impact.</p>
<h2>Knowing what to grow</h2>
<p>With Winkler’s development of a heat-based index, he and Amerine advised would-be California wine makers – from Gallo to Mondavi – not just on the varieties they should plant (or pull out) but also which ones would produce the best wines in their particular locations. The <a href="https://winedataresearcher.com/why-the-winkler-index-matters-to-the-wine-world/">Winker Index</a> rapidly transformed not just California vineyards but vineyards across the world as viticulturalists and oenologists paid more attention to the climate. In New World regions, it allowed them to choose varieties that produced wines best suited to the climate, thus improving the overall quality of wine.</p>
<p>But their research had an even deeper impact on varietal selection. Although the Winkler Index measured the temperature across the growing season, it was the taste and aroma of the wines in their wine library that was at the heart of their conclusions. In measuring the <a href="https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/7399">acid/sugar ratio</a> among other compounds in their wines, Amerine and Winkler judged how climate was reflected in the wines they swirled and sipped and how their wines changed over time, especially in years when the weather deviated from the norm.</p>
<p>These early observations on heat and its influence on wine quality allow historians, wine makers, and climate researchers to conclude that not only is the climate warming, but how a warming climate is changing the taste of wine based not just on acid/sugar ratios – though they are – but how hotter, sunnier growing season are increasing sugar in grapes, the alcohol in wine and reducing acidity, throwing wines out of balance. A vineyard that may have consistently produced high-quality wines from the 1930s through the 1990s now produced inconsistent wine.</p>
<p>The opposite can also be true: A region like Bordeaux, which was historically plagued by erratic weather, sometimes losing entire vintages to hail, frost or cold summers, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-french-wine-taste-better">now had more consistent yields</a>, smoothing the difference between a vintage and a non-vintage year. Even inexpensive wines in Bordeaux benefited from warmer growing seasons because more grapes fully ripened.</p>
<p>Of course, as the climate warms, that impact has other negative consequences. Hotter weather reduces the acidity of wines making them flat, flabby, or turgid. An example of mitigating low acidity is Bordeaux’s experiment allowing new varieties to be blended into their iconic – and legislated – varieties of reds and whites to increase acidity and rebalance overripe wines.</p>
<h2>Where there’s fire there’s smoke</h2>
<p>An even more difficult and frightening consequence of a warming climate are wildfires. While fires do not always destroy vineyards (grapes are just spheres of water, after all), the smoke can contaminate wine made near wildfires, resulting in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2113327118">smoke-tainted wine</a> – it tastes something like burnt rubber, cigarette ash or other unpleasant flavours. Once smoke has wafted into the vineyard and engulfed ripening grapes, it is impossible to remove. Worse, winemakers cannot tell if the wine will be smoke tainted by tasting the grapes themselves, as fermentation also affects how foul a wine will taste.</p>
<p>Though scientists around the world are trying to find a solution, they still do not understand exactly what makes a wine taste smoke tainted or how to mitigate it. It’s become a growing concern given the rising number of fires in wine-growing regions, including <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/11/us/california-wildfires-wineries/index.html">California</a> in 2020, <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20210824-provence-wine-producers-weigh-up-losses-after-deadly-wildfires-in-france-ros%C3%A9-french-riviera">France</a> in 2021, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wildfire-leaves-sense-total-destruction-spanish-winemaker-says-2022-07-21/">Spain</a> in 2022. The same year two wildfires burned more than <a href="https://www.icare.univ-lille.fr/wildfires-in-southwest-france-july-2022/">20,000 hectares of forest</a> in France’s Bordeaux region. Tests indicated that that year’s harvest <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20220831-bordeaux-wine-harvest-will-not-have-a-smoky-taste-after-summer-wildfires-winemakers-say">shouldn’t be affected</a>, but the coming years promise to be difficult for winemakers.</p>
<h2>Adapting to a changing world</h2>
<p>It is only because Winkler severed the link between wine and terroir that wine growers had the vision to plant and produce world-renowned wine made in places like <a href="https://visitcanberra.com.au/things-to-do/canberras-wine-region">Canberra</a>, Australia; <a href="https://www.winetourism.com/wine-region/mendoza/">Mendoza</a>, Argentina; <a href="https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-sussex">Sussex</a>, England; and <a href="https://www.wineningxia.com/">Ningxia</a>, China.</p>
<p>Given that climate change is already changing the weather in Europe’s wine-growing regions – the ones whose methods and very identity are most closely linked to traditional notions of <em>terroir</em> – research is also seeking to help wine makers adapt to a changing world. It’s a process that’s already taking place, not only in the <a href="https://www.terraview.co/gdd-and-winkler-index-update/">Winkler Index itself</a>, but even in the <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/france-changes-aoc-rules-allow-153919195.html">venerable AOC system</a>. <em>Plus ça change</em>…</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is the result of The Conversation’s collaboration with <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine">Horizon</a>, the EU research and innovation magazine. In February, the authors published an <a href="https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/horizon-magazine/wine-connoisseurs-face-testing-times-climate-change-alters-flavours">interview with the magazine</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriella Maria Petrick a reçu des financements de EU Horizon 2020 MSCA project number 896298. </span></em></p>
While the notion of terroir has long been the foundation of European wine, research in the 1930s in the US began to reveal the link between climate and wine.
Gabriella Maria Petrick, Research Fellow Ruhr University Bochum, University of Stavanger
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215889
2023-10-26T12:31:10Z
2023-10-26T12:31:10Z
To better understand addiction, students in this course take a close look at liquor in literature
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555246/original/file-20231023-15-kxsfnv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C31%2C5152%2C3383&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Characters in books can teach lessons about addiction.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/open-book-and-glass-of-white-wine-in-sunlight-royalty-free-image/1219727594?phrase=wine+literature&adppopup=true">Nataliia Shcherbyna via iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>Alcohol in American Literature</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>I got the idea for the course when I was writing a chapter on the temperance movement in American literature for my doctoral dissertation. I ended up reading a lot of fiction and poetry about alcohol and the anti-alcohol movement. I thought it would be fun to teach a class that <a href="https://www.academia.edu/12903259/_Temperance_Novels_and_Moral_Reform_in_Oxford_History_of_the_Novel_in_English_Oxford_UP_2014_">surveyed American literature through a booze-themed lens</a>. </p>
<p>Since alcohol affects and disables people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or class, it is easy to find literature about the impact of alcohol from many points of view. </p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>I pair my course with a medical doctor who teaches a course on the <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/addiction-4157312">biology of addiction</a>. In the biology course, students learn about the <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/addiction-overview-4581803">biological and physiological effects</a> of diseases of addiction, <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/substance-use-vs-substance-use-disorder-whats-the-difference-6385961">substance use and abuse</a>, dependency and recovery.</p>
<p>The core curriculum at John Carroll University requires students to take paired courses from different departments that are linked together. A colleague who teaches biology courses approached me about linking my alcohol class to her addiction class. Students must take both of our courses during the same semester. The combined courses give students both a scientific and literary view of addiction. </p>
<p>Students read fiction, poetry and drama about many aspects of alcohol and other addictive substances: celebrating them, struggling with them, even prohibiting and regulating them. Students compare the literary representations of substance and alcohol abuse with medical descriptions and impacts. For example, when my class reads Kristen Roupenian’s viral short story “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person">Cat Person,</a>” we talk about the role of alcohol in reducing inhibition when casually dating.</p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>My goal is for students to come to a better understanding of how alcohol influences literature. They learn how some writers portray the way alcoholism further marginalizes minorities. For example, characters in <a href="https://fallsapart.com/">Sherman Alexie</a>’s “<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lone-ranger-and-tonto-fistfight-in-heaven-20th-anniversary-edition-sherman-alexie/12459512?ean=9780802121998">The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven</a>” are enrolled members of the Spokane Tribe of Indians. They live on the reservation and have great difficulty finding or keeping a job. Many characters suffer from intergenerational trauma, poverty and a pervasive addiction to alcohol. </p>
<p>For their final project, students must pitch a movie that offers a compelling plot with relatable characters. The storyline must be backed up by a deep understanding of the science of disease and addiction. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>• “<a href="https://tinhouse.com/book/night-of-the-living-rez/">Night of the Living Rez</a>,” by Morgan Talty, explores addiction and poverty among the Penobscot Nation.</p>
<p>• “<a href="https://www.hemingwayhome.com/store/p/the-sun-also-rises-softcover">The Sun Also Rises</a>,” by Ernest Hemingway, is a classic novel set in 1920s Paris about a set of heavy-drinking American ex-pats dealing with the trauma of World War I.</p>
<p>• We visit <a href="https://karamuhouse.org/">Karamu House</a>, the U.S.’s oldest continuing African American theater, to watch a performance of “<a href="https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=6301">Clyde’s</a>,” a popular play by Lynn Nottage that is set in a truck stop sandwich shop that employs the recently incarcerated.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>Students can be better advocates for their own personal health, and the health of others, if they understand how addictive substances affect their minds and bodies. Pre-health students in particular get a general introduction to medical issues related to addiction and how American authors have long portrayed booze. </p>
<p>For example, Frances Watkins Harper’s “<a href="https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/full-texts-of-classic-works/the-two-offers-by-frances-watkins-harper/">The Two Offers</a>,” written in the 1850s, is believed to be the first short story ever published by an African American woman. It is a temperance story that encourages young women not to marry a drunkard, highlighting the antebellum Black community’s concerns about sobriety and domestic well-being, in addition to freedom.</p>
<p>The course hones students’ critical reading and writing skills while challenging them to think about the role of alcohol, substance abuse, sobriety and recovery in their lives and in American culture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215889/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debra J. Rosenthal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
This course beckons students to examine how alcoholic beverages are portrayed in books by American authors.
Debra J. Rosenthal, Professor of English, John Carroll University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215503
2023-10-18T16:17:30Z
2023-10-18T16:17:30Z
Climate change may make Bordeaux red wines stronger and tastier
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554264/original/file-20231017-25-4q6ux6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5590%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/glass-red-wine-vine-landscape-france-1688525488">Labellepatine / shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s harvest time again for most of Europe’s wine growing regions and grapes are being picked from the UK in the north to Sicily in the south. The grapes are then sorted and pressed to make the best juices possible. These juices will then be fermented in a choice of barrel, be that oak, concrete, clay or stainless steel, to make wine ready for blending and bottling in the spring.</p>
<p>The harvest determines the vintage, with variation in weather leading to changes in the appeal of the wines. Colleagues and I have published <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(23)02031-X">new research</a> which examines this variation, looking at how quality is affected by temperature and rainfall. </p>
<p>Quality is assessed in spring, when the wine is finished in the barrel ready to be bottled. The French refer to this stage as <em>en primeur</em> (the first), and at this time a futures market forms where speculators and commercial buyers can purchase wine in advance. <em>En primeur</em> was <a href="https://www.wineinvestment.com/learn/magazine/2019/04/a-brief-history-of-en-primeur/">started by Bordeaux wine merchants in the 1950s</a> as a post-war method of providing money to financially struggling chateaus while the wine was still being bottled. This phenomenon has since spread across Europe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wine bottles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554274/original/file-20231017-21-8fkkmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warm summers and wet winters are ideal conditions for wine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/9416218798/in/photolist-fm5zMY-9vNEwP-2oAXirV-24Y8zEa-cG8Fi-5Ua9z-3bc2W-oFzbMK-5AhAuq-4LwFw-6Hmjxx-6Lyc67-8c9fFG-5ZKPkf-LBLVk-pcho3Y-6JMiue-goUdEB-6JMiB8-62ftcX-5Uvkp7-ojtzku-rnSnaG-oXD44f-gfDw2i-6MmNqV-JiVRgK-6LycfA-9rKhTu-6K53oF-fChZTx-6Hz8b5-ib2uaW-6NbTrv-oUQ3G6-eXkHit-LPVoF6-7RdPNs-aSfMw-agntH5-gfCGPo-6HqnjJ-gfDt9z-6xwMfn-eqUGhU-cLHGCu-gfDa5S-gfCH9G-gfDvWP-gfCKD1">Dominic Lockyer / flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During this period, wine merchants and critics make their assessments of the vintage. These assessments speak to both the character and the quality of the wine. The character aspect of reviews come in the form of tasting notes like fruits, velvety mouth-feel, and hints of spices to finish. The quality aspect is rated numerically in the form of a score, comparing the quality of this year’s wines to both previous and other local wines. </p>
<p>These scores vary annually with both climate and weather changes, as well as from vineyard to vineyard. Wines produced from the same type of grape can still vary by soil type, microclimate or vinification (winemaking) choices. Some wine merchants and critics choose to score the wines by region, others by individual bottles of wine.</p>
<h2>What makes Bordeaux better</h2>
<p>We wanted to use these scores to explore how wine quality is changing with variation in annual weather, and thus gain a glimpse into the potential future for wine. We chose to do this in Bordeaux, the wine producing region surrounding the French city of the same name, where climate impacts have already been felt through earlier ripening and harvesting, increased water-related stress, and variation in wine quality. </p>
<p>Bordeaux is also perfect because of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-05-20/what-it-s-like-being-a-wine-critic-during-bordeaux-s-big-en-primeur-week">the scale of <em>en primeur</em></a>, with thousands of chateaus all taking part and being rated by a small number of high-profile critics.</p>
<p>Our results show that higher quality wine is made in years with warmer temperatures, more winter rainfall (and less summer rainfall), and earlier, shorter growing seasons. Climate change is expected to make these conditions occur more frequently, suggesting that – with caveats – Bordeaux wines will potentially become stronger, more rounded, and generally better in the years to come.</p>
<p><strong>The Bordeaux wine region</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Annotated map of Bordeaux wine region" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554267/original/file-20231017-25-bkyoxm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">St Émillion is one of many different wines made in and around Bordeaux.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weinbaugebiete-frankreich-bordeaux.png">Domenico-de-ga / wiki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can see this general trend in the annual variation in critics’ scores for the wines of St-Émillion, for example. One of Bordeaux’s 37 specially-defined wine regions known as “appellations”, St-Émillion, is famed for its high-quality wines and celebrated vineyards, with high values often associated with them. </p>
<p>If we examine one of the top chateaus from this area, Château-Figeac, we find that its highest rated years in the past decade – 2016, 2019, and 2022 – all had high temperatures and low rainfall in July and August, but also higher rainfall in the November-January before. Alexa Boulton, commercial director at Château-Figeac, told me that: “with climate change this type of year comes more often and therefore great vintages come more often”.</p>
<h2>Climate change also means more extremes</h2>
<p>This all sounds very positive, but the caveats are quite important. Most notably, with increased climate change comes an increase in <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/wine-climate-change-extreme-weather-51659127519?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">extreme events</a>. Late frosts, extreme droughts and strong rain and hail during flowering and fruiting are all <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-wine-economics/article/impact-of-climate-change-on-viticulture-and-wine-quality/2914947821F9A182508E76760E7C0D9B">increasing in frequency</a> in Bordeaux and can wipe out an entire year’s grapes. This means no wine at all from some locations, a potentially wine-changing event. </p>
<p>We may have already seen this in 2020, when a dramatic April storm swept across Bordeaux, showering vines in hail and wiping out “<a href="https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/hail-bordeaux-vineyards-2020-436686/">up to 100%</a>” of grapes on some vines while leaving others almost untouched. This hail is one potential reason for the slightly lower quality in many chateaus’ 2020 vintages when compared to the 2019 vintages, despite high winter rainfall and summer temperatures.</p>
<p>Our findings apply far beyond Bordeaux. The UK, for instance, is <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bordeaux-beware-here-comes-the-kent-claret-g2kdg2nr0">on the cusp</a> of producing great red wines yet is still impacted by changes in the weather. My friend Natasha Rompante is an English wine maker, she told me that “2020 was a hot year which made for a great vintage where we unusually achieved ripeness for both white and red wines”. </p>
<p>However 2021 was a different story, with suspected climate change-related increases in temperature and humidity leading to widespread disease and loss of fruit. Rompante points out that “some vineyards lost up to 90% of their crop”. The combination of temperature and rainfall is vital, with the right heat and water, at the right times.</p>
<p>As the global climate changes, so too will our wines. Our research has shown which weather conditions make better wine and this, with some potentially devastating caveats, could suggest a positive future for wines in Bordeaux. Whatever happens, developing our understanding of the links between climate, vine and wine is vital to ensuring long-term success for wines everywhere.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Wood receives funding from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and is a DPhil (PhD) student at University of Oxford. </span></em></p>
Warm summers and wet winters lead to better wines, finds research.
Andrew Wood, PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Centre, University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213471
2023-09-13T08:37:21Z
2023-09-13T08:37:21Z
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Asia expert Richard McGregor on Anthony Albanese’s coming visit to China
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548011/original/file-20230913-17-ou8076.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1100%2C714&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Integrity20.org</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Anthony Albanese has now confirmed he’ll be heading to China before the end of the year. He is the first Australian prime minister to visit since 2016, and it is the culmination of an improvement in China-Australia relations since the change of government.</p>
<p>In this podcast, we’re joined by Richard McGregor, an expert on China and senior fellow at the Lowy Institute. He was at the high level dialogue attended by Australian and Chinese retired government officials and others in Beijing on September 6-7.</p>
<p>McGregor says the Albanese trip will be particularly important, given the hiatus between prime ministerial visits.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We haven’t had a prime minister in China for six, seven years. We all know why that’s the case, it’s not just COVID. It’s also because Australia’s relationship with China went downhill slowly, then quickly to the point where we didn’t have any political dialogue at all for about two to three years.</p>
<p>Our position in South East Asia, our position in the Pacific and our alliance with the United States all are affected by the China relationship. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the government has trodden carefully in rebuilding the relationship, McGregor acknowledges there will be risks in the trip. “There are risks, undoubtedly, we’re going up to another level in what the Chinese call a ‘reset’ [and] we studiously call ‘stabilisation’.” </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Chinese see value in stabilising relations with Australia inasmuch as it sort of turns off a very bad signal that the bilateral fight was sending to the rest of the world. Australia and China had deep divisions [and] we made a lot of noise about it. </p>
<p>Many countries which normally wouldn’t really take much notice of Australian foreign policy, particularly in Europe and to some extent in a different way in South East Asia, in Japan and South Korea, have all watched Australia closely for lessons about how to manage the downside of the relationship. And I think that for China, it wasn’t working for them as well for all sorts of reasons. </p>
<p>So the election allowed the beginning of the stabilisation and I think the Chinese are taking advantage of that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Australia and China have been embroiled in a bitter trade dispute since former Prime Minister Scott Morrison pressed for an investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in 2020. Up to $20 billion worth of Australian exports were targeted by the Chinese government. Recently Trade Minister Don Farrell estimated that has come down to $2.5 billion. On the remaining sanctions McGregor sees a mixed picture. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>On the commodities or sectors which are still affected, wine I think is running on its own track – that’s the subject of a World Trade Organisation complaint by Australia. Until we get a draft report with a resolution to that or a decision – Australia seems to expect it will be in our favour – but until we get that we’ll see no movement from China I think. </p>
<p>In the other areas we might get some sort of flashy opening or partial reopening of the punitive trade measures on areas like lobster, around the time Mr. Albanese is to visit. I think that’s a time honoured Chinese technique, to sort of ‘sweeten the tea before it’s drunk’ But no big change I think. </p>
<p>The bulk of [Australian] trade with China, which is dominated by iron ore, LNG and the like, the bulk of that was not affected. That was the fascinating thing about our trade dispute because during that period both sides tried to diversify, and both sides really failed. We still have complementary economies, we sell them stuff that they still need, and China won’t self harm.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While Albanese has flagged there are no concessions in place for the visit, McGregor says if he doesn’t make any progress regarding imprisoned Chinese-Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, it will be “embarrassing and damaging” for his reputation: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is where the risks of the Albanese trip comes in - Australia has constantly said that we would go to China without any preconditions and I think that’s fair enough. But if six months or so after the trip […] there’s been no movement on the two high-profile detainees Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, then I think that would be very embarrassing and damaging for Mr Albanese. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping and Albanese have a lot of talking points to cover, and McGregor believes Chinese foreign investment in Australia and climate change will be of particular focus: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>China is a big, complicated country, but it’s a clean energy superpower. 90% of solar panels in the world are manufactured in China. […] Yes, they are struggling to get their emissions down because their economy is still growing. Just one figure, the share of coal-fired power in the Chinese economy has gone down from about the mid 70’s to 50% in recent years. </p>
<p>Foreign investment is a point of conflict. […] I think Australia’s going to be very restrictive in the area of lithium and rare earths. And I think the Chinese will be raising that quite vociferously. I expect the Australian response at the top table will be vague, but we’ve already made it pretty clear that we’re not going to allow, potentially, a country which has been unfriendly and which we we have not a great deal of trust in investing in there and potentially dominating that industry in Australia. </p>
<p>Other than that, both leaders will be laying out, I think, their view of the world, their view of the region, their concerns about instability in the region and the possibility of conflict. There are all sorts of things that Mr. Albanese will have to raise.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In this podcast, senior fellow from the Lowy Institute and expert on Asia Richard McGregor joins The Conversation to canvass the prime minister's coming trip to China.
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211847
2023-08-31T13:41:54Z
2023-08-31T13:41:54Z
A fruit fly has landed in your wine – is it OK to drink?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544624/original/file-20230824-25-c2ho4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C6039%2C4014&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fruit-fly-swimming-red-wine-wasnt-2283078405">Anne Webber/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You pour a chilled glass of your favourite sauvignon blanc and are about to take a sip when a fruit fly lands in it. The fly is clearly dead. But given what you know about where flies hang out, you wonder if it’s safe to drink.</p>
<p>Despite their salubrious sounding name, fruit flies (<em>Drosophila</em> species),
eat food that is decaying. They inhabit rubbish bins, compost heaps or any place where food is present, including drains. Rotting food is rich in germs, any of which a fly can pick up on their body and transfer to where it next lands.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X22084745">bacteria</a> include <em>E coli</em>, <em>Listeria</em>, <em>Shigella</em> and <em>Salmonella</em>, any of which can cause a potentially serious infection in even healthy people. The fruit fly, you realise, may have just deposited potentially lethal microbes in your wine, so you toss it in the sink and pour a fresh glass. </p>
<p>However, the scientific evidence suggests you may have just wasted a good glass of wine. Wine has typically between 8% and 14% ethanol and has a pH of around 4 or 5 – a pH below 7 is considered acidic. </p>
<p>Alcohol is well known to be inhibitory to germs and is one reason wine can be stored for so long. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9754789/">Several</a> <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/7/936">laboratory</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20629891/">studies</a> have also shown that the combined effects of wine alcohol and organic acids, such as malic acid, can prevent the growth of <em>E coli</em> and <em>Salmonella</em>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="E coli bacteria" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545266/original/file-20230829-17-jfb8mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wine is known to inhibit the growth of germs, such as E coli.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/escherichia-coli-bacterium-e-gramnegative-rodshaped-1026248248">Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether the germs transmitted by the fruit fly into the wine can cause an infection <a href="https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2021/may/columns/food-safety-and-quality-infectious-doses-of-foodborne-illness">depends on</a> the number of bacteria deposited (the “infectious dose”) and how metabolically fit the germs are. The wine the fruit fly entered was also chilled, which some food poisoning bacteria find <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01151/full">shocks their metabolism so profoundly</a> it stops them growing.</p>
<p>As all types of wine (red, white or rosé, whether chilled or room temperature) are naturally antibacterial, germs in wine are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20629891/">likely to become damaged</a>, which will reduce their infection fitness. This suggests that while the germs deposited into wine by the flies might be present in a dose high enough to cause illness, they are not likely to cause an infection as they are too damaged. So, in all likelihood, the contaminated wine could be drunk without ill effect – whether it was chilled or not.</p>
<h2>Then it has the body to contend with</h2>
<p>And if not damaged directly by the wine, any germs still alive from the fruit fly deposit will encounter the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7684463/pdf/WJG-26-6706.pdf">highly acidic fluids of the human stomach</a>. </p>
<p>Food poisoning germs are highly sensitive to acid, which damages their DNA, and stomach acid can even kill them. In the stomach, germs must also overcome other deadly barriers such as digestive enzymes, entrapping mucus and the ever-watchful immune system defences. Fly-deposited wine germs are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7553086/pdf/fmicb-11-556140.pdf">unlikely to be able to set up an infection</a>.</p>
<p>Unless you are germ-phobic, I would suggest removing the fly and drinking the wine. If you want the extra protein, you could even swallow the fly.</p>
<p>The fruit fly is unlikely to change the taste of the wine, even if there are several of them. Your digestive system will simply process the fly like any other protein. Salud!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211847/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Primrose Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A microbiologist explains the risks to your health of a fly landing in your chilled glass of sauvignon blanc.
Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208569
2023-08-22T20:05:57Z
2023-08-22T20:05:57Z
Champagne is deeply French – but the English invented the bubbles
<p>In 1889, the Syndicat du Commerce des Vins de Champagne produced a <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=hH1kE0-f1kkC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT7&dq=kolleen+guy+champagne&hl=en&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=1889&f=false">pamphlet</a> promoting champagne at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, claiming that Dom Pérignon, <a href="https://www.tourisme-hautvillers.com/en/the-territory/the-heritage/">procurator</a> of the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668, was the “inventor”, “creator” or discoverer" of sparkling champagne.</p>
<p>“Come, Brothers! I drink stars!” is the famous quote <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_P%C3%A9rignon_(monk)#:%7E:text=The%20quote%20attributed%20to%20Perignon,in%20the%20late%2019th%20century.">often attributed</a> to him.</p>
<p>The story of a blind monk having an epiphany, accidentally happening upon the secret to effervescence, was seductive. It combined divine revelation and French winemaking expertise to produce a national symbol deeply rooted in the French landscape. </p>
<p>However, the truth is slightly different. <a href="https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/tom_stevenson/posts/dom-perignon">Dom Pérignon</a> did contribute to improving the still wines of the Champagne region, but he did not discover effervescence – he was trying to get rid of the bubbles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543850/original/file-20230822-30549-ial4hx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jean François de Troy’s 1735 painting Le Déjeuner d'Huîtres (The Oyster Luncheon) is the first known depiction of champagne in painting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The champagne myth</h2>
<p>The expo where the champagne myth was propagated marked the 100-year anniversary of Bastille Day and is best known for the debut of another icon of French culture, the Eiffel Tower. The Pérignon story gained traction at the same moment these other symbols of nation-building reinforced the uniqueness of French culture and history.</p>
<p>The basis for the myth can be traced to a letter from <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=hH1kE0-f1kkC&pg=PA28&dq=dom+grossard+champagne+history&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjC_LXytfb_AhVReXAKHZtuDIsQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=dom%20grossard%20champagne%20history&f=false">Dom Grossard</a> of Hautvillers Abbey to the mayor of Aÿ, in the heart of the Champagne region. Grossard claimed that Pérignon had perfected the method for making perfectly white wine from pinot noir grapes (blanc de noirs), pioneered the technique for effervescence, and championed the use of bottles and corks.</p>
<p>Only the first of these claims is true. At the abbey, wooden stoppers and canvas soaked in grease were used to seal bottles, and French glass was too <a href="https://www.cairn.info/la-bouteille-de-vin--9791021001138-page-67.htm">weak</a> to contain the pressure from effervescence. A bigger problem was that French winemakers – and consumers – considered bubbles a fault, a trick to distract the drinker from bad wine. </p>
<p>Prominent French wine merchant <a href="https://www.cairn.info/load_pdf.php?download=1&ID_ARTICLE=RHMC_603_0110">Bertin de Rocheret</a> advised a client who inquired about sparkling wine: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>effervescence obscures the best characteristics of good wines, in the same way that it improves wines of lesser quality.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-putting-a-spoon-in-an-open-bottle-of-champagne-doesnt-keep-it-bubbly-but-there-is-a-better-way-171823">No, putting a spoon in an open bottle of champagne doesn't keep it bubbly – but there is a better way</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Bubbles, bottles and corks</h2>
<p>The method for effervescence, strong glass bottles and the use of corks all came from England in the 17th century. English consumers imported wine in barrels from France because bottles were taxed at a higher rate than wine imported in bulk. </p>
<p>The wines often deteriorated during the journey across the channel and once opened, they oxidised quickly, developing an unpleasant flavour. To improve the taste, consumers added honey, syrup made from raisins or sugar. The additional sugar content caused a secondary fermentation – and effervescence.</p>
<p>In 1662, <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Labor_Before_the_Industrial_Revolution/oT33DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=glassmaking+england+%E2%80%98a+proclamation+touching+glasses%E2%80%99+(may+23,+1615).&pg=PA196&printsec=frontcover">Christopher Merrett</a>, a founder of the Royal Society, published a paper titled “Some Observations Concerning the Ordering of Wines”, in which he described the method for effervescence: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our winecoopers of latter times use vast quantities of sugar and molasses to all sorts of wines, to make them drink brisk and sparkling, and to give them spirits, as also to mend their bad tastes. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>To produce sparkling wine and retain the effervescence, three things are necessary: bubbles, strong glass bottles and corks. </p>
<p>Merrett’s method provided the fizz, and corks were already used in England for bottling <a href="https://cideruk.com/what-is-cider-and-perry/">cider and perry</a>. Strong glass in England was a by-product of a prohibition on using wood in industrial furnaces, <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Labor_Before_the_Industrial_Revolution/oT33DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=glassmaking+england+%E2%80%98a+proclamation+touching+glasses%E2%80%99+(may+23,+1615).&pg=PA196&printsec=frontcover">decreed</a> by King James I in 1615.</p>
<p>Timber was too valuable to be burned for glassmaking, reserved for building ships for the merchant fleet. Using sea coal, English glass furnaces reached higher temperatures and produced stronger glass. These bottles could withstand pressure (as much as a car tyre) without bursting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543855/original/file-20230822-55362-v420lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Statue of Dom Pérignon at Moët et Chandon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The paradox?</h2>
<p>The only ingredient the English lacked was wine, prompting French wine <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=LLHkAAAAIAAJ&dq=bonal+dom+perignon&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=annexe">historians</a> to refer to their contribution as “<a href="https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/british-paradox-invention-modern-wine/">The English Paradox</a>”. How could a country with no winemaking tradition pioneer the technique for effervescence? The “paradox” label, however, only makes sense if the traditions and standards of French winemaking are presumed to be superior. </p>
<p>Bound by tradition, French winemakers were unwilling to contemplate a fault as a desirable innovation. Driven by necessity, and without any winemaking rules, English consumers were free to experiment. </p>
<p>But necessity was only part of the equation – English culture did play a part in the success of effervesce. Reserving timber for the English fleet made for stronger glass, and cider and perry production provided corks to seal the bottles.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/champagne-and-its-history">The French champagne industry</a> now claims effervescence was not invented, but is a natural product of the soil and climate in a strictly defined region. </p>
<p>Natural fermentation does produce some fizz, but rarely enough to pop a cork without the intervention of a winemaker. The emphasis on nature reinforces the exclusivity and unique geographic attributes to distinguish champagne from all other sparkling wines.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789463720175/commerce-food-and-identity-in-seventeenth-century-england-and-france">more complex history</a> of the origin of effervescence challenges preconceptions about national identity, even in matters of taste. This does not diminish champagne’s luxury status, but it does reveal the influence of cultural traditions on innovation, and the many influences that pave the way to novelty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Garritt C Van Dyk works for the University of Newcastle.</span></em></p>
How did a country that did not make wine somehow invent effervescence?
Garritt C. Van Dyk, Lecturer, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205440
2023-07-18T21:11:35Z
2023-07-18T21:11:35Z
Our perception of wine has more to do with its commercial history than we think
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525691/original/file-20230511-19-w9pz4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C2%2C1905%2C1276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of our cultural conceptions of wine, including its authenticity, stem from the commercial nature of the product. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consumers tend to think of wine as a product of culture and authenticity. Because of this, they see it as distinct from other manufactured commercial goods. </p>
<p>As an agricultural product, we think about wine as linked to a place and sometimes to an individual producer. After that it is considered a historical product rooted in the traditions of a region. And finally, wine is treated as an aesthetic product, in a similar way to the arts, with its key consumers, terminology, prominent producers and specific media attention. </p>
<p>But is wine really distinctive?</p>
<p>In 2021, the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/08/2089700/0/en/Global-Wine-Industry.html">value of the global wine market</a> was over $53 billion, with global production around 260 million hectolitres, the equivalent of 34 billion bottles. Of this, about half is exported and therefore consumed outside its place of origin. The <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/wine-producing-countries">main producing countries</a> by volume are Italy, France, Spain, the United States and Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards in Cafayate, Argentina. The South American country has joined the top five wine-producing countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet wine has been a commercial product for 3,000 years. And paradoxically, many of the cultural ideas which shape how we perceive wine today actually stem from its history as a commercial product. </p>
<p>As an anthropologist and professor in the department of social and public communication at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), I see wine as a cultural object. That is to say, wine carries meanings that are socially constructed and through which both producers and consumers think about it in unconscious ways. </p>
<p>I carried out my first anthropological research fieldwork on wine in Calabria, in southern Italy, in 2000-2001, and have returned there three times. I conducted a second anthropological investigation in British Columbia, in the Okanagan Valley, in 2017-2018. I will present some of the results of this research later in <em>The Conversation</em>. </p>
<p>I am also a wine lover and have been running the website <a href="https://www.sommeliervirtuel.com">sommeliervirtuel.com</a> with my brother Mathieu for over 10 years. Through this activity we have become recognized as wine influencers in Quebec, and I have been able to deepen my knowledge of the wine market and its consumer culture. </p>
<p>In this first article, I demonstrate how some of our cultural conceptions of wine actually arose from the commercial nature of the product. </p>
<h2>The importance of place</h2>
<p>A central element of wine is that it is attached to place. We can talk about a Bordeaux, a Burgundy or a Chianti without having to add that we are talking about wine. Yet as far back as ancient Greece, and later in the Middle Ages, it was different elites that created a market for <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203013267/wine-vine-tim-unwin">wines from recognized, distant regions</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tasting a Chianti, in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The name of the region is associated with its flagship product.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, the wine that was produced and consumed locally had no specific identity and <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/ahess_0395-2649_1996_num_51_6_410925_t1_1383_0000_000">was considered a common agricultural product among others</a>. </p>
<p>It was through trade, especially over long distances, that the place of origin of wines became important and significant.</p>
<h2>The utopia of terroir versus the realities of trade</h2>
<p>Trade also helps explain why wine production became concentrated in certain regions and not others. </p>
<p>Official speeches (guidebooks, wine books, laws) claim that this is because of the quality of a specific region’s terroir, according to the idea that wine production is concentrated in the places most suitable for quality production. In fact, <a href="http://delbussoediteur.ca/publications/le-vin-comme-performance-culturelle/">trade is what explains how vineyards came to be concentrated in certain regions, but not others</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cnrseditions.fr/catalogue/histoire/histoire-de-la-vigne-et-du-vin-en-france/">French geographer and historian Roger Dion</a> has shown how wine production became concentrated in France because of the country’s vanguard position vis-à-vis the markets of northern Europe. He points to how the wine-producing regions were concentrated around rivers, which were essential for the transport of heavy cargoes before the arrival of the train.</p>
<p>So it was actually France’s <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/reae_0755-9208_1990_num_17_1_1247">geographical position</a> that explained the <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1989_num_101_187_7467_t1_0335_0000_2">development and historical renown of its wine regions</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards in Saint-Émilion, France. Wine production would be concentrated in France because of the country’s vanguard position vis-à-vis the markets of northern Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historically, regions that specialized in wine production were able to do so because they had the possibility of selling their production in other markets. That’s because a <a href="http://delbussoediteur.ca/publications/le-vin-comme-performance-culturelle/">peasant family could not subsist on wine</a>. The utopic concept of terroir, however, has been used to conceal these origins, attributing <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3631680">the renown of wines to regions and nature, while, historically, their reputations were actually built through trade</a>.</p>
<h2>From agricultural to luxury product</h2>
<p>With the development of wine consumer markets in what were then non-producing countries, such as England, Northern Europe and America, a specific conception of wine emerged. </p>
<p>In these markets, wine was not considered an agricultural product. Wine was a luxury product, reserved for certain social groups. Even when wine spread throughout society, it remained a rare and occasional product. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wine tasting in Worns, Germany. In the northern European and US markets, wine is still an exceptional product, to be drunk on special occasions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This view of wine remains the dominant one today, even in the wine-producing countries themselves, <a href="https://www.editions-larousse.fr/livre/histoire-sociale-et-culturelle-du-vin-9782035841766">where the habit of daily wine consumption has yielded to one of occasional consumption</a>. </p>
<h2>Bordeaux and the English market</h2>
<p>The case of the Bordeaux region is instructive and has played a key role in the development of several contemporary notions of wine.</p>
<p>The Bordeaux vineyard developed in response to demand from the English and Dutch markets, which, in turn, controlled the region and its trade starting in the 17<sup>th</sup> century. In this context, it was the English market that drove consumers and merchants to pay specific attention to vintages, as well as growths, and the <em>crus</em> of Bordeaux, that is to say the “Châteaux,” such as Ho Bryan (Haut-Brion) or Margose Wine (Margaux) whose first mentions are in English.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Château and vineyard in Margaux, in the Bordeaux region. The Bordeaux vineyard developed in response to demand from the English and Dutch, who in turn controlled the region and its trade starting in the 17th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/1855-bordeaux-classification/">famous classification of Bordeaux wines of 1855, still in force today</a>, was created at the universal exhibition in Paris on the basis of wine prices that were established by the English market.</p>
<p>The emergence of new consumer markets, particularly in Asia, is now putting upward pressure on the wine market and driving up the prices of specific wines from the most sought-after areas or regions. At the same time, <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/geohist/2287?lang=en">China</a> has started to produce and export its own wine, increasing the already strong competition between <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/geocarrefour/13442">different wine-producing regions of the world</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shelf full of wine bottles in a supermarket in Shanghai, China. The country has started producing and exporting wine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Asian markets, wine remains a prestige product, especially as a gift, for example in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/146735840000200405?journalCode=thrb">Japan</a>. If the conceptions of wine so far are mainly Western, perhaps the Asian markets will influence the way we think about wine in the medium or long term.</p>
<p>These are just a few examples of how the commercial nature of wine, through its long history, has influenced our perception of the product. Is wine perhaps hiding its true nature behind the rhetoric of its authenticity? Because objectively, wine is only fermented grape juice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205440/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent Fournier ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>
Wine has been a commercial product for 3,000 years. Paradoxically, many of the cultural ideas we have about wine today actually come from its commercial history.
Vincent Fournier, Professeur au Département de communication sociale et publique, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202039
2023-05-31T20:06:51Z
2023-05-31T20:06:51Z
A kiss to detect wine on her breath: the violent policing of women drinking in Ancient Rome
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525070/original/file-20230509-15-el1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C1059%2C1171%2C2620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Woman Drinking, Andrea Mantegna. about 1495-1506
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The National Gallery, London.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ancient Romans venerated wine. </p>
<p>It was accessible to the masses, a fundamental staple of mainstream life and an indispensable part of the Roman economy and trade. It was utilised in a range of practices: a remedy in medical treatments, a common ingredient in cooking, and customarily used in religious ceremonies as libation to the gods. </p>
<p>Despite its centrality to the everyday life of the Romans, the ancient sources continuously attest it was a problematic drink when consumed by women. </p>
<p>Ancient Rome was a patriarchal society in which women were perceived as the objects of men. </p>
<p>Roman law and tradition sustained an immense fixation with regulating the bodily autonomy of women. Ancient male writers appraised and contextualised the boundaries of feminine morality in direct relation to notions of male <em>auctoritas</em> (social standing and authority) and <em>dignitas</em> (reputation and worth). </p>
<p>One of the ways in which this control over women was codified was through their drinking practices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-newly-uncovered-ancient-roman-winery-featured-marble-tiling-fountains-of-grape-juice-and-an-extreme-sense-of-luxury-199670">A newly uncovered ancient Roman winery featured marble tiling, fountains of grape juice and an extreme sense of luxury</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Punishment for drinking</h2>
<p>In the customary laws of early Rome, the discipline of female sobriety was instilled through punishment. </p>
<p>During the earliest periods of Rome’s history and up until the Middle Republican period, it was <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0072%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D23%3Asection%3D1">a socially sanctioned custom</a> for husbands to punish their wives for drinking. Many Ancient Roman <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/dionysius_of_halicarnassus/2a*.html">sources</a> speak of female drinking and adultery concurrently. </p>
<p>In 2 BCE, Julia, daughter of Emperor Augustus, was exiled from Rome by her father on the grounds of her adulterous behaviour. One of the noted prohibitions placed by Augustus upon Julia was the <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0132:life=aug.:chapter=63&highlight=julia">denial of wine</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525074/original/file-20230509-21-6w5p6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caroto Giovanni, Sophonisba Drinking the Poison, first half of 16th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Castelvecchio Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this act of banning wine in direct response to her adultery, Augustus was underlining an ideological and historical precedent that was fundamentally Roman. </p>
<p>It was a common belief women’s drunken desire led to debauchery. In some cases, to death. </p>
<p>In one of the most well known Roman <em>exemplum</em>, or moral anecdotes, various sources attest Egnatius Mecenius (a contemporary of Romulus) <a href="https://www.attalus.org/translate/valerius6a.html">bludgeoned</a> his wife to death for drinking wine.</p>
<p>The list of such stories <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D14">goes on</a>: a wife starved to death for pilfering the keys to her family’s wine cellar, another fined the amount of her dowry for having been found to have drunk wine in excess.</p>
<p>An enforced sobriety was equated with virtuous feminine propriety. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D14">Some sources</a> maintain it was a common practice for women to be kissed by their male kinsfolk for the purpose of detecting traces of wine upon their breath, a discernible odour validating the subsequent punishment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ancient-rome-didnt-have-specific-domestic-violence-legislation-but-the-laws-they-had-give-us-a-window-into-a-world-of-abuse-179460">Ancient Rome didn't have specific domestic violence legislation – but the laws they had give us a window into a world of abuse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Acceptable drinking</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.attalus.org/translate/valerius2a.html#c1">some</a> Ancient Roman historians, wine was banned from women altogether. But recent scholarship demonstrates ancient Roman women did in fact consume wine. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525072/original/file-20230509-15-bnnzdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wine jar, or amphora, from the 1st or 2nd century BCE.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© The Trustees of the British Museum</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3567821">Archaeological evidence</a> attests to their drinking practices as far back as the ancient written sources state otherwise. </p>
<p>In recent years, excavations throughout Italy have uncovered numerous female burial sites containing <em>amphorae</em> (jars) of imported wines and drinking paraphernalia, dating back to the Archaic period.</p>
<p>It is <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/greece-and-rome/article/wine-taboo-regarding-women-in-archaic-rome-origins-of-italian-viticulture-and-the-taste-of-ancient-wines/22F2073BD86846489D26CAADDEF92FC7">now believed</a> women did drink wine, but only specific varietals and alcoholic strengths.</p>
<p>Certain types of wine, such as <em>passum</em>, a type of sweet raisin wine, were <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3Dfrags%3Achapter%3D1">perhaps acceptable</a> in the strict confines of gendered drinking parameters.</p>
<p>Women were actively known to drink at the festival of Bona Dea (the “Good Goddess”), a religious female-only cult in which wine was ceremoniously offered to the goddess and consumed by women in this ritual celebration.</p>
<p>Yet even here drinking wine was shrouded in <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0211%3Asection%3D20">innuendo</a>, invariably described as “milk” and carried in a “honey-pot”. </p>
<p>The titular goddess <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0211%3Asection%3D20">could not escape</a> the brutal consequences of her own mythologised inebriation: according to the myth, Bona Dea was beaten to death by the god Faunus for her conspicuous consumption of wine. </p>
<h2>A socially acceptable drink</h2>
<p>Our knowledge about women’s drinking practices during the early periods of Roman history comes from both Greek and Latin sources composed centuries later. The male authors of these texts heavily mythologised the past, often to convey the inferred wickedness of their present day. </p>
<p>In constructing a past practice of female sobriety where drinking resulted in dire consequences, the ancient writers underlined a direct correlation between the act of drinking and the social conduct expected of women. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525075/original/file-20230509-17-tqpnrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Abraham Janssens I, Ceres, Bacchus and Venus, between 1605 and 1615.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brukenthal National Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the time of the transition from Republic to Empire (around the first century B.C.E), it was customary for women to drink wine. With the popularisation of Roman <em>convivium</em> (a type of banquet or dinner party) and increasing cultural appreciation of viticulture, female participation in these practices signalled a social acceptance of their drinking. </p>
<p>Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus, is said to have credited her longevity to a wine varietal from <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D8#note5">Istria</a>. For the women of ancient Rome, drinking wine was not something of considered indifference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Despite wine’s centrality to the everyday life of the Romans, the ancient sources continuously attest it was a problematic drink when consumed by women.
Lily Moore, PhD Candidate in Classics and Archaeology, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202663
2023-05-08T18:04:20Z
2023-05-08T18:04:20Z
Come pests, frost or fire: How the Swiss are arming their wines against climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524615/original/file-20230505-17-sxlgnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C1024%2C672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The lush Canton of Valais has long been known as Switzerland's most prolific wine-making region.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignoble_du_Valais#/media/Fichier:VignesSion.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is increasingly felt globally, and the wine industry is no exception. In vineyards, global heating is synonymous with increased <a href="https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/8565768-le-gel-printanier-a-malmene-lensemble-du-vignoble-suisse.html">frost and hail</a>, <a href="https://www.vitisphere.com/actualite-97334-secheresse-et-chaleurs-le-vignoble-de-la-moitie-sud-en-souffrance.html">droughts</a>, <a href="https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/pyrenees-orientales/perpignan/incendie-dans-les-pyrenees-orientales-un-meilleur-entretien-des-vignes-aurait-permis-de-reduire-la-surface-brulee-selon-des-vignerons-2756878.html">fires</a> and <a href="https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/precipitations-favorisent-attaques-champignons-vignes-locales">disease</a>.</p>
<p>This is problematic when we know the production of high-quality grapes requires consistent weather conditions. The <a href="https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2021/june/22/the-lifecycle-of-a-vine/">growth cycle of a vine</a> spans from April to September, and each stage depends on different weather conditions. For example, sunny and warm weather is essential during flowering and fruit set, while sun with moderate rain and marked day/night temperature differences are ideal during maturation.</p>
<h2>The biggest climate risks facing the wine sector</h2>
<p>Each vintage is at risk of climate hazards, leading to unpredictable variations in quantity and quality compared to the historical norm. As a result, winemakers now recognise significant business risks come with the territory, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Changes in grape growing conditions: <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2019/10/climate-change-changing-flavour-french-wine">disruptions to the seasonal cycle</a> can affect the quality and quantity of grapes harvested. This, in turn, can erode a region’s and producer’s reputation and, by extension, its revenues.</p></li>
<li><p>Increased pests and diseases: Warmer temperatures provide ideal breeding conditions for <a href="https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/1780">disease</a> and pests. In response, winegrowers will typically compensate by dousing cultures with pesticides, hampering sustainability efforts.</p></li>
<li><p>Water scarcity: <a href="https://cbey.yale.edu/our-stories/water-to-wine-the-case-for-wine-amidst-the-california-drought">Repeated droughts</a> can limit irrigation and force producers to invest in expensive water management methods.</p></li>
<li><p>Vineyard relocation: Some wine regions may become unsuitable for growing grapes, ultimately prompting producers to relocate elsewhere. In turn, increased competition for <a href="https://www.liquor.com/emerging-wine-regions-5191526">newly hospitable regions</a> for grape growth puts additional pressure on revenues.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In addition to these direct effects, climate change can drive up the cost of inputs such as energy, water, and labour, reducing producers’ profitability.</p>
<p>Overall, the economic consequences of climate change for wine producers appear complex. Might it be possible for producers to mitigate these impacts by resorting to more creative practices?</p>
<h2>Up to 40% of losses avoided</h2>
<p>To answer this question, we turn to the Canton of Valais, Switzerland’s most prolific wine-making region located in the country’s south. The area is reputed for its international grape varieties, syrah and pinot noir in particular, but above all for its local stars, such as the petite arvine, amigne, or cornalin. Overall, more than 50 varietals exist in the region.</p>
<p>Valais makes for a promising case study for at least two reasons. First, the region produces a large array of red and white grape varieties. This factor sets it apart from French vineyards, where <a href="https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/wine-grapes-vineyard-france-classifications-appellation-law/">AOC</a> rules limit the varieties that can be used. Second, the Valais grape varieties react differently to climatic hazards. Syrah, for example, allows for a drier climate, whereas pinot noir require cooler temperatures. Gamaret, on the other hand, is more pest resistant. Our question is therefore whether a diversified portfolio of grape varieties could reduce climate risk.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Variability of quantities" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519944/original/file-20230407-440-fj7o5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graph shows how grape diversity can offset climate risks faced by the wine sector. The horizontal axis shows the number of grape varieties, and the vertical axis shows the extent to which the harvest varies from year to year compared to the historic norm. The solid line indicates the average variation when 1 to 10 grape varieties are used.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As seen in Figure 1 above, winemakers growing one type of grape face a 1 in 3 chance that the harvest will vary by more than 44%. However, the risk drops as winemakers grow more varieties. The first blue dot on the left shows that choosing pinot noir, a type of grape that is more consistent over time, lowers climate risks. Boasting a mix of grape varieties slashes risks even further.</p>
<p>With four different varieties, it is possible to reduce by 40% the variability of the quantities produced. The continuous line progressively decreases from 0.44 to 0.27 when the number of varieties increases from 1 to 4. The risk is halved when producing eight randomly selected grape varieties. The dashed line in the figure shows that it is possible to reduce the risk even more if the grape varieties are chosen with particular care: combining four white and red, late and early varieties can reduce the climate risk by almost two thirds.</p>
<p>Figure 2 focuses on the variation in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oechsle_scale">Oechsle degrees</a>, which estimates the ripeness of grapes and predicts the eventual alcohol content of a wine produced. As such, Oesle degrees are considered a quality indicator. Certainly, other dimensions define a great wine. Nevertheless, to make good wine, one must harvest grapes at maturity and, therefore, with enough sugar. The figure shows that working with multiple grape varieties reduces the risk of suffering from a lack of maturity or excessive maturity. The results are similar to those in Figure 1, except that the vertical axis contains lower values. This shows that quality variations are smaller than quantity variations. This is explained by the fact that it is possible to modulate the harvest dates to obtain grapes with sufficient maturity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Variability of the quality" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519946/original/file-20230407-3644-zx48ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An example to follow?</h2>
<p>Our research confirms regions that allow the growth of different grape varieties are better equipped to face off climate risks and could serve as an example for others. Benefits include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Increased resilience: By planting grape types with varying <a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/01/27/wine-regions-shrink-climate-change/">tolerance to environmental stressors</a>, producers increase the resilience of vineyards to changing climate conditions. For example, if one variety is impacted by a heatwave, another may still produce a high-quality crop.</p></li>
<li><p>Improved crop quality: Different grape varieties have different flavour profiles, sugar levels, and acidity, resulting in more interesting wines.</p></li>
<li><p>Protection against disease: Producers can reduce dependence on a single variety and protect vineyards against disease outbreaks.</p></li>
<li><p>Adaptability to changing conditions: By drawing from different grape varieties, producers can ready their vineyards to erratic weather patterns and ensure their long-term viability.</p></li>
<li><p>Market diversity: By tapping into a broader market, producers reduce economic dependence on a single variety. This reduces market fluctuation risk and ensures a stable income stream.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The diversification strategy is not without its obstacles, however.</p>
<p>Different grape varieties have different soil requirements. If these aren’t attended to, they may not grow as well. Some grape varieties also take longer to mature, impacting overall productivity. To tackle these challenges head on, transitioning producers will have to invest in equipment, labour, and other resources, sometimes at a hefty cost.</p>
<p>Not to mention that consumers may end up not generating sufficient demand even if one has overcome these challenges. It is therefore crucial for winemakers to carefully consider these issues as they embark onto a diversification strategy, starting off, perhaps, with an in-depth feasibility study.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-Philippe Weisskopf a reçu des financements de la part de la HES-SO Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippe Masset ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>
In the face of climate change, research shows it might be best not to put all one’s grapes in one basket.
Jean-Philippe Weisskopf, Associate Professor of Finance, EHL Hospitality Business School, Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-SO)
Philippe Masset, Professeur associé, Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-SO)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199670
2023-04-17T07:37:39Z
2023-04-17T07:37:39Z
A newly uncovered ancient Roman winery featured marble tiling, fountains of grape juice and an extreme sense of luxury
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509489/original/file-20230210-15-3v910q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C3630%2C3088&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Roman mosaic illustrating a winemaking scene from the fourth century CE at Santa Costanza, Rome</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">E. Dodd</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent excavations at the <a href="https://www.parcoarcheologicoappiaantica.it/luoghi/villa-dei-quintili-e-santa-maria-nova/">Villa of the Quintilii</a> uncovered the remains of a unique winery just outside Rome. </p>
<p>The mid-third-century CE building located along the <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=via-appia-geo&highlight=quintilii">Via Appia Antica</a> portrays a sense of opulence and performance almost never found at an ancient production site.</p>
<p>This exciting complex illustrates how elite Romans fused utilitarian function with luxurious decoration and theatre to fashion their social and political status. </p>
<p>I was one of the specialist archaeologists to study this newly excavated site. The details of this discovery are outlined in our <a href="https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.18">new article</a> in Antiquity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509473/original/file-20230210-28-3xlymv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of the excavated winery at the Villa of the Quintilii on the Via Appia Antica, Rome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Castellani</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Villa of the Quintilii</h2>
<p>From names stamped on a lead water pipe, we know the 24 hectare ancient Roman villa complex was owned by the wealthy <a href="https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-5487;jsessionid=08B03962E28578BC9834F82C7042559F">Quintilii brothers</a>, who served as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/consul-ancient-Roman-official">consuls</a> in 151 CE. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509478/original/file-20230210-30-299ivd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bust of Commodus in the Glyptothek, Munich.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Roman emperor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Commodus">Commodus</a> had the brothers killed in 182/3 CE. </p>
<p>He took possession of their properties, including this villa, initiating long-term imperial ownership. </p>
<p>The site has been long known for its decorative architecture, including coloured marble tiling, <a href="https://www.museionline.info/roma-musei-e-monumenti/antiquarium-villa-dei-quintili">high-quality statuary</a> recovered over the last 400 years, and a monumental bathing complex.</p>
<p>Less known is an enormous <a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Circus.html">circus</a> for chariot racing built during the reign of Commodus. </p>
<p>From 2017-18, during an attempt to discover the starting gates of the circus, the first traces of a unique winery were revealed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unearthing-falerii-novis-secrets-in-the-hot-italian-summer-an-archaeologist-reports-from-the-dig-162527">Unearthing Falerii Novi's secrets in the hot Italian summer: an archaeologist reports from the dig</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A luxury Roman imperial winery</h2>
<p>This large complex was built on top of the circus starting gates, which dates it after the reign of Commodus. </p>
<p>The complex possesses features commonly found in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/719697">ancient Roman wineries</a>: a grape treading area, two wine presses, a vat to collect grape must (the juice of the grapes along with their skins, seeds and stems) and a cellar with large clay jars for storage and fermentation sunk into the ground. </p>
<p>However, the decoration and arrangement of these features is almost completely unparalleled in the ancient world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509485/original/file-20230210-26-lr3txz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aerial view of the excavated winery at the Villa of the Quintilii. Production areas are at the top (A–D), and the cellar (E) with adjacent dining rooms (F) in the lower half of the image.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by M.C.M s.r.l and adaptation in Dodd, Frontoni, Galli 2023</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nearly all the production areas are clad in marble veneer tiling. Even the treading area, normally coated in waterproof <em><a href="https://www.archaeoreporter.com/en/2021/01/03/the-roman-cocciopesto/">cocciopesto</a></em> plaster, is covered in red breccia marble. This luxurious material, combined with its impracticalities (it is very slippery when wet, unlike plaster), conveys the extreme sense of luxury. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509490/original/file-20230210-23-jhsr36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reconstructed ancient Roman wine press at the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">E. Dodd</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two immense <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/a-pressing-matter-ancient-roman-food-technology">mechanical lever presses</a> sit either side of the treading area to press the already trodden grape pulp. </p>
<p>The size and scale of these presses working up and down in harmony would have contributed to the theatre of the production process.</p>
<p>The grape juice produced from treading and pressing flowed from these areas into a long rectangular vat, where an impression from a stamp named the short-reigning emperor <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Gordian_Emperors/">Gordian</a> (deposed 244 CE). This confirms a date of construction or renovation. </p>
<p>But it is here the real performance would have begun.</p>
<p>The liquid grape must poured like a striking fountain out of the vat and through a facade around one metre in height that closely resembles a Roman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/nymphaeum"><em>nymphaeum</em></a> (a monumental decorated fountain). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509481/original/file-20230210-15-aranpu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View from the excavated dining room over the cellar with its facade of niches and fountains and up to the raised production areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">E. Dodd</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While must flowed out of the three central niches, water flowed out of those on either end and was then channelled back underground through a system of lead pipes.</p>
<p>This niched facade was originally clad in a decorative veneer of brightly coloured white, black, grey and red marble. Some pieces remain attached and more were found loose in the excavated layers.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509482/original/file-20230210-28-6xb7by.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cellar with marble-lined distribution channels and eight buried clay jars reinstated in their original positions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">E. Dodd</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A system of thin open white marble channels conveyed the grape must from the facade into an open-air cellar area. </p>
<p>Here it was fed into 16 buried clay jars (<em>dolia defossa</em>) large enough for a person to fit inside. The remains of eight were uncovered during excavations.</p>
<p>Three rooms paved in opulent geometric marble tiling, like those found in other areas of the villa, were arranged around the cellar. </p>
<p>We might imagine the emperor and his retinue reclining, eating and watching the spectacle of production and tasting freshly pressed must.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509475/original/file-20230210-28-4swlsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Geometric coloured marble floor tiling (<em>opus sectile</em>) discovered in one of the dining rooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Castellani</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Theatrical vintage ritual in ancient Italy</h2>
<p>The only other example like this facility can be found at <a href="https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/53-2/fentress.pdf">Villa Magna</a>, 50 kilometres to the south-east near Anagni. </p>
<p>This similarly opulent marble-clad winery was in use just before the Villa of the Quintilii, from the early second to early third century CE, with an area for dining that enabled a view of the production spaces.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Aurelius-Roman-emperor">Marcus Aurelius</a>’ <a href="http://www.attalus.org/info/fronto.html">letters</a> to his tutor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Cornelius-Fronto">Fronto</a>, we are given a rare glimpse into the activities of Villa Magna around 140-145 CE. He describes the imperial party banqueting while watching and listening to the workers treading grapes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509488/original/file-20230210-25-8fvnpz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Roman sarcophagus (ca. 290 CE) illustrating a vintage scene with cherubs harvesting grapes and treading on them in a basin to make wine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Villa Museum, Malibu. Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is likely this formed part of a vintage ritual, tied to the ceremonial opening of the harvest. Perhaps this ritual also occurred at the slightly later Villa of the Quintilii facility.</p>
<p>Lavish marble-clad spaces marked areas fit for the imperial party and the winery was the “theatre” for this sacred performance.</p>
<p>One tantalising question remains unanswered: was the Roman emperor’s spectacular, ritual winery moved in the early third century CE from Villa Magna to the Villa of the Quintilii?</p>
<p><hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pompeii-is-famous-for-its-ruins-and-bodies-but-what-about-its-wine-147011">Pompeii is famous for its ruins and bodies, but what about its wine?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emlyn Dodd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
This exciting newly excavated complex illustrates how elite Romans fused utilitarian function with luxurious decoration and theatre to fashion their social and political status.
Emlyn Dodd, Lecturer in Classical Studies, Institute of Classical Studies, University of London; Assistant Director of Archaeology, British School at Rome; Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195907
2023-04-10T20:01:47Z
2023-04-10T20:01:47Z
Australia’s system of taxing alcohol is ‘incoherent’, but our research suggests a single tax rate isn’t the answer
<p>The best word to describe the way Australia taxes alcoholic drinks is “<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2531/2009_Henry_Tax_Review_Alcohol.pdf">incoherent</a>”.</p>
<p>It was the word used by the 2010 <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2532/Henry_Tax_Review_alcohol_chapter-compressed.pdf">Henry Tax Review</a> to describe a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Budget_Office/Publications/Research_reports/Alcohol_taxation_Australia">system</a> in which some wine effectively faces <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/business/wine-equalisation-tax/producer-rebate/">no alcohol tax</a>, expensive wine is taxed heavily and cask wine lightly, beer (but not wine) is taxed by alcohol content, <a href="https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2023/01/call-to-fix-spirits-tax-system-in-australia/">brandy</a> is taxed less than other spirits, and <a href="https://www.cideraustralia.org.au/resources/regulation/">cider</a> is taxed differently to beer.</p>
<p>Industry calculations suggest cask wine is taxed at as little as <a href="https://australiandistillers.org.au/news/13077677">six cents</a> per standard drink, mid-price wine at 26 cents, bottled beer at 56 cents, and spirits at $1.24.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519724/original/file-20230406-22-e6emfc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://australiandistillers.org.au/news/13077677">Australian Distillers Association</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>And yet it is cask wine that is often said to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/drink/cask-wine-partially-banned-in-geraldton-wa-after-spike-in-alcoholrelated-violence/news-story/012d107db4f3963c06b38535f0ab7c39">do the most damage</a>.</p>
<p>The Henry Review recommended taxing all drinks containing more than a small amount of alcohol at the <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2532/Henry_Tax_Review_alcohol_chapter-compressed.pdf">same rate</a> per unit of alcohol, regardless of type. It was a recommendation backed by specialists in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2010.00063.x">Australia’s tax system</a>.</p>
<p>Implicit, and largely unexamined, in these recommendations is the assumption that alcohol does the same damage in whatever form it is taken.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4932.12704">new study</a>, linking drinkers’ risky behaviours to the types of alcoholic beverages they mostly consume, finds this isn’t so.</p>
<h2>Damage depends on the type of drink</h2>
<p>Using data from six waves of an <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/3564474e-f7ad-461c-b918-7f8de03d1294/aihw-phe-270-NDSHS-2019.pdf.aspx">Australian recreational drug survey</a>, we find that regular-strength beer and pre-mixed spirits in a can rank among the highest in their links to both drink-driving and hazardous, disturbing or abusive behaviours. </p>
<p>Mid-range are mid-strength beer, cask wine, and bottled spirits and liqueurs.</p>
<p>At the bottom are low-strength beer and pre-mixed spirits in a bottle, which have the weakest links to risky and abusive behaviours when intoxicated.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Probability of drink driving, by age and beverage type</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519738/original/file-20230406-16-t6mkm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">RSB = Regular-Strength Beer; LSB = Low-Strength Beer; MSB = Mid-Strength Beer; BW = Bottled Wine; FW = Fortified Wine; CW = Cask Wine; PMSC = Pre-Mixed Spirits in a Can; PMSB = Pre-Mixed Spirits in a Bottle; BS = Bottled Spirits and Liqueurs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-4932.12704">Source: Economic Record</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Some of the relationships vary with the type of damage. While bottled wine is linked to a moderate to high probability of drink-driving, it is also linked to a low probability of hazardous, disturbing or abusive behaviours. </p>
<p>Pre-mixed spirits in a bottle are related to a low probability of both drink driving and hazardous, disturbing and abusive behaviours. But when account is taken of the gender of the drinkers (so-called alcopops are typically drunk by females), we find them no longer as safe.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Probability of hazardous, disturbing or abusive behaviour</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519743/original/file-20230406-18-i30zeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">RSB = Regular-Strength Beer; LSB = Low-Strength Beer; MSB = Mid-Strength Beer; BW = Bottled Wine; FW = Fortified Wine; CW = Cask Wine; PMSC = Pre-Mixed Spirits in a Can; PMSB = Pre-Mixed Spirits in a Bottle; BS = Bottled Spirits and Liqueurs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-4932.12704">Source: Economic Record</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Our study suggests that Australia’s haphazard system of taxing alcohol might have got some things right. Beer, which is typically taxed more highly than wine, seems to do more damage.</p>
<p>But it has got some things wrong. Cask wine appears to be significantly undertaxed relative to the damage it does.</p>
<p>More broadly, our findings suggest that if alcohol is to be taxed according to the damage it does, the tax system we adopt will need to be more complicated than a single rate for every unit of alcohol regardless of the form in which it comes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Beer does more social damage than wine, suggesting it’s right to tax it more highly. But cask wine seems to be significantly undertaxed.
Ou Yang, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
Preety Pratima Srivastava, Senior Lecturer, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193318
2022-12-25T20:41:45Z
2022-12-25T20:41:45Z
We’re getting really good at making alcohol-free beer and wine. Here’s how it’s done
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502320/original/file-20221221-14-lbkxu9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=69%2C69%2C5738%2C3805&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Drinking alcohol has been part of Australian culture for at least <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-alcohol-consumption-in-australia-10580">240 years</a>, and perhaps <a href="https://theconversation.com/alcohol-brewed-from-trees-and-other-fermented-drinks-in-australias-indigenous-history-96127">millennia prior</a>. </p>
<p>In recent years, however, there’s been a growing trend towards opting for low- and no-alcohol versions of traditional drinks. Just check out the soft drink aisle of your supermarket if you need proof.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-are-embracing-mindful-drinking-and-the-alcohol-industry-is-also-getting-sober-curious-160931">Australians are embracing 'mindful drinking' — and the alcohol industry is also getting sober curious</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Non-alcoholic drinks have been on the market for decades, but for a long time their range was limited and, in most cases, the flavours were inferior to their alcoholic counterparts. </p>
<p>Now online retailers (some of which specialise in non-alcoholic drinks) are stocking up to 100 different low- or no-alcohol beers and a similar number of non-alcoholic wines – with the majority produced in Australia. </p>
<p>What’s behind the big boom in this side of the industry? And where might it go from here?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Heineken 0% beer bottle and glass of beer with the Heineken label on a blue table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498933/original/file-20221205-14-ulwlb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With a rise in demand, most global beer brands now offer zero-alcohol substitutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It all starts with fermentation</h2>
<p>Alcoholic beverages are produced via microbes, most commonly yeasts, which convert sugars to ethanol (alcohol) in the process of fermentation. </p>
<p>In addition to producing ethanol, fermentation also leads to other desirable flavour changes. This means the fermentation process is integral to the flavour of beer and wine, and we can’t just forgo it to make low- and no-alcohol drinks. </p>
<p>Consider the difference between unfermented grape juice and wine: it’s not merely the presence of alcohol that creates the flavour profile of wine! </p>
<p>As such, the production of most non-alcoholic wine and some non-alcoholic beer starts with the typical fermentation process, after which the alcohol is removed using a few different advanced systems.</p>
<h2>High-tech systems changed the game</h2>
<p>The two most common ways to produce no-alcohol beer and wine involve filtration and distillation. Both systems are technologically advanced and expensive, so they’re usually only used by larger producers.</p>
<p>In membrane filtration – and specifically one technique called “reverse osmosis” – beer and wine are pumped under pressure through filters with holes so small they separate compounds based on their molecular size. Relatively small molecules such as water and ethanol pass through, but others can’t. </p>
<p>The water is continuously added back to the mix of the larger “flavour” compounds to reconstitute the beer or wine. This process is continued until all the ethanol is removed. </p>
<p>Another process is distillation, in which compounds are separated based on the temperature at which they boil. Therefore, distillation requires heat, and heat changes the flavour of beer and wine – leading to a less desirable product.</p>
<p>To minimise the impact on flavour, the distillation used to make no-alcohol products happens under very low pressures and in a vacuum. In these conditions ethanol <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jib.591">can be removed</a> at around 35°C-40°C, as opposed to 80°C under atmospheric pressure. This is based on the same principle that dictates why water boils at a lower temperature at altitude than it does at sea level. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four beer glasses lined up on a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498932/original/file-20221205-26-30d1zu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wide variety of beer styles are now available in alcohol-free forms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Small brewers are becoming master craftspeople</h2>
<p>While the increase in low- and no-alcohol beer production reflects consumer preference, it’s also partially driven by the wide range of craft beers now available. </p>
<p>Many craft breweries in Australia are producing delicious low-alcohol beer without additional expensive equipment. They do this by carefully manipulating the fermentation process using two main methods.</p>
<p>In the first method, brewers intentionally reduce the amount of simple sugars available for the yeast. With less sugar to use, the yeast produces less ethanol. </p>
<p>There are a few ways to achieve this, including using a higher- or lower-than-normal temperature during mashing (the process of extracting simple sugars from the barley grain). The brewer can also stop the fermentation process early, before too much sugar is converted into alcohol.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fermentation tanks photographed in a brewhouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499929/original/file-20221209-24874-ktdtu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The brew deck at Federation University has all the tools to make a great brew, including conical fermentation vessels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Federation University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second method involves using different yeasts. Traditionally most beers have been produced using the yeast <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Saccharomyces">Saccharomyces</a></em>. This genus has been domesticated over millennia to make beer, wine and bread. </p>
<p>But there are thousands of species of yeast, and some aren’t adept at producing ethanol as a byproduct. These yeasts are gaining popularity in the production of low-alcohol beers. They still provide the flavour compounds we expect, but with very low levels of alcohol (sometimes even lower than 0.5%). </p>
<p>Although most yeast strains are likely to be commercially available and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/femsyr/article/17/4/fox038/3861261">previously described</a>, some breweries are still secretive about the exact strain they use to produce low-alcohol beers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A scanning electron microscope image of baker's yeast cells." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498927/original/file-20221205-26-vtlbba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are various companies dedicated to developing new yeast strains for the brewing market. Besides using naturally sourced strains, two strains can be cross-bred to create hybrids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Soon you’ll barley notice a difference</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to make low- and no-alcohol beer or wine that tastes <em>exactly</em> like the full-strength counterparts. That’s because ethanol contributes to the flavour profile of alcoholic drinks, and it’s more evident in wine (typically about 13% alcohol) than beer (about 5%).</p>
<p>The removal of ethanol and water also leads to the removal of compounds with smaller molecules and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound">volatile compounds</a> (chemicals that vaporise under normal atmospheric conditions) – although manufacturers do their best to add them back to the final product. </p>
<p>Similarly, changing mash conditions or using unconventional yeast strains for low-alcohol beer also leads to different flavour profiles than those achieved through a “normal” process. </p>
<p>Despite these challenges, producers are constantly improving their products. Our <a href="https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BPMhfNhqTAilBs">preliminary investigations</a> have shown even some experienced beer drinkers can’t tell non-alcoholic beers apart from their alcoholic counterparts.</p>
<p>So if the mood or circumstance warrants it, don’t hesitate to try a low- or no- alcohol beer or wine this festive season (or throughout the year). You may be surprised by how the range and quality of these products has improved. And of course, the benefits are obvious.</p>
<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/BPJmthQ3YRwD6QqcVD" width="100%" height="270" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/HBOMax-hbomax-the-great-gatsby-2013-thegreatgatsbyonhbomax-BPJmthQ3YRwD6QqcVD"></a></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-young-people-drinking-less-than-their-parents-generation-did-172225">Why are young people drinking less than their parents’ generation did?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Removing alcohol from wine and beer can be an expensive undertaking. But the craft industry is applying some smart low-tech options – with great results!
David Bean, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and Fermentation Technology, Federation University Australia
Andrew Greenhill, Associate Professor in Microbiology and Fermentation Technology, Federation University Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188882
2022-08-24T23:02:34Z
2022-08-24T23:02:34Z
‘Oh well, wine o’clock’: what midlife women told us about drinking – and why it’s so hard to stop
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479498/original/file-20220816-18397-5ffk8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C80%2C6720%2C4386&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-elderly-woman-drinking-wine-while-sitting-on-the-chair-8532492/">Karolina Grabowska/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us enjoy a drink at the end of a stressful day. But for some, this is less of a discretionary treat and more of a nightly must-have.</p>
<p>While alcohol reduction campaigns ask us to check our relationship with alcohol, emphasising the role it can play in causing violence and disease, our research has found many Australian women view alcohol in a different way. Many don’t see alcohol as only a bad thing and have complex reasons for their relationships with alcohol. </p>
<p>We conducted 50 interviews with midlife women (45–64 years of age) from different social classes living in South Australia. All women had a relationship with alcohol but the nature of the relationship was really different according to their social class. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article-abstract/37/4/daac097/6674367?redirectedFrom=fulltext">study</a>, published today in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article-abstract/37/4/daac097/6674367?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Health Promotion International</a>, suggests the problem for public health lies in the circumstances that shape women’s lives and lead to a relationship with alcohol. </p>
<p>Public health messaging around alcohol harm reduction needs to be more nuanced, and tailored to women’s level of disadvantage and what support they can access. A message that hits home for middle class women won’t necessarily resonate for working class women.</p>
<p>Here are some key themes that emerged from our research.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/did-you-look-forward-to-last-nights-bottle-of-wine-a-bit-too-much-ladies-youre-not-alone-109078">Did you look forward to last night's bottle of wine a bit too much? Ladies, you're not alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479501/original/file-20220816-1865-3wzntl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public health messaging around alcohol harm reduction may need to be more nuanced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Arzu Cengiz on Unsplash.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>For many midlife women, alcohol makes life better – or at least, liveable</h2>
<p>For all women we spoke to, drinking alcohol was perceived to reduce loneliness and isolation. They didn’t just drink alcohol, they had a “relationship” with alcohol.</p>
<p>Women often have many competing responsibilities (working, caring, domestic duties). Many described feeling invisible and unacknowledged. </p>
<p>One middle class woman noted alcohol could be “numbing”. Another said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[I drink] just on my own; doesn’t bother me. I don’t need to be sociable and I don’t necessarily drink when I’m out […] alcohol has always played a fairly large role.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For working class women however, alcohol can provide a reliable stand-in support in the absence of anything else. As one woman said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Loneliness is definitely a factor for me, and I think it is for a lot of women. And I think once you start having a drink, it becomes a habitual […] I’d like to see more done in terms of the loneliness because I think it is a real thing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another woman noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t have anything – so in my life I have actually always had, like, a glass of wine. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Women with the most privilege drank to celebrate their achievements and enjoy life within social networks of similar women. Many middle class women described drinking alcohol as a long-standing part of their lives – drinking for relaxation, empowerment or because they felt they deserved a reward. As one put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It seems to be that ladies our age, all the ones I hang out with, are exactly the same as me. They say, “Oh well, wine o’clock.” […] I don’t need it, I don’t have to have a drink. I just choose to.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many described drinking as socially acceptable, normal, or even “expected” of them. One middle class woman described “girl’s nights out” where drinking is “what I’m supposed to do”.</p>
<p>But, women with less privilege described drinking alcohol, often alone, to make a difficult and isolated life more liveable. As one put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It provides relief, even if for a couple of hours, to take that away, thinking, “Where the hell am I going to come up with A$1000 from?” OK, let me have a drink. Calm down. Think of this. To me, to remove that from women, you’re actually removing a part of their autonomy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many working class women we interviewed thought of alcohol as a reliable friend that allowed them to cope with really difficult and sometimes intolerable lives. One remarked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>How is that not a positive? […] I’m not going to cut something out that enhances my life so much.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>‘Breaking up with alcohol’ can be hard to do</h2>
<p>All women have complex reasons for drinking, which can make it hard to “break up” with alcohol. </p>
<p>Middle class women wanted to change their drinking and sometimes regretted drinking, taking steps to moderate their alcohol. But many working class women felt they could not manage their consumption when they already felt so restricted by life’s difficulties and saw alcohol as the only way to cope.</p>
<p>Some working class women felt punished if their drinking was questioned, because alcohol served as a way to regain control.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479545/original/file-20220817-15-jvcwcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our research shows society needs to pay more attention to the broader systemic issues underpinning women’s drinking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Matilda Wormwood/Pexels</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Clues for public health messaging</h2>
<p>A blunt public health message telling women “do not drink, it is bad for you” does not address the structural reasons women drink in the first place – seeking connection for middle class women and dealing with isolation and hardship for working class women.</p>
<p>The positive and negative roles alcohol plays in women’s lives would need to be replaced, if alcohol were reduced. Our research shows society needs to pay more attention to the broader systemic issues underpinning women’s drinking, particularly the general absence of support for women during midlife. This is especially so for working class women without the resources to access support and appropriate care.</p>
<p>Getting the support needed to reduce drinking can use up a lot of resources (including what we have, who and what we know). And many working class women would lose what they see as an important (and often only) coping mechanism. </p>
<p>The challenge for public health is to make reducing alcohol or becoming “sober curious” a reasonable, affordable and feasible option for all women.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188882/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Belinda Lunnay receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Foley receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia for her doctoral scholarship which explores the social and commercial determinants of alcohol for Australian women in midlife. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Many of our interviewees didn’t see alcohol as only a bad thing and had complex reasons for their relationships with alcohol.
Belinda Lunnay, Post-doctoral researcher in Public Health , Torrens University Australia
Kristen Foley, PhD Candidate, Torrens University Australia
Paul Ward, Professor of Public Health, Torrens University Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/184447
2022-06-29T19:56:09Z
2022-06-29T19:56:09Z
Mulled wine: how ‘Christmas in a cup’ went from ancient medicine to an Aussie winter warmer
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471021/original/file-20220627-25-wjtwu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>When the temperature drops in the southern hemisphere, you might like to stave off the chill with a big steaming pot of mulled wine, and fill your home with the comforting aroma of red wine, citrus and spice.</p>
<p>The mention of mulled wine conjures images of winter-wonderland white-Christmas scenes – no matter where in the world you live. </p>
<p>Although mulled wine is a staple of contemporary Christmas celebrations throughout Europe, and the customs and recipes may differ somewhat, the celebratory nature of the warm, spiced (usually) red wine is common to all – as are the ingredients sugar, cinnamon and cloves. </p>
<p>Its long history incorporates both pagan and Christian lore, traverses old and new worlds and established it as a favourite Christmastime beverage, travellers’ tipple of choice and a tonic of sorts in times of convalescence. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/appearance-aroma-and-mouthfeel-all-you-need-to-know-to-give-wine-tasting-a-go-172500">Appearance, aroma and mouthfeel: all you need to know to give wine tasting a go</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ancient pagan paradox</h2>
<p>Whether for festivity or fortification, mulled wine has been around for at least 2,000 years. </p>
<p>The ancient Greek version of mulled wine, <em>Ypocras</em> or <em>Hippocras</em>, takes its name from Hippocrates, the Greek physician regarded as the father of medicine. (It is also the name of the <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/angl.2008.063/html">apothecary’s bag</a> or sieve used to strain this wine.)</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A satyr drinks from a wine glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471019/original/file-20220627-7170-73hjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Early versions of mulled wine can be found as far back as Ancient Greece.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© The Trustees of the British Museum</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wine played an <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctt1w76vxr.15?seq=1">important role in medicine</a> in Greek antiquity. In the only ancient cookery book surviving to our times, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmariani/2021/12/28/bravissimo-great-moments-in-italian-food-history/?sh=49f52e5623aa">De re coquinaria</a>, we see a few versions of spice wine (<em>conditum paradoxum</em>) and wine with honey and pepper. </p>
<p>The latter, known as <em>conditum melizomum viatorum</em> was recommended for travellers: the honey and spices acted as a preservative, allowing the alcohol to accompany travellers on long journeys. </p>
<p><em>Conditum paradoxium</em> became a prominent feature of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07266-1_12#Fn1">Saturnalia Festival</a> in ancient Rome: the winter solstice celebration of the passing of the shortest day of the year and the rebirth of the Sun. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471020/original/file-20220627-24-lkmkp0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Conditum paradoxium</em> was a prominent feature of the Roman winter festival, Saturnalia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Uffizi/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the time of the late-Roman Republic, Saturnalia had grown from a one-day celebration to a week-long festival held each year from December 17 to 23. Consuming the warming wine as part of the celebrations was thought to help ward off winter illness and so became firmly associated with the December celebrations.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the 4th century, this pagan solstice celebration became interwoven with Christianity and the celebration of Christmas Day. By the middle ages, mulled wine had become entrenched as part of the festivities throughout Europe. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pompeii-is-famous-for-its-ruins-and-bodies-but-what-about-its-wine-147011">Pompeii is famous for its ruins and bodies, but what about its wine?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Mulling over the recipe</h2>
<p>According to several medieval cookbooks the most common of the sweet, spiced wines in the late middle-ages were still referred to as <em>hippocras</em>, with the term “mulled wine” coming later. </p>
<p>Just as they do today, <a href="https://blog.britishmuseum.org/how-to-cook-a-medieval-feast/">ingredients</a> varied depending on the region, but key components were hot red wine blended with sugar and ground spices – usually ginger, cinnamon and pepper and sometimes nutmeg and cloves. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in the snow drinks mulled wine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471023/original/file-20220627-14-a1jnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Europe, mulled wine is synonymous with winter scenes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Throughout Europe, mulled wine is synonymous with postcard scenes of snow-capped Alps, après-ski shenanigans, the aroma of roasting chestnuts and Christmas markets. </p>
<p>In Sweden, <em>glogg</em> comes sprinkled with almonds and plump raisins, which have soaked up the wine and taken on the flavour of the spices. It is often served with distinctive raisin-studded saffron buns called <em>Lussekatter</em>. </p>
<p><em>Bischopswijn</em> (Bishop’s Wine) is the Dutch name, in honour of Saint Nicholas, the bishop celebrated during the <a href="https://www.thespruceeats.com/the-story-of-sinterklaas-1128632">Feast of Sinterklaas</a> in early December in the Netherlands. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man serves mulled wine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471024/original/file-20220627-15-q4cce8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mulled wine is a staple of European Christmas markets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Italians call it <em>vin hrüle</em> (French for “burnt wine”). In Poland it’s called <em>grzane wino</em> and in Germany it is <em>gluhwein</em>, which both directly translate to mulled wine.</p>
<p>So beloved is <em>gluhwein</em> in Germany, that when popular Christmas markets were cancelled in December 2020 due to COVID restrictions, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-germany-wine-idUSKBN28N0GD">pop-up <em>gluhwein</em> stalls</a> began appearing in parks and street corners in German cities despite the rules. </p>
<p>It sparked a plea in parliament from then German Chancellor Angela Merkel for citizens to forgo their usual Christmastime tipple to help avoid increased numbers of deaths. </p>
<h2>Exorcising the winter chill</h2>
<p>In France it’s called <em>vin chaud</em> (“hot wine”) and more likely than not to contain star anise. The larger-than-life <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-30-la-tr-colette-20100530-story.html">French writer Colette</a> described <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/1640497614/95692898CA08463EPQ/"><em>vin chaud</em> as</a> “the great exorcist of winter crepuscules [twilight] that fall as early as three o’clock” in an advertisement she wrote for a French wine merchant in the early 20th century.</p>
<p>Rather than a Christmastime tipple, in the first 100 years of Australian settlement, mulled wine was more likely to be administered during times of illness or convalescence rather than times of celebration. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Hands clasp a glass of mulled wine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471025/original/file-20220627-24-zfqz78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It may not be Christmas – but that doesn’t mean you don’t need a winter warmer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 19th and 20th centuries Australian domestic cookbooks <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1747-0080.12468">commonly included</a> recipes for sick or convalescing patients. Advice about food preparation for “invalids”, “convalescents” or “the sickroom” would commonly take up an entire section of cookbooks. Many of these included recipes for mulled wine. </p>
<p>With nobody under any illusions nowadays that mixing up a large amount of sugar in a hefty pot of red wine is good for anyone’s health, we find other similarly absurd excuses to partake. Christmas in July, anyone?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morag Kobez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Mulled wine has been around for at least 2,000 years.
Morag Kobez, Associate lecturer, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/183636
2022-06-22T03:11:36Z
2022-06-22T03:11:36Z
Grape growers are adapting to climate shifts early – and their knowledge can help other farmers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470168/original/file-20220622-21-g5pynh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3620%2C2124&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s commonly assumed Australia’s farmers and cities are divided over climate issues. This is not true. After all, farmers are on the front line and face the realities of our shifting climate on a daily basis. </p>
<p>In regional Australia, our research has found many farmers are already responding to climate change threats and finding <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016718301645?casa_token=Y8PsvpZw5QQAAAAA:rhJ-fTlyRMGRBIK6awZ0uHlORcIsHSyjkJmPriPmam0HOFacVVIOU-II-5An1kmU5DRK3bkO">ways to adapt</a>. </p>
<p>Wine grape growers are among those who are <a href="https://theconversation.com/message-in-a-bottle-the-wine-industry-gives-farmers-a-taste-of-what-to-expect-from-climate-change-45361">responding fastest</a>. That’s because their crop is extremely sensitive to weather and climatic shifts. Growers have had to learn quickly how to adapt to safeguard their industry. Think pruning for better canopy management, growing cover crops to keep the ground cooler and promote soil health, and reducing how much water they use in irrigation. </p>
<p>Establishing a vineyard takes a long time – up to five years until the vines produce a full yield. Grape growers have to take a medium to long term perspective to farming, weighing up forecasts about climate change and market trends a decade or more in advance. Successful vignerons recognise the need to work together in a coordinated way to achieve positive outcomes. Maintaining local agency is crucial, and relinquishing this can open up new risks.</p>
<p>Australia’s broader farming community will have to draw on similar adaptations – preparing for less rainfall in some areas, or finding ways to capture the enormous but less frequent rain bursts predicted for other areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="grape vines irrigation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470170/original/file-20220622-21-xhsfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards have had to reduce water use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why have wine grape growers moved early?</h2>
<p>Wine grape growers have had to act early because wine has enormous market differentiation based on variety. In turn, choice of varieties depends heavily on water and soil. </p>
<p>During the 1990s and 2000s, Australian wine exports boomed. The lion’s share of the cheap and cheerful Aussie wines bound for supermarket shelves around the world came from grapes from extensive irrigated vineyards throughout the Murray-Darling Basin, where grapes are grown relatively cheaply with lots of sunshine and lots of water. But the days of water abundance are no longer guaranteed. </p>
<p><a href="https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8322.12725">Our research</a> in South Australia’s Langhorne Creek wine region has found climate change is having most impact in respect to water. </p>
<p>Historically, this region has relied on groundwater or surface irrigation from seasonal floods along local watercourses. But as groundwater suffered from over-extraction, the aquifers became saltier. </p>
<p>In response, farmers sought to minimise reliance on groundwater. Some vineyards even <a href="https://www.fabal.com.au/water-infrastructure">installed desalination plants</a> to make groundwater usable again. Community leaders spearheaded a push to cut their own allocations and seek supply from nearby Lake Alexandrina, which the Murray and other rivers empty into. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-farming-future-tasmania-14688">Australia's farming future: Tasmania</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Then came the 2001–2009 Millennium Drought, which led to the shallow lake beginning to dry up through lack of inflow. The crisis of these drought years is seared into regional memory. Without a clear end in sight, many began to wonder if the region had a future. </p>
<p>The community backed a new private-public pipeline drawing directly from the Murray. When the new pipeline opened in 2009, it gave Langhorne Creek an important boost to water security. But it did so at the expense of tying its future directly to that of the Murray Darling Basin. </p>
<p>Now, farming in Langhorne Creek is at the mercy of everything that happens upstream. After two years of La Niña rains, there’s plenty of water in the system. For the time being, things are good – but farmers know better than most that good times don’t last.</p>
<p>In response to the broader shifts, many grape growers have increased plantings of southern Mediterranean varieties such as tempranillo or vermentino, better suited to hotter and drier conditions than traditional mainstays like shiraz and cabernet sauvignon grapes.</p>
<p>To date, Langhorne Creek offers an excellent example of how a strong community can act effectively in the face of environmental threat. As the region becomes integrated into the wider basin, there will be new challenges in navigating basin-wide management policies, a broadening bureaucratisation of decision making, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-restore-public-trust-in-the-governing-of-the-murray-darling-basin-109797">falling public trust</a> in basin management.</p>
<p>While the technological fix of a new pipeline has helped grape growers overcome an immediate water supply issue, it does not defeat broader climate risk. What it does show is the need for forward thinking. The task for current and future farmers is to remain vigilant in confronting new climate risks, and responding through strong and coordinated local action and political cooperation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/developing-a-taste-for-sagrantino-climate-change-and-australias-wine-industry-4399">Developing a taste for Sagrantino: climate change and Australia's wine industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Skinner receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Bardsley has received funding from the South Australian and federal governments, including the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgina Drew receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>
Climate change has forced Australia’s grape growers to band together to secure water, as well as plant new varieties and cut water use.
Bill Skinner, Postdoctoral research associate, University of Adelaide
Douglas Bardsley, Associate professor, University of Adelaide
Georgina Drew, Associate Professor and Program Director, Stretton Institute, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/179176
2022-04-20T12:17:46Z
2022-04-20T12:17:46Z
Beer and spirits have more detrimental effects on the waistline and on cardiovascular disease risk than red or white wine
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458683/original/file-20220419-15105-khdsoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C61%2C6869%2C2623&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers are working to tease apart how various alcohol types contribute to weight gain and disease risk.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/six-drinks-royalty-free-image/157333486?adppopup=true">pixhook/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Drinking beer and spirits is linked to elevated levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1259/bjr/38447238">visceral fat</a> – the harmful type of fat that is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and other health complications – whereas drinking wine shows no such association with levels of this harmful fat and may even be protective against it, depending on the type of wine consumed. In fact, we found that drinking red wine is linked to having lower levels of visceral fat. These are some of the key takeaways of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.598">a new study</a> that my colleagues and I recently published in the Obesity Science & Practice journal. </p>
<p>Although white wine consumption did not influence levels of visceral fat, our study did show that drinking white wine in moderation might offer its own unique health benefit for older adults: denser bones. We found higher bone mineral density among older adults who drank white wine in moderation in our study. And we did not find this same link between beer or red wine consumption and bone mineral density.</p>
<p>Our study relied on a large-scale longitudinal database called <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">the U.K. Biobank</a>. We assessed 1,869 white adults ranging in age from 40 to 79 years who reported demographic, alcohol, dietary and lifestyle factors via a touchscreen questionnaire. Next, we collected height, weight and blood samples from each participant and obtained body composition information using a direct measure of body composition called <a href="https://radiology.ucsf.edu/blog/dxadexa-beats-bmi-using-x-ray-exam-measure-body-composition-fat-loss">dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry</a>. Then, we used a statistical program to examine the relationships among the types of alcoholic beverages and body composition. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Aging is often accompanied by an increase in the problematic fat that can lead to heightened cardiovascular disease risk as well as by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720X11430858">reduction in bone mineral density</a>. This has important health implications given that nearly 75% of adults in the U.S. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/overweight-obesity-adults-H.pdf">are considered overweight or obese</a>. Having higher levels of body fat has been consistently linked to an increased risk for acquiring many different diseases, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000973">cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa021423">certain types of cancer</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa0801891">a higher risk of death</a>. And it’s worth noting that national medical care costs associated with treating obesity-related diseases total more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2021.20410">US$260.6 billion annually</a>.</p>
<p>Considering these trends, it is vital for researchers like us to examine all the potential contributors to weight gain so that we can determine how to combat the problem. Alcohol has long been considered one possible driving factor <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-014-0129-4">for the obesity epidemic</a>. Yet the public often hears conflicting information about the potential <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12134">risks</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.11.005">benefits</a> of alcohol. Therefore, we hoped to help untangle some of these factors through our research. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>There are many biological and environmental factors that contribute to being overweight or obese. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-014-0129-4">Alcohol consumption</a> may be one factor, although there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00403.x">other studies</a> that have not found clear links between weight gain and alcohol consumption. </p>
<p>One reason for the inconsistencies in the literature could stem from the fact that much of the previous research has traditionally treated alcohol as a single entity rather than separately measuring the effects of beer, cider, red wine, white wine, Champagne and spirits. Yet, even when broken down in this way, the research yields mixed messages.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117556">one study has suggested</a> that drinking more beer contributes to a higher waist-to-hip ratio, while <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17416040/">another study</a> concluded that, after one month of drinking moderate levels of beer, healthy adults did not experience any significant weight gain.</p>
<p>As a result, we’ve aimed to further tease out the unique risks and benefits that are associated with each alcohol type. Our next steps will be to examine how diet – including alcohol consumption – could influence diseases of the brain and cognition in older adults with <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-mild-cognitive-impairment">mild cognitive impairment</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179176/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brittany Larsen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Research has been inconclusive on the degree to which drinking alcohol leads to the growth of harmful fat. But a new study suggests that beer and spirits are far bigger culprits than wine.
Brittany Larsen, Ph.D. Candidate in Neuroscience & Graduate Assistant, Iowa State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/174879
2022-01-24T03:26:26Z
2022-01-24T03:26:26Z
Natural wines: how are they made and what’s the deal with sulfites? An expert explains
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440597/original/file-20220113-44941-781wf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C5599%2C3699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I was first introduced to natural wines in Paris about 20 years ago. My initial tasting experience did little to convince me this approach to winemaking would survive. Many showed faults reflecting oxidation or yeast- or bacterial-derived odours that smelled “off”.</p>
<p>The natural winemaking strategy has matured dramatically since then and the wines are now making significant <a href="https://www.winemag.com/2020/02/12/best-australian-natural-wine">inroads</a> in Australia. In <a href="https://punchdrink.com/articles/the-best-natural-wine-bars-in-paris">Paris</a> and in <a href="https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-natural-wine-france">France</a> generally, natural wines have gone from strength to strength.</p>
<p>The natural wine movement in Australia is being driven by consumers from varied backgrounds who, <a href="https://www.theshout.com.au/news/natural-wine-winning-consumers-with-authenticity-and-truth/">according</a> to one winemaker, demand “transparency and truth around the winemaking process”. Authenticity of the final product is key.</p>
<p>But how are natural wines made, and what makes them “natural”? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-drives-our-wine-choice-taste-or-the-price-tag-35252">What drives our wine choice – taste, or the price tag?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Natural winemaking</h2>
<p>The overall goal in natural wine production is to have <a href="http://bellina-alimentari.com/what-is-natural-wine/">as little human intervention as possible</a> in the journey from the vineyard to the wine.</p>
<p>Grapes must be harvested manually from a vineyard managed by either organic practice or under biodynamic principles (such as those outlined <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1936/Organic_and_Biodynamic_Wines.pdf?1642743103">here</a>).</p>
<p>Once the grapes are crushed, fermentation is carried out by indigenous – sometimes called “wild” – yeasts on the skin of the grapes. In some styles, grape stalks may be included in the ferment.</p>
<p>These practices alone, however, are not unique to the natural winemaking process; they’re sometimes used in production of conventional wines, too. </p>
<p>But in conventional winemaking, a wide range of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-vegan-friendly-wine-vegan-and-hows-it-different-to-conventional-wine-174468">processing aids and additives</a> may be used.</p>
<p>And this is the point of difference: in natural winemaking, no additions are made.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person holds a bunch of red grapes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440802/original/file-20220113-27-ar1gi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Once the grapes are crushed, fermentation is carried out by indigenous - sometimes called ‘wild’ – yeasts on the skin of the grapes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Processing aids and additives</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://bellina-alimentari.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AttachmentLineup11.13.jpg">image here</a> demonstrates this clearly. The list of processes and additives decreases markedly as one moves from conventional through organic, biodynamic to natural winemaking.</p>
<p>For natural wines, once the fermentation is finished, the wine is left enclosed for the waste grape material and dead yeast cells to settle before being decanted into clean vessels for bottling. </p>
<p>Some winemakers will use a simple cloth-type filtration to remove larger particles. High-tech filtration techniques, such as membrane or <a href="https://grapeworks.com.au/news/winemaking/filtration-methods-in-winemaking">cross-flow filtration</a>, are not allowed.</p>
<p>The resulting unfiltered wine in bottle will be cloudy. </p>
<p>For a conventionally made wine, this would be a definite marketing negative. But for natural wines, it is the norm.</p>
<h2>On the tricky question of sulfites</h2>
<p>A lot of wines contain a compound called sulfites, which can cause an <a href="https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/other-allergy/sulfite-sensitivity-faq">allergic reaction</a> in some people. In winemaking, they serve to reduce oxidation and limit bacterial growth.</p>
<p>The use of sulfites, also commonly called sulfur dioxide, in natural wines is a point of contention. There are many who refuse to use it, because they see it as an additive. Others argue a small addition to what is already present as a by-product of the fermentation can be beneficial.</p>
<p>Wine expert Isabelle Legeron – the first woman in France to have conferred upon her the prestigious title of Master of Wine – is a great <a href="https://www.rawwine.com/pages/isabelle-legeron">advocate for natural wines</a>. </p>
<p>In 2012, she established the <a href="https://www.rawwine.com/pages/our-story">RAW WINE</a> community to support low intervention winemakers. In her monthly wine <a href="https://www.rawwine.com/shop?menu_open=1&country=AUS">recommendations</a>, Legeron lists those with no added sulfites and those with sulfites <a href="https://www.rawwine.com/pages/charter-of-quality">up to 70 mg/litre</a>, somewhat higher than the more common upper limit of 30 mg/litre.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People pour wine into a glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440599/original/file-20220113-13-1dei2p3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In conventional winemaking, a wide range of processing aids and additives may be used. In natural winemaking, no additions are made.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In France, natural wines are now mainstream. Natural wine has, after many years of debate, been given formal recognition there under the designation “<a href="https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/natural-wine-defined">Vin Méthode Nature</a>”, a strictly defined term now accepted by key government <a href="https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/natural-wine-receives-formal-recognition-vin-methode-nature-435358/">agencies</a> and regulatory bodies.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://vinmethodenature.org/le-label/">12-point commitment charter</a> to which winemakers must adhere to obtain the Vin Méthode Nature endorsement. </p>
<p>There is even a sticker that can be affixed to the bottle, one version of which indicates sulfur dioxide has been added to the wine. </p>
<h2>The taste profile</h2>
<p>Natural wines are different in appearance and taste. Although my early experience to these wines was not always favourable, production methods have matured. While many remain cloudy, as they are unfiltered, the palate structure can show the length and depth that I chase when selecting wine.</p>
<p>In 2017, wine media outlet Decanter <a href="https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews-tastings/top-rated-natural-wine-368454">reviewed</a> 122 natural wines. The reviewers’ comments were overall positive, endorsing and reinforcing the place of natural wines in an expanding market.</p>
<p>Natural sparkling wines – commonly referred to Pétillant-Naturel or simply Pet Nat – are one of my favourites. Made by the <a href="https://www.winemag.com/2018/08/07/pet-nat-wine-guide/">ancestral method</a>, fermentation begins in an open tank and, at some point, it is transferred to bottle to finish.</p>
<p>The wine is amazingly refreshing, albeit cloudy and lightly sparkling (about half the pressure of champagne). There is no secondary fermentation and no additives – the yeast is indigenous to the grape. </p>
<p>This is pretty much grapes into wine with minimal human intervention.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/appearance-aroma-and-mouthfeel-all-you-need-to-know-to-give-wine-tasting-a-go-172500">Appearance, aroma and mouthfeel: all you need to know to give wine tasting a go</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Scollary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The overall goal in natural wine production is to have as little human intervention as possible in the journey from the vineyard to the wine.
Geoff Scollary, Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/174468
2022-01-16T18:56:20Z
2022-01-16T18:56:20Z
What makes a vegan-friendly wine vegan? And how’s it different to conventional wine?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439625/original/file-20220106-27-rtlydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7527%2C5002&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consumer <a href="https://www.winemag.com/2021/05/12/vegan-wine-biodynamic-querciabella/">interest</a> in vegan wines is <a href="https://www.wine-business-international.com/wine/analysis/fine-time-be-vegan">growing</a>, with vegan-friendly wines showing up in many supermarkets and Google searches for “vegan wine” <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=AU&q=vegan%20wine">soaring</a> in recent years.</p>
<p>But what makes a vegan-friendly wine vegan? And how’s it different to conventional winemaking techniques?</p>
<p>I’m an oenology and chemistry researcher; I’ve spent years studying wine and winemaking processes. To explain the difference between vegan and non-vegan wines, I first need to walk you through the basics of conventional winemaking. </p>
<p>So top up your glass and let’s begin.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An Asian woman and Asian man drink a glass of red wine together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439626/original/file-20220106-19-54k42a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In winemaking, the grape has a long and tortuous path from the vine to the bottle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-putting-a-spoon-in-an-open-bottle-of-champagne-doesnt-keep-it-bubbly-but-there-is-a-better-way-171823">No, putting a spoon in an open bottle of champagne doesn't keep it bubbly – but there is a better way</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How conventional wine is made</h2>
<p>In conventional winemaking, for both <a href="https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/how-is-red-wine-made/">red</a> and <a href="https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/how-is-white-wine-made/">white</a>, the grape has a long and tortuous path from the vine to the bottle. </p>
<p>Red wine fermentation is carried out with the skin on the grape, as this is where the molecules that contribute to colour are found.</p>
<p>Additions and manipulations can be extensive. Yeast is normally added in combination with diammonium phosphate, a source of nitrogen, to ensure a controlled and manageable fermentation.</p>
<p>Enzymes may be added, either to break down pectin (a fibre found in fruits) or to enhance flavour. Malo-lactic fermentation – where the grape’s malic acid is converted to lactic acid – is common in red wine and also used in some white wine styles. </p>
<p>Gross lees (waste yeast) can be removed by “racking” – which means moving wine from one vessel to another – while the smaller fine lees are removed by filtration. </p>
<h2>Finishing the wine prior to bottling</h2>
<p>Wines are routinely tasted prior to bottling. It’s often at this stage a decision is made the young wine may need adjustment to the palate structure.</p>
<p>For example, a wine may have an obvious drying effect in the mouth, known as astringency, or exhibit a slightly bitter aftertaste. This can happen when the amount of polyphenolic compounds – micronutrients that naturally occur in plants –are higher than preferred.</p>
<p>In red wine, polyphenolic compounds are commonly called tannins; these are macromolecules made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The molecules are much smaller in white wine and, in that context, are usually referred to simply as “phenolic compounds”.</p>
<p>Phenolic compounds interact with proteins. Think of putting milk into a cup of strong black tea to soften the taste and give a more rounded, less bitter taste.</p>
<p>Winemakers will add one of the <a href="https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/additives-and-processing-aids">permitted protein additives</a> after setting up a tasting trial to assess the right amount of protein to be added. This process is known in the business as “fining”.</p>
<h2>Now here’s the problem for vegans</h2>
<p>This is where things get problematic for vegans.</p>
<p>The commonly used proteins are gelatin sourced from cow or pig collagen, isinglass (from fish swim bladder), egg white or skim milk. </p>
<p>Each protein tends to have specific fining ability, and winemakers make decisions on which to use based on <a href="https://www.awri.com.au/industry_support/winemaking_resources/frequently_asked_questions/fining_agents/">experience or advice</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A winemaker tests wine in a factory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439627/original/file-20220106-27-1aefa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wines are routinely tasted prior to bottling. It’s often at this stage a decision is made the young wine may need adjustment to the palate structure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia has comprehensive rules regarding wine labelling, including the need to specify <a href="https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/domestic-labelling">allergens</a>.</p>
<p>This includes milk and eggs, but not the other animal-derived fining proteins. This can cause considerable uncertainty when selecting wines that are vegan-friendly.</p>
<p>Some wine labels now have a statement such as “this wine has been treated with fish product and traces may remain”.</p>
<p>Increasingly in Australia and especially in Europe, wines are now often labelled as “vegan-friendly” or “no animal products were used in the preparation of this wine”. </p>
<h2>What are the alternatives to animal proteins?</h2>
<p>Proteins derived from plants would appear to be an obvious alternative but, for now, most work on plant proteins is still in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24112186">research stage</a>. Only <a href="https://www.enartis.com/en-us/news-trends/plant-based-fining-agents-free-of-animal-proteins/">one from potatoes</a> is commercially available.</p>
<p>Gluten from cereals is effective in red wine, but presents obvious problems for those with coeliac disease or gluten allergies.</p>
<p>Grape seed extract is perhaps the most effective plant-based protein that has been trialled but it’s not commercially available. Obtaining regulatory approval across international markets is a significant barrier to the commercialisation of new products for use in wine.</p>
<p>Storing a wine on its fine lees (meaning the wine is aged in contact with its fine lees) after removal of the gross lees is one alternative to using animal proteins in winemaking. This can soften a wine and enhance the mouthfeel without the use of additives. </p>
<p>White wines can be stored on fine lees for nine months before bottling. Reds can take up to 18 months to obtain the desired mouthfeel. </p>
<p>Regular tasting during this ageing step is essential to ensure the wine is developing as desired. It is a somewhat expensive process as it ties up storage vessels and winery space.</p>
<h2>The taste test</h2>
<p>At a recent tasting of organic and biodynamic wines, some I presented were made by the conventional method, while others met the vegan-friendly criterion. The general comment after the tasting was: I couldn’t tell the difference.</p>
<p>Pairing vegan-friendly wines with food is not restricted to vegan-friendly food. In one classic example, a vegan-friendly sweet wine from the Loire Valley in France was also described as “excellent with foie gras”.</p>
<p>My advice is to explore with an open mind and enjoy the new experience.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cardboardeaux-bag-in-box-and-goon-why-australias-love-affair-with-boxed-wine-endures-171484">Cardboardeaux, bag-in-box, and goon: why Australia's love affair with boxed wine endures</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174468/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Scollary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
To explain the difference between vegan and non-vegan wines, I first need to walk you through the basics of conventional winemaking. So top up your glass and let’s begin.
Geoff Scollary, Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.